More than almost any other organ in the human body, the middle ear boasts a rather complicated anatomy. Both its unique anatomy and its unusual location make the middle ear particularly susceptible to serious inflammation.
What is the middle ear?
Anatomical structure of the ear including the middle ear. The middle ear is located between the eardrum as well as the inner ear. As an essential part of the human hearing organ, it opens into the cochlea. Without the tympanic cavity, however, the middle ear could not function properly. However, the middle ear is not only considered an essential part of the human body. For example, numerous vertebrates also have a middle ear.
Anatomy and structure
The tympanic cavity is considered by leading medical experts to be the largest component of the middle ear. The air-containing cavity is covered by a thin layer of mucous membrane and is located between the petrous bone as well as the temporal bone. The tympanic cavity is connected to the nasopharynx via the eustachian tube. Inside the middle ear, three different ossicles are responsible for the proper functionality of the middle ear. In addition to the malleus, both the incus and the stapes pick up incoming sound waves and transmit them to the inner ear. A connection to the pharynx is established via the Eustachi tube. This is the only way to match the pressure inside the middle ear to the ambient pressure.
Functions and tasks
The middle ear is subjected to a variety of demands in modern society. For example, the middle ear must primarily transmit incoming sound waves to the cochlear organ. In addition to sound transmission, impedance matching is also one of the tasks of the middle ear. In modern medicine, the term impedance is used to describe the resistance that the middle ear offers to the incoming sound. This is the only way to ensure loss-free transmission of the incoming sound waves. In addition to impedance matching, the middle ear is also responsible for the initiation of an acoustic reflex. An acoustic reflex occurs whenever the middle ear is exposed to a particularly high sound load of more than 85 decibels. Since the plate of the stapes no longer presses so strongly against the oval window during the acoustic reflex, the incoming sound level can be reduced by approximately 10 decibels. However, if the incoming sound exceeds a value of more than 100 decibels, the acoustic reflex also causes the eardrum to contract. Thus, the incoming sound can be reduced by another 20 decibels. In addition to the tasks already mentioned, the middle ear is also responsible for equalizing pressure. This is the only way to ensure optimal vibration conditions. In this way, optimal transmission of the incoming sound can also be ensured when overcoming extreme differences in height. Due to its complex anatomy, the middle ear is particularly susceptible to various diseases.
Diseases
It is not uncommon for the middle ear to become significantly impaired in function as part of a tympanic effusion. The disease, which is often viral in origin, leads to a massive accumulation of liquid secretion in the tympanic cavity. One of the most common diseases affecting the middle ear is otitis media. In most cases, otitis media is caused by invading pathogens. Middle ear inflammation is divided into both purulent middle ear inflammation and serous middle ear inflammation. Both forms of otitis media can have an acute or chronic course. Provided a middle ear infection is present, the transmission of incoming sound waves may be noticeably impaired. A middle ear infection generally requires extensive and reliable therapy. However, in the absence of therapy, serious complications can sometimes occur, such as particularly severe hearing loss. Hearing loss may also be due to otosclerosis. In the context of otosclerosis, increasing ossification of the middle ear often leads to severe hearing loss. In addition to the causes already mentioned, a tumor in the middle ear may also be responsible for sudden symptoms such as ear pain.It is not uncommon for experienced medical professionals to find serious injuries in the middle ear area. Often the injuries lead to a painful rupture of the eardrum.
Typical and common ear diseases
- Ear drum injuries
- Ear flow (otorrhea)
- Otitis media
- Ear canal inflammation
- Mastoiditis
- Ear furuncle
