Ear

Your ear has three main parts: outer, middle and inner. You use all of them in hearing. Sound waves come in through your outer ear. They reach your middle ear, where they make your eardrum vibrate. The vibrations are transmitted through three tiny bones, called ossicles, in your middle ear. The vibrations travel to your inner ear, a snail-shaped organ. The inner ear makes the nerve impulses that are sent to the brain. Your brain recognizes them as sounds. The inner ear also controls balance.

  Diseases of the ear and mastoid process 

Outer ear

• Otitis externa
• Otomycosis

Middle ear
and mastoid

• Otitis media
• Mastoiditis 
  • Bezold's abscess
  • Gradenigo's syndrome
• Tympanosclerosis

• Cholesteatoma
• Perforated eardrum

Inner ear and
central pathways

Equilibrioception	Vertigo/Balance disorder: peripheral  Ménière's disease BPPV Vestibular neuronitis (Labyrinthitis) Perilymph fistula central (Central positional nystagmus)
Hearing	Hearing impairment Conductive hearing loss  Otosclerosis Superior canal dehiscence Sensorineural hearing loss  Presbycusis Cortical deafness Nonsyndromic deafness Excessive response Tinnitus Hyperacusis/Phonophobia Deafblindness Wolfram syndrome Usher syndrome Other Auditory processing disorder Spatial hearing loss

Recent Articles Most recent articles for Ear: Most recent articles Most Cited: Most cited Review Articles: Review articles Magazine Articles: Articles on Ear in N Eng J Med, Lancet, BMJ In the NEWS: Ear in the news Scientific articles: Cochrane Collaboration Clinical trials for Ear: Ongoing Trials on Ear Trial results on Ear Clinical Trials on Ear at Google

Media & Blogs Media articles for Ear: Commentary Powerpoint slides Videos Books and news: Books on Ear BLOGS: Blogs on Ear Patient resources: Patient resources Commentary FAQ PDF files

Social media - Ear

Frequently Asked Questions

• Have question on Ear? Ask in the Question portal.
• FAQ's on Ear
• Frequently Asked Questions

External articles

• Read Wikipedia's article on Ear

• UpToDate on Ear

• Medline Plus Ear

Help WikiMD

Find something you can improve? Join WikiMD as an an editor and help improve this page or others.

WikiMD is a free medical encyclopedia and wellnesspedia moderated by medical professionals.