Timpanosclerosis or sclerotitis is a disease in which the connective tissue grows in the mucosa of the middle ear. Then scar tissue undergoes hyalinosis, with such a process occurs protein dystrophy with the deposition of hyaline - a dense transparent mass of lipids, plasma proteins and mucopolysaccharides.
The connective tissue also undergoes calcification and ossification. A complex of pathological processes leads to damage to the sound-conducting apparatus of the ears, causes deafness. Timpanosclerosis is one of the completed forms of fibrosing middle otitis media.
Timpanosclerosis
Timpanosclerosis is a consequence of catarrhal inflammation of the serous type of the mucous membrane of the tympanic membrane.
When the disease forms white plaques, they are sharply limited and located locally in the window of the vestibule, the upper part of the promontory, the eardrum, the cave.
Causes of
The exact causes of the development of the disease have not been identified to date. There are suggestions that changes in the tympanic cavity can be formed against the background of allergic reactions that occur with inflammation of the middle ear.
Since other effects of purulent otitis occur much more often, otosurgeons treat tympanosclerosis as a special type of complication.
When the disease develops, the mucosa of the middle ear becomes denser, with disturbances related to the vibrational capacity of the tympanic membrane, spikes form in the region of the drum, they impede the mobility of the auditory ossicles.
Other risk factors:
- obstruction of the auditory tube;
- infectious processes in the lymphadenoid tissue;
- propensity to transform connective tissue into cicatricial sclerotic;
- a metabolic disorder, a high concentration of urea and cholesterol in the blood;
- inflammatory processes of the upper respiratory tract.
Symptoms and methods of diagnosis
The main symptom of the disease is persistent hearing loss, provided that purulent currents from the ear are absent. In the tympanic membrane a perforation is formed, its edges are thickened, the doctor can see the layers, and in some cases even an atrophic scar.
Treatment of
Before the appointment of a doctor, the doctor necessarily assesses the condition of the nasal passages and pharynx. In the early stages, patients are shown conservative treatment, in neglected cases it is possible to get rid of tympanosclerosis only with the help of a surgical operation.
Conservative therapy
The main component of conservative treatment is not medication, but physiological procedures.
The patient can purge the auditory tube, massage the eardrum to divert the deposits.
Endaural phonophoresis of lidase, UHF therapy, electrophoresis, ultrasonic massage are also methods.
The patient is administered vitreous, cocarboxylase and aloe parenteral, i.e.ways that do not affect the digestive tract, inside appoint antihistamines to eliminate allergic reactions.
Surgical treatment
The type of surgery depends on the prevalence of the pathology, the degree of destruction of the tympanic membrane and auditory ossicles. The surgeon removes the layers, trying to minimize the healthy tissues.
After operation, the mobility of the auditory ossicles is restored in most cases. Timpanosclerosis recurs rarely .
Consequences of
Consequences after surgery:
- paresis or paralysis of the facial nerve on the side on which surgery is being performed;
- taste disorder;
- tinnitus;
- vestibular disorders( nausea and vomiting, dizziness, unstable gait);
- headaches.
Watch a video on the development of hearing loss as one of the symptoms of tympanosclerosis:
Prevention
The main prevention of tympanosclerosis is the adequate and timely treatment of inflammation of the middle ear - otitis media. It is also important in time to treat all diseases and eliminate allergies.