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Otology & Neurotology : Official... Jan 2023
Topics: Child; Humans; Teratoma; Ear, Middle
PubMed: 36166983
DOI: 10.1097/MAO.0000000000003708 -
Frontiers in Bioscience (Landmark... Jan 2011The middle ear is a composite organ formed from all three germ layers and the neural crest. It provides the link between the outside world and the inner ear, where sound... (Review)
Review
The middle ear is a composite organ formed from all three germ layers and the neural crest. It provides the link between the outside world and the inner ear, where sound is transduced and routed to the brain for processing. Extensive classical and modern studies have described the complex morphology and origin of the middle ear. Non-mammalian vertebrates have a single ossicle, the columella. Mammals have three functionally equivalent ossicles, designated the malleus, incus and stapes. In this review, I focus on the role of genes known to function in the middle ear. Genetic studies are beginning to unravel the induction and patterning of the multiple middle ear elements including the tympanum, skeletal elements, the air-filled cavity, and the insertion point into the inner ear oval window. Future studies that elucidate the integrated spatio-temporal signaling mechanisms required to pattern the middle ear organ system are needed. The longer-term translational benefits of understanding normal and abnormal ear development will have a direct impact on human health outcomes.
Topics: Amphibians; Animals; Birds; Chondrogenesis; Ear, Middle; Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition; Eustachian Tube; Humans; Mammals; Neural Crest; Organogenesis; Osteogenesis; Reptiles; Signal Transduction; Tympanic Membrane
PubMed: 21196256
DOI: 10.2741/3813 -
Postgraduate Medicine Aug 1994In an era when air travel is commonplace, middle ear block is not unusual. Educating patients about the simple techniques they can perform at the first signs of a... (Review)
Review
In an era when air travel is commonplace, middle ear block is not unusual. Educating patients about the simple techniques they can perform at the first signs of a problem may save a business trip or vacation from becoming a trip to the emergency department and a train ride home. The most important preventive measure is to avoid flying when symptoms of upper respiratory tract infection are present. When this is not possible, passengers should yawn, swallow, or chew to relieve pressure in the middle ear. Use of the Valsalva maneuver and decongestants or antihistamines may be helpful. Serve or unremitting ear block may require the use of the Politzer bag or a myringotomy.
Topics: Aerospace Medicine; Barotrauma; Child, Preschool; Ear, Middle; Humans; Infant; Respiratory Tract Infections; Valsalva Maneuver
PubMed: 8041680
DOI: No ID Found -
Acta Oto-rhino-laryngologica Belgica 1994The mechanisms which govern under normal conditions the balance of middle ear pressure are discussed. The regular periodic active process of gas transfer through the... (Review)
Review
The mechanisms which govern under normal conditions the balance of middle ear pressure are discussed. The regular periodic active process of gas transfer through the Eustachian tube, the steady gas diffusion between middle ear and blood compartment and finally the pressure buffer role played by the mastoid are successively considered.
Topics: Diffusion; Ear, Middle; Eustachian Tube; Gases; Humans; Mastoid; Mucous Membrane; Pressure
PubMed: 7810303
DOI: No ID Found -
Clinical Reviews in Allergy Nov 1984
Comparative Study Review
Topics: Adult; Child; Ear, Middle; Humans; Infant, Newborn; Mucous Membrane
PubMed: 6388791
DOI: No ID Found -
HNO Apr 2023Hemangiomas in the pediatric middle ear are a rare occurrence. We present the case of a 3-year-old boy with unilateral hearing impairment and recurrent otitis media...
Hemangiomas in the pediatric middle ear are a rare occurrence. We present the case of a 3-year-old boy with unilateral hearing impairment and recurrent otitis media with effusion due to a hemangioma in the middle ear. This caused a venous sinus thrombosis, osteomyelitis, and mastoiditis. Interdisciplinary treatment was performed. This case shows that even benign lesions in the middle ear can cause severe, life-threatening complications due to the close proximity of important anatomic structures in the middle ear. Every case of asymmetric hearing loss should thus be examined in detail.
Topics: Male; Child; Humans; Child, Preschool; Ear, Middle; Otitis Media; Hearing Loss; Hemangioma; Otitis Media with Effusion
PubMed: 36635394
DOI: 10.1007/s00106-022-01261-y -
HNO Jun 2023Congenital aural atresia, which is usually unilateral, causes hearing loss and aesthetic impairment. Besides tympanoplasty with/without canalplasty and bone conduction... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Congenital aural atresia, which is usually unilateral, causes hearing loss and aesthetic impairment. Besides tympanoplasty with/without canalplasty and bone conduction devices, active middle ear implants are also available for functional rehabilitation.
OBJECTIVE
This article aims to present a contemporary review on the treatment possibilities for middle ear malformations, with a focus on audiological rehabilitation with the Vibrant Soundbridge.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
A selective literature search for treatment possibilities was performed in PubMed up to October 2020, and personal clinical experiences are reported.
RESULTS
The Vibrant Soundbridge, which is approved for children ≥ 5 years, is suitable for treatment of middle ear malformations with a Jahrsdoerfer score ≥ 5. Although implantation of a Vibrant Soundbridge is surgically more demanding than implantation of a bone conduction device, the method is safe, delivers good auditory results (superior to bone conduction devices in terms of speech understanding and spatial hearing), does not involve intensive postsurgical care, and rarely requires revision surgery. The Vibrant Soundbridge can be coupled to (remnants of) the ossicular chain or the round window.
CONCLUSION
The Vibrant Soundbridge is an appropriate treatment method in patients with middle ear malformations who have suitable anatomical preconditions.
Topics: Child; Humans; Treatment Outcome; Ear; Hearing; Ossicular Prosthesis; Ear, Middle
PubMed: 33599810
DOI: 10.1007/s00106-021-01004-5 -
Developmental Biology Mar 2001The middle ear allows animals to hear while moving in an aerial medium. It is composed of a cavity harbouring a chain of three ossicles that transmit vibrations produced... (Review)
Review
The middle ear allows animals to hear while moving in an aerial medium. It is composed of a cavity harbouring a chain of three ossicles that transmit vibrations produced by airborne sound in the tympanic membrane into the inner ear, where they are converted into neural impulses. The middle ear develops in the branchial arches, and this requires sequential interactions between the epithelia and the underlying mesenchyme. Gene-inactivation experiments have identified genes required for the formation of different middle ear components. Some encode for signalling molecules, including Endothelin1 and Fgf8, probable mediators of epithelial-mesenchymal interactions. Other genes, including Eya1, Prx1, Hoxa1, Hoxa2, Dlx1, Dlx2, Dlx5, and Gsc, are most likely involved in patterning and morphogenetic processes in the neural crest-derived mesenchyme. Mechanisms controlling formation of a functional tympanic membrane are also discussed. Basically, the tympanic ring, which serves as support for the tympanic membrane, directs invagination of the first pharyngeal cleft ectoderm to form the external acoustic meatus (EAM), which provides the outer layer of the membrane. Gsc and Prx1 are essential for tympanic ring development. While invaginating, the EAM controls skeletogenesis in the underlying mesenchyme to form the manubrium of the malleus, the link between the membrane and the middle ear ossicles.
Topics: Animals; Ear, Middle; Endothelin-1; Fibroblast Growth Factor 8; Fibroblast Growth Factors; Goosecoid Protein; Homeodomain Proteins; Humans; Models, Biological; Peroxidases; Repressor Proteins; Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; Signal Transduction; Time Factors; Transcription Factors
PubMed: 11237469
DOI: 10.1006/dbio.2001.0154 -
Otolaryngology--head and Neck Surgery :... Apr 1997
Review
Topics: Barotrauma; Carbon Dioxide; Diffusion; Ear Diseases; Ear, Middle; Eustachian Tube; Humans; Mastoid; Mucociliary Clearance; Mucous Membrane; Nasopharynx; Otitis Media; Oxygen Consumption; Pressure; Regional Blood Flow; Tympanic Membrane
PubMed: 9141402
DOI: 10.1016/S0194-59989770302-4 -
Journal of Anatomy May 2020The pink fairy armadillo Chlamyphorus truncatus is the smallest extant armadillo and one of the least-known fossorial mammals. The aim of this study was to establish if... (Comparative Study)
Comparative Study
The pink fairy armadillo Chlamyphorus truncatus is the smallest extant armadillo and one of the least-known fossorial mammals. The aim of this study was to establish if its middle ear is specially adapted to the subterranean environment, through comparison with more epigeic relatives of the groups Euphractinae (Chaetophractus villosus, Chaetophractus vellerosus, Zaedyus pichiy) and Dasypodinae (Dasypus hybridus). We examined the middle ears using micro-computed tomography and subsequent three-dimensional reconstructions. D. hybridus has a relatively small middle ear cavity, an incomplete bulla and 'ancestral' ossicular morphology. The other species, including Chlamyphorus, have fully ossified bullae and middle ear ossicles, with a morphology between 'transitional' and 'freely mobile', but in all armadillos the malleus retains a long anterior process. Unusual features of armadillo ears include the lack of a pedicellate lenticular apophysis and the presence, in some species, of an element of Paaw within the stapedius muscle. In common with many subterranean mammals, Chlamyphorus has a relatively flattened malleo-incudal articulation and appears to lack a functional tensor tympani muscle. Its middle ear cavity is not unusually enlarged, and its middle ear ossicles seem less robust than those of the other armadillos studied. In comparison with the euphractines, there is no reason to believe that the middle ear of this species is specially adapted to the subterranean environment; some aspects may even be indicative of degeneration. The screaming hairy armadillo, Chaetophractus vellerosus, has the most voluminous middle ear in both relative and absolute terms. Its hypertrophied middle ear cavity likely represents an adaptation to low-frequency hearing in arid rather than subterranean conditions.
Topics: Animals; Armadillos; Ear Ossicles; Ear, Middle; X-Ray Microtomography
PubMed: 31997377
DOI: 10.1111/joa.13146