Adrien A. Eshraghi, MD, MSc, FACS

Causes

Common causes for surgery include, hearing loss due to inner ear malformation, recurrent ear infections, bone ossification, tumor removal, acoustic trauma, and barotrauma.

Symptoms

Symptoms can include:

• spinning sensation or dizziness (vertigo)
• temporary or permanent hearing loss
• ringing in the ear (tinnitus)
• pressure/fullness of the ear
• facial paralysis
• discharge from the ear and ear infections

Treatment Procedures

• Stapedectomy
  • A stapedectomy procedure is needed when there is otosclerosis or a hardening of the stapes bone within the inner ear. This procedure either bonds the ossified bones together to improve function or completely removes the stapes, the innermost bone of the three bones of the middle ear, and replaces it with an analogous prosthesis.
• Canalplasty
  • Canalplasty treats the malformation, whether congenital or acquired, of the external auditory canal by widening the canal or removing an obstruction.
• Tympanoplasty
  • Damage, such as a ruptured eardrum, to the eardrum that does not heal on its own can require tympanoplasty surgery to restore hearing. During this procedure a surgeon takes graft material, often temporalis fascia or cartilage, and patches the damage to the eardrum allowing for restoration of normal function of the middle ear.
• Tumor removal ear reconstruction
  • Tumors located in and around the structures of the inner ear and skull base can damage hearing structures and sometimes require extensive ear reconstruction once excised. Depending on the affected tissues and those removed, certain structures can be rebuilt. However, multiple surgeries could be needed to reconstruct specific parts of the ear.
  • This may include acoustic neuromas, meningioma, facial nerve schwannoma, and other rare tumors.
• Ossicular chain reconstruction
  • Trauma to the middle ear bones of the malleus and incus can cause conductance issues and loss of hearing. Otosclerosis may also effect the bones of the middle ear and require surgery to restore hearing. This surgery removes the damaged bone and replaces it with a functioning prosthesis.
• Hearing device implants
  • Patients suffering from moderate-to-profound sensorineural or conductive hearing loss could improve their hearing with implanted devices. Cochlear implants are commonly used in these patients who qualify, additional devices include bone anchored hearing aids which can help with conductance issues.