Otosclerosis

Otosclerosis usually occurs in people during their teens or early years and causes ear bone degeneration, the sound conducting bones of the ear will start to change in consistency from hard bone to soft bone tissue. This degeneration will then cause a build-up of excess bone tissue around a bone in the middle ear called the stapes. When this happens the stapes won’t move as it should but instead becomes immobile, when this happens it can’t vibrate as it normally does and this affects the hearing.

A person who has problems with sound being prevented from being conducted to the inner ear is said to have a conductive hearing loss. If the nerve associated with hearing is also affected with Otosclerosis then this causes sensorineural hearing loss. The exact cause of nerve damage associated with this disease isn’t quite known but it is thought that toxic enzymes released into the cochlear are one of the reasons.

Symptoms of Otosclerosis

The disease can affect either ears or just one ear and the hearing loss will be a gradual process, due to this almost 90% of all people who suffer from the disease didn’t realise they had a problem until someone else brought it up. Roughly three quarters of all the people affected will also suffer from the problem tinnitus, which can take on the form of a roaring, hissing, whooshing or ringing sound in either one or both ears.

The tinnitus may be more severe if the Otosclerosis has affected the nerve. An audiologist will perform several different hearing tests in order to determine the extent of the damage to the hearing and these will include audiometry, tympanometry and tuning fork tests.

Treatment for Otosclerosis

A surgical procedure which is called a stapedectomy will be performed to replace the stapes which has been affected with an artificial one, once this has been performed then usually you will regain your hearing.

Other treatment options available for it are sodium fluoride therapy or wearing a hearing aid. Sodium fluoride when taken orally can help to stabilise the loss of hearing and this is thought to work in about 80% of people affected by the disease. It helps by reducing bone absorption and enhancing calcium in new bone, the sodium fluoride is also thought to help with tinnitus.

Your doctor will usually suggest a dose of between 20 to 40 mg per day of sodium fluoride however it can cause side effects and symptoms such as a rash, gastrointestinal problems and arthritis are all known problems associated with taking sodium fluoride.