Clinical Area
Otology
Modern diagnosis and management of tinnitus, vertigo, hearing loss, and middle-ear disease.
Which conditions does otology cover?
Otology is the medical and surgical care of the ear and balance system. Tinnitus, vertigo (BPPV, Ménière's), hearing loss, otitis media, cholesteatoma, otosclerosis, and tympanic-membrane perforation are the most common conditions. Modern otology uses audiometry, tympanometry, a vestibular-test battery, and MRI as needed for multimodal diagnosis.
Standard elements of an otology assessment
History + otoscopy + audiometry are standard for everyone. With vertigo we add Dix-Hallpike, head-impulse, and videonystagmography when needed. With tinnitus, the frequency profile of associated hearing loss matters.
Treatment options include medical (vestibular suppressants, betahistine, corticosteroid), positional manoeuvres (Epley), and where indicated, surgery (ventilation tube, mastoidectomy, stapedectomy, cochlear implant).
Sub-topics
Frequently Asked Questions
- The most common causes are noise-induced hearing loss, age-related hearing loss, otosclerosis, and rarely acoustic neuroma. Audiometry + MRI if indicated.
- Sudden onset lasting minutes to hours, with vomiting and accompanied by neurologic findings (double vision, speech change, facial weakness) requires urgent assessment.
- No. BPPV resolves in 85–90% of cases with Epley/Semont manoeuvres. Surgery is rarely needed.
- Bilateral effusion lasting 3+ months, 4+ acute episodes in 6 months, or hearing loss with speech delay are tube indications.
- Adults and children with severe-to-profound sensorineural hearing loss who do not benefit adequately from hearing aids. Multidisciplinary evaluation.
- In some cases, treating the underlying cause resolves it. In most chronic tinnitus, the target is habituation and quality-of-life improvement, not cure.
References
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