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For example, very curvy ear canals, narrow ear canals, or surgical ears are more prone to earwax buildup. When wax builds up, it causes muffled hearing, tinnitus, or aural fullness (plugged-up ...
By listening to broadband noise at soft levels for a disciplined period of time each day, some patients can rebuild (i.e., re-establish) their tolerances to sound. [2] [47] [48] [49] More research is needed on the efficacy of sound therapy techniques when hyperacusis is the primary complaint, rather than a secondary symptom, indicating that "no ...
The majority of tympanic membrane retractions do not cause any symptoms. Some cause hearing loss by restricting sound-induced vibrations of the eardrum. Permanent conductive hearing loss can be caused by erosion of the ossicles (hearing bones). Discharge from the ear often indicates that the retraction pocket has developed into a cholesteatoma.
The stereocilia (hair cells) of the inner ear can become subjected to bending from loud noises. Because they are not regeneratable in humans, any major damage or loss of these hair cells leads to permanent hearing impairment and other hearing-related diseases. [2] Outer hair cells serve as acoustic amplifiers for stimulation of the inner hair ...
Using both ear muffs (whether passive or active) and earplugs simultaneously results in maximum protection, but the efficacy of such combined protection relative to preventing permanent ear damage is inconclusive, with evidence indicating that a combined noise reduction ratio (NRR) of only 36 dB (C-weighted) is the maximum possible using ear ...
The discomfort threshold is the loudness level from which a sound starts to be felt as too loud and thus painful by an individual. Industry workers tend to have a higher discomfort threshold (i.e. the sounds must be louder to feel painful than for non-industry workers), but the sound is just as harmful to their ears. [33]
Patulous Eustachian tube is a physical disorder. The exact causes may vary depending on the person and are often unknown. [5] Weight loss is a commonly cited cause of the disorder due to the nature of the Eustachian tube itself and is associated with approximately one-third of reported cases. [6]
The acoustic reflex (also known as the stapedius reflex, [1] stapedial reflex, [2] auditory reflex, [3] middle-ear-muscle reflex (MEM reflex, MEMR), [4] attenuation reflex, [5] cochleostapedial reflex [6] or intra-aural reflex [6]) is an involuntary muscle contraction that occurs in the middle ear in response to loud sound stimuli or when the person starts to vocalize.