Primary care doctors often diagnose and treat disorders involving the ear, nose, and throat, but doctors called otolaryngologists or otorhinolaryngologists are the ones who specialize in such disorders. The ears, nose, and throat have separate but related functions. The ears and nose are sensory organs, which are necessary for the senses of hearing, balance, and smell. The throat mainly functions as a pathway through which food and fluids travel to the esophagus (the hollow tube that leads from the throat to the stomach) and air passes to the lungs.
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Ear, Nose, and Throat Disorders
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Biology of the Ears, Nose, and Throat
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Symptoms of Ear Disorders
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Symptoms of Nose and Throat Disorders
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Hearing Loss and Deafness
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Inner Ear Disorders
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Middle Ear Disorders
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Mouth and Throat Disorders
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Mouth, Nose, and Throat Cancers
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Nose and Sinus Disorders
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Outer Ear Disorders
Ear, Nose, and Throat Disorders Sections (A-Z)
Biology of the Ears, Nose, and Throat
Hearing Loss and Deafness
More than 10% of people in the United States have some degree of hearing loss that affects their daily communication, making it the most common sensory disorder. The incidence increases with age. Although less than 2% of children under 18 have a permanent hearing loss (see Hearing Impairment in Children), hearing loss during infancy and early childhood can be detrimental to language and social development. Over one third of people over 65 years and over half of people over age 75 are affected.
Inner Ear Disorders
Middle Ear Disorders
The middle ear consists of the eardrum (tympanic membrane) and an air-filled chamber containing a chain of three bones (ossicles) that connect the eardrum to the inner ear (see Middle Ear). The middle ear acts as an amplifier of sound, whereas the inner ear acts as a transducer, changing mechanical sound waves into an electrical signal that is sent to the brain via the nerve of hearing (statoacoustic nerve).
Mouth and Throat Disorders
Mouth, Nose, and Throat Cancers
Cancers of the mouth, nose, and throat develop in almost 65,000 people in the United States each year. These cancers are more common among men because male smokers continue to outnumber female smokers and because oral human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is more frequent in males. Most affected people are between the ages of 50 and 70. However, the cancers caused by HPV, which are primarily oropharyngeal cancers, occur more often in younger people.
Nose and Sinus Disorders
The upper part of the nose consists mostly of bone. The lower part of the nose gains its support from cartilage. Inside the nose is a hollow cavity (nasal cavity), which is divided into two passages by a thin sheet of cartilage and bone called the nasal septum. The bones of the face contain the paranasal sinuses, which are hollow cavities that open into the nasal cavity (see Nose and Sinuses).
Outer Ear Disorders
Symptoms of Ear Disorders
Earache usually occurs in only one ear. Some people also have ear discharge or, rarely, hearing loss.
Symptoms of Nose and Throat Disorders
Some people get nosebleeds (epistaxis) rather often, and others rarely get them. There may be just a trickle of blood or a strong stream. If people swallow the blood, they often vomit it because blood is irritating to the stomach. Swallowed blood may pass through the digestive tract and appear in the stool as black tarry stools.
Also of Interest
Test your knowledge
Which of the following is the function of the larynx?
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