#AUDITORY CANAL FUNCTION SKIN#

You should tell your doctor about any changes to a sore or mole, such as the mole growing, itching, or bleeding. Most squamous cell cancers are pink lumps that have a hard scaly surface. The main symptom is a spot or sore on the ear flap that doesn’t heal within 4 weeks.

The symptoms of ear cancer depend on where the tumour is within the ear. Some doctors think that the human papilloma virus (HPV) may be responsible for some middle ear cancers.Īnother risk factor is the possibility of cancers developing in the ear after radiotherapy to the head and neck.įor both of these more research is needed to give doctors more information. Inner ear cancer is also rare, the causes are not yet fully known. Or cancers from the parotid gland or lymph nodes around the ear can spread to the temporal bone.

The possible causes are cancers extending from the ear flap. Cancer of the temporal bone and inner earĬancer of the temporal bone is rare. Doctors are not yet clear why this happens. People with a history of repeated ear infections over a long time have a higher risk of developing cancer in the middle ear. Risk factors for cancer of the ear flap include: The cause of ear cancer is largely unknown. They also contain the inner ear and the nerves that control the movement of the face and tongue. The outside of the mastoid bone is a hard solid bone but inside is bone that is shaped like honeycomb. It is the lumpy bit you can feel behind your ear. One part of the temporal bone is called the mastoid bone. The temporal bone is part of the skull above the ear. The ear canal, middle ear and inner ear are all within the temporal bone. The bone that surrounds the ear is called the temporal bone. The inner ear also has a number of fluid filled cavities which help us to balance. It converts the vibrations from the middle ear into nerve impulses which then travel to the brain. The cochlea has lots of tiny hair-like nerves on it. It also contains a small spiral tube called the cochlea. These pass on the vibrations from the eardrum to the inner ear. The middle ear is a small cavity that contains 3 small bones: the hammer (malleus), the anvil (incus) and the stirrup (stapes). It is part of the outer ear, but the stages, symptoms, and treatment of ear canal cancer are different to other cancers of the outer ear. The ear canal is the passage running from the outer ear to the middle ear. The eardrum vibrates when a sound is made. It protects the rest of the ear and helps us collect sound. The outer ear is the part of the ear we can see. The earĪnother important part is the bone that surrounds and protects the ear (the temporal bone).

#AUDITORY CANAL FUNCTION SKIN#

Between 6 and 10 out of 100 skin cancers (between 6 and 10%) develop on the outer ear.Ĭancers that develop inside the ear (the middle and inner ear) are rare. Most of these cancers start in the skin of the outer ear. Those who aren't able to balance are more likely to have falls, which is why it's so important to take care of your ears and your hearing, and to get help when needed.Ear cancer is when abnormal cells in the ear start to grow and divide in an uncontrolled way. 2-4Īs well as brain function and communication, our ears also affect our ability to balance. Because the brain is the interpreter of sound, when someone loses hearing function, the connections in the brain that respond to sound are not reorganized. Older people with hearing loss are more likely to develop problems, such as thinking and remembering, compared to those with normal hearing. Although hearing isn’t the only way we communicate, hearing loss will affect how a person communicates and speaks. It’s also an important part of learning to talk as children learn by mimicking sounds they hear. Hearing is the first line of developing communication skills.įor children, hearing is how they learn to recognize a parent-babies begin to notice sounds while still in the womb. 1 Hearing, communication and brain function Being able to hear with both ears makes it easier to understand speech and tell where sounds are coming from. We have two ears to help improve our ability to locate sound, distribute volume to better tolerate loud sounds, as well as to enjoy a better quality of sound (like hearing in ‘stereo’). The brain uses these pairs to coordinate and improve how the body works. The human body is a network of pairs: we have two eyes, ears, nostrils, arms, hands, feet and legs.

Auditory canal function