Free Educational App Demonstrating How Inner Ear Balance Works in Conjunction with Eye Movements

aVOR app in the app store Australian researchers have created a free educational app that attempts to demonstrate how the inner ear balance system works and its relationship with eye movement. The app, called aVOR ( a ngular V estibular O cular R eflex), is available for download to tablets and smartphones. The neat thing about this app is that one can manually toggle settings specifying whether there is dysfunction present and where it is present. Once settings have been set, one can t…

3/30/2018 0

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Where Does Tinnitus Come From? Ear or Brain?

It is invariable that when a patient comes to an ENT office complaining of tinnitus or ringing of the ears that only they can hear, that they feel this problem stems from purely an inner ear problem. However, the truth is WAY more complicated in that this phantom ringing actually comes more from the brain rather than the ear and as such, treatment (if any possible) is geared more towards the brain rather than the ear. The analogy I often use to explain this phenomenon is phantom limb pain.…

1/22/2016 1

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Inner Ear Disease Possible Cause for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)?

Image courtesy of Tuomas_Lehtinen at  FreeDigitalPhotos.net A loyal blog reader alerted me to an interesting research suggesting that inner ear disease may be a causative factor of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Apparently this association  made the news in April 2015. SIDS is when a baby without any obvious health issues inexplicably and suddenly dies while sleeping. This risk is mainly present within the first 12 months of life. Although all new parents are informed to institute…

7/24/2015 0

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Video of Cochlear Hydrops (What Happens in the Inner Ear)

This video  demonstrates what is thought to occur in  Cochlear Hydrops  within the inner ear. It is hypothesized that  Cochlear Hydrops  is due to an excessive amount of fluid buildup within the endolymphatic chamber causing symptoms of  tinnitus  and  ear fullness . No dizziness is present.

2/11/2015 0

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Video of Meniere's Disease (What Happens in the Inner Ear)

This is the sixth and last in a series of videos our practice has produced on inner ear dizziness.  This video  demonstrates what is thought to occur in Meniere's Disease within the inner ear. It is hypothesized that Meniere's Disease is due to an excessive amount of fluid buildup within the endolymphatic chamber causing symptoms of tinnitus and ear fullness . When this chamber ruptures, spinning dizziness , also known as vertigo, results. Once the rupture has healed, hearing and b…

2/06/2015 0

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How Alcohol Intoxication Causes Inner Ear Dizziness ("The Spins")

Image courtesy of thephotoholic at  FreeDigitalPhotos.net Alcohol can affect a person's balance via poisoning brain receptors especially in the cerebellum as well as altering the density of fluids within the inner ear. Given this is an ENT blog, the following discussion focuses mainly on alcohol's affect on the inner ear causing dizziness . Normally, blood that enters the inner ear has the same density as the endolymphatic fluid that is normally contained within the inner ear com…

1/01/2015 0

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Video on How the Dix-Hallpike Maneuver Diagnoses BPPV Dizziness

This is the second in a series of videos our practice is producing on inner ear dizziness.  This video  demonstrates how the  Dix-Hallpike maneuver  is performed to diagnose  BPPV . Also demonstrated are the different types of eye-twitching (nystagmus) that suggests what type of BPPV a patient may have. The first video was on  how the inner ear balance system works  which can be watched  here . Soon to come are videos specifically regarding treatment of  BPPV . Watch this  video !���������…

9/21/2014 1

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Video on How the Inner Ear Balance System Works

This is the first in a series of videos our practice is producing on how the inner ear balance system works (and when it doesn't) geared towards the lay public and general patient education. Soon to come are videos specifically regarding treatment of BPPV . Watch this video on YouTube .

9/14/2014 0

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Dizziness and Imbalance in Kids

Dizziness is not the easiest thing to figure out in adults. It is even more difficult to figure out in kids who may not have the vocabulary to explain what they feel. Regardless of adult or child, a good history is required to help narrow down possibilities. A flowchart of questions to help come up with a diagnosis can be found  here . Given that, a review article published in 2014 went over the most likely diagnosis of a child who is dizzy. Based on 724 subjects over 10 studies, benign …

4/17/2014 0

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How Ears Tune In and Out Certain Sounds

Ever wonder how humans with normal hearing are able to "hear" what one person is saying in a crowded room where many people are talking? How is it that the ear is able to tune in and out of conversations going around, especially when everybody in a room is talking equally loud? To understand this ear "tuning" ability, one needs to first understand that the ear incorporates two "aspects" that allow for good hearing: a volume knob and an antenna. Should the volum…

3/21/2014 0

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Rush Limbaugh Has a Cochlear Implant

Infamous conservative talk show host, Rush Limbaugh, suffered from a rare hearing disorder called Autoimmune Inner Ear Disease . This rare inner ear disease is principally characterized by progressive bilateral fluctuating hearing loss and occurs when the body's own immune system starts to attack the hearing mechanism of the ear... much like rheumatoid arthritis is when the body's immune system attacks the joints. Just as with any other auto-immune disorder, it is mainly treated wit…

3/04/2012 0

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MRI Scans CAN Cause Vertigo

Researchers at Johns Hopkins published a study that reports that MRI scans CAN cause feelings of dizziness induced by magnetic fields causing motion of the electrically charged fluid of the inner ear. In both ears, there is a "gyroscope" called the labyrinth. Whenever the head turns or a force like gravity is exerted on this system, fluid moves within which tells the brain that motion has occurred. It's much like looking into a glass of water and based on the way the water t…

9/27/2011 1

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