Otosclerosis is a specific degenerative ear disease that traditionally affects the bone capsule of the labyrinth. The disease is caused by a pathological process in the bony labyrinth, often causing fixation of the base of the stirrup in the vestibule window, which contributes to the immobility of the stirrup and hearing loss.
The disease usually develops in young and middle age, occurs mainly in women. Often the onset of the disease coincides with puberty, pregnancy, childbirth. Hearing loss progresses slowly and gradually, the process is usually bilateral.
The reasons
The causes of the disease have not been fully elucidated. There are many hypotheses, but now there is evidence that otosclerosis is a systemic disease, with all this, not only the labyrinth is affected, but also the occipital bone, spine and hands.
There are three clinical forms of otosclerosis:
- Tympanal. The focus is located in the area of the oval window and fixes the foot plate of the stirrup. A hallmark of this form of otosclerosis is progressive conductive hearing loss.
- Mixed. The foci are located in the cochlear capsule and in the region of the oval window. This form of otosclerosis is characterized by progressive mixed hearing loss.
- Cochlear . Only the cochlea is affected, which manifests itself in the form of progressive sensorineural hearing loss. In this case, impedancemetry can be normal, and otosclerotic foci in the cochlea can only be seen using high-resolution computed tomography of the temporal bone. Surgical treatment for this form
Main symptoms
Patients are concerned about progressive hearing loss and constant, painful tinnitus. A distinctive symptom of this disease is an improvement in hearing acuity when the patient stays in a noisy environment. There may be dizziness, usually short-term, which occurs when moving, quickly tilting or tilting the head.
Treatment
Conservative treatment can only lead to noise reduction. With a hearing loss of 30-35 dB, an operation is indicated, as a result of which hearing improvement begins in 80-90% of patients. Surgical treatment is possible. A microsurgical operation on the stirrup is performed – stapedoplasty.