While most people know about hearing loss, there are many other conditions that can affect ear. Here, we have briefly described some of the key conditions that may affect your ears.
Infections of the middle ear
The majority of hair problems originate in the middle ear. Viruses and bacteria can migrate up to the tubes that connect the respiratory system to the ear, resulting in the symptoms of infection. When these microbes stay in the middle ear, you will have ear inflammation.
Swimmer’s ear
Also known as otitis externa, this ear infection develops between the eardrum and the outer ear. The disease is named as it is often developed while doing lengths in untreated pools. Dirty water enters the ear canal and provides opportunistic bacteria with a chance to multiply.
Hearing loss
The condition can develop due to exposure to years of loud noise. While most people experience hearing loss due to advancing age, hearing loss makes it difficult or impossible to hear. Hearing loss can be either related to auditory processing disorder in which the person finds it difficult to workout wherefrom the sound is coming from, sensorineural hearing loss, the condition in which the auditory nerve is damaged or malfunctions, and mixed hearing loss that results in both conductive hearing loss and sensorineural hearing loss.
Meniere ’s disease
The condition results from excessive fluid buildup in the inner ear. This can lead to problems with hearing and balance, and also the sensation of pressure inside the ear. People suffering from Meniere’s disease may experience severe vertigo, balance problem, dizziness, feeling lightheaded, and sensitivity to sound.
Fluid from the ear
An ear effusion can cause the middle ear to become inflamed, or the fluid can also become infected. Sometimes, the fluid buildup can last for a long and it becomes thick and sticky, causing hearing loss. Fluid from the ear can also result due to a ruptured eardrum, mastoid or infection of the bone behind the ear, and damage to the ear.
Blocked ears
Our ears naturally produce wax from small glands that line the ear canal. This gooey substance works to trap incoming dust and microbes, and prevent them from penetrating the eardrum. When wax functions properly, the trapped particles, dust, dirt and microbes are shifted to the opening of ear where they dry and then flake off. If too much of earwax is produced, it can become stuck in front of the eardrum and harden, due to which the person will experience muted and muffled sound.
Tinnitus
The person suffering from this disease would experience sounds that aren’t actually made around them, like ringing, buzzing, roaring, humming, hissing, in one or both ears. Tinnitus is usually caused by an underlying condition such as age-related hearing loss. See a doctor if you are experiencing anxiety or depression due to your condition.
Diagnosing ear infection
Ear infections are diagnosed by looking for perforation in the eardrum, pus-like fluid inside the middle ear, or a bulging or collapsed eardrum. Additional tests like fluid samples, CT scan, acoustic reflectometry, and blood tests may be conducted by the doctor. Ear infections are usually treated with antibiotics, and pain-relieving medications like Tylenol and Ibuprofen.
Get a custom health insurance plan for your employees
Ear infections and other diseases can cause have a high impact on the productivity of your employees. So, you should take measures to keep your employees in the best health condition. For this, you can consider providing them with a health insurance plan that they can use to meet the high costs of their treatment. However, if you are not sure of which plan would be best for you, you can approach the experts of PrudentRx program so that you are able to get the best value for your out-of-pocket expenses including CVS copay optimization. The experts of PrudentRx program will also help you get maximum coverage from the PrudentRx drug list. For more information, you can see PrudentRx FAQs.
