A large difference in pressure will cause discomfort and even slight pain. The limited vibration results in a slight reduction in hearing ability. If the pressure is not equalised, a pressure will build up on the eardrum, preventing it from vibrating properly. The swallowing action will force the tube connecting the palate with the ear to open, thus equalising the pressure.īuilt-up pressure in the ear may occur in situations where the pressure on the inside of the eardrum is different from that on the outside of the eardrum. In most cases the pressure is equalised automatically, but if this does not occur, it can be brought about by making an energetic swallowing action. The tube opens when you swallow, thus equalising the air pressure inside and outside the ear. The Eustachian tube’s function is to equalise the air pressure on both sides of the eardrum, ensuring that pressure does not build up in the ear. It connects the ear with the rearmost part of the palate. What is the Eustachian tube? Another important middle ear function is carried out by the Eustachian tube, which is also found in the middle ear. In doing so, it allows fluid in the cochlea to move. In the middle ear, the round window vibrates in opposite phase to vibrations entering the inner ear through the oval window. The same principle applies when a person wearing a shoe with a sharp stiletto heel steps on your foot: The small surface of the heel causes much more pain than a flat shoe with a larger surface would. The pressure is increased due to the difference in size between the relatively large surface of the eardrum and the smaller surface of the oval window. The pressure of the sound waves on the oval window is some 20 times higher than on the eardrum. When the sound waves are transmitted from the eardrum to the oval window, the middle ear is functioning as an acoustic transformer amplifying the sound waves before they move on into the inner ear. When the eardrum vibrates, the sound waves are transferred to the middle ear bones and travel via the hammer and anvil to the stirrup and then on to the oval window. What is the oval window? In the middle ear, the oval window is a membrane covering the entrance to the cochlea in the inner ear. These three middle ear bones form a kind of bridge, and the stirrup, which is the last bone that sounds reach, is connected to the oval window. The vibrations are transmitted further into the ear via three bones in the middle ear: the hammer (malleus), the anvil (incus) and the stirrup (stapes). Unilateral hearing loss - Single sided deafness.
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