Ear | Notion

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There are 3 different types of hearing loss;
- conductive: abnormalities to the outer ear, the eardrum or the ossicles (incus, stapes and malleus)
- sensorineural: abnormalities to the inner ear structures or acoustic nerve
- mixed
The Webber’s and Rhinne’s test are used to differentiate whether a patients hearing loss is conductive or sensorineural in origin
As a general rule, patients with conductive hearing loss will speak quietly (as they hear themselves through bony conduction and thus think they are speaking loudly), whilst patients with sensorineural hearing loss will speak loudly (they cannot hear themselves at all)
Sudden hearing loss (30dB over 3 days) is an emergency, the causes include (keeping in mind that 90% are idiopathic):
- Viral infection
- Bacterial meningitis
- Migraine
- Acoustic neuroma
- Head injury
- Drug reactions
- Sarcoidosis

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