Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy involves progressive muscle weakness and loss of muscle tissue. It primarily affects the face, shoulder, and upper arm muscles. Alternative Names: Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy Causes, incidence, a

[Read the Article]

Ear emergencies include objects stuck in the ear and ruptured eardrums. See also acoustic trauma. Considerations: Children often stick objects into their ears. These objects can be difficult to remove because the ear canal is a tube of solid bon

[Read the Article]

Alport syndrome is an inherited disorder (usually X-linked) involving damage to the kidney, blood in the urine, and in some families, loss of hearing. The disorder may also include eye defects. Alternative Names: Hereditary nephritis; Hematuria - n

[Read the Article]

Ear infections are one of the most common reasons parents take their children to the doctor. While there are different types of ear infections, the most common is called otitis media, which means an inflammation and infection of the middle ear. The m

[Read the Article]

Wax blockage is obstruction of the ear canal with cerumen (wax). Alternative Names: Ear impaction; Cerumen impaction; Ear blockage; Ear wax Causes, incidence, and risk factors: The ear canal is lined with hair follicles and glands that produce a

[Read the Article]

(irritation and swelling with presence of extra immune cells) of the canals of the inner ear (semicircular canals, labyrinth), which causes dizziness. Alternative Names: Bacterial labyrinthitis; Serous labyrinthitis Causes, incidence, and risk facto

[Read the Article]

Eardrum repair is a procedure to correct a tear in the eardrum (tympanic membrane) or the small bones in the middle ear. Ruptured or perforated eardrums are usually caused by middle ear infections or trauma, such as an object in the ear, a slap on t

[Read the Article]

The brainstem auditory evoked response (BAER) test measures responses in brain waves that are stimulated by a clicking sound to check the central auditory (hearing) pathways of the brainstem. Alternative Names: Evoked auditory potentials; BAEP - br

[Read the Article]

A glomus jugulare tumor is a small, ball-like swelling of a part of the jugular vein (a large vein in the neck) or along Jacobson's nerve in the temporal bone of the skull. Both of these areas contain glomus bodies, which are nerve fibers that normal

[Read the Article]

Apert syndrome is a genetic disease. It can be inherited, or it may occur without a known family history. It is characterized by premature closure of the seams between the skull bones, which results in a peaked head and an unusual facial appearance.

[Read the Article]

Alstr?yndrome is an inherited disease characterized by progressive blindness, deafness, early-onset type 2 diabetes mellitus, and obesity. Intelligence is not affected. Causes, incidence, and risk factors: Alstr?yndrome is an autosomal recessive

[Read the Article]

Otitis media is an inflammation of the middle ear. Otitis media with effusion (OME) refers to fluid in the middle ear space, but without the symptoms of an acute infection. Children with acute otitis media (acute ear infection) have fluid in the mid

[Read the Article]

Treacher-Collins syndrome is a hereditary condition that causes facial defects. Alternative Names: Mandibulofacial dysostosis Causes, incidence, and risk factors: Treacher-Collins syndrome is inherited as an autosomal dominant trait. More than h

[Read the Article]

A ruptured or perforated eardrum is an opening in the tympanic membrane (eardrum). Alternative Names: Tympanic membrane perforation; Eardrum - ruptured or punctured Causes, incidence, and risk factors: The tympanic membrane (eardrum) separates t

[Read the Article]

Ear tube insertion is a procedure to drain fluid that has built up behind a child's eardrums. The purpose of the procedure is to restore the normal functioning of the ear. Alternative Names: Myringotomy; Tympanostomy; Ear tubes surgery Description

[Read the Article]

Your ears have two jobs. One is hearing and the other is maintaining balance. Hearing occurs after vibrations cross the eardrum to the inner ear. They are changed into nerve impulses and carried to the brain by the auditory nerve. Balance (equilibri

[Read the Article]

Benign ear cysts are noncancerous lumps or growths within the canal of the ear, pinna, or other parts of the ear. Alternative Names: Osteomas; Exostoses; Tumor - ear; Cysts - ear; Ear cysts; Ear tumors Causes, incidence, and risk factors: Sebace

[Read the Article]

An acoustic neuroma is a benign, noncancerous, often slow-growing tumor of the nerve that connects the ear to the brain (8th cranial or auditory) nerve. Alternative Names: Vestibular schwannoma; Tumor - acoustic; Cerebellopontine angle tumor; Angle

[Read the Article]

Meniere's disease is a disorder of the inner ear affecting balance and hearing, characterized by abnormal sensation of movement (vertigo), dizziness, loss of hearing in one or both ears, and noises or ringing in the ear (tinnitus). Alternative Name

[Read the Article]

Waardenburg syndrome is a group of hereditary conditions characterized by deafness and partial albinism (pale skin, hair, and eye color). Causes, incidence, and risk factors: Waardenburg syndrome is inherited as an autosomal dominant trait, meani

[Read the Article]

Tinnitus is the medical term for "hearing" noises in your ears when there is no outside source of the sounds. The noises you hear can be soft or loud. They may sound like ringing, blowing, roaring, buzzing, hissing, humming, whistling, or s

[Read the Article]

The following organizations are good resources for information on hearing impairment or speech impairment: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association 10801 Rockville Pike Rockville, MD 20852 800-638-8255 www.asha.org National Institute on

[Read the Article]

Acoustic trauma is injury to the hearing mechanisms within the inner ear, caused by excessively loud noise. Alternative Names: Injury - inner ear; Trauma - inner ear; Ear injury Causes, incidence, and risk factors: Acoustic trauma is a common ca

[Read the Article]

Alternative Names: Otospongiosis Causes, incidence, and risk factors: Otosclerosis is an inherited disorder involving the growth of abnormal spongy bone in the middle ear. This growth prevents the stapes (stirrup bone) from vibrating in respons

[Read the Article]

Alternative Names: Decreased hearing; Deafness; Loss of hearing Considerations: Minor decreases in hearing are normal after age 20. Hearing problems?usually come on gradually, and rarely end in complete deafness. There are many causes of hearing

[Read the Article]

Age related hearing loss is a progressive loss of the ability to hear high frequencies, which occurs as people get older. Alternative Names: Hearing loss - age related; Presbycusis Causes, incidence, and risk factors: Age-related hearing loss (

[Read the Article]

Occupational hearing loss is damage to the inner ear from noise or vibration as a result of certain occupations or forms of entertainment. Alternative Names: Hearing loss - occupational Causes, incidence, and risk factors: Occupational hearing l

[Read the Article]

Hearing occurs when sound waves are conducted to the nerves of the inner ear and from there to the brain. Sound waves can travel to the inner ear by air conduction (through the ear canal, eardrum, and bones of the middle ear) or bone conduction (thro

[Read the Article]