Ear Conditions

This page features links to information from the NHS on common ear conditions. You can read general overviews of earache, hearing problems, vertigo and dizziness, and facial palsy, and find more details on specific conditions that can cause these problems.

Earache

• Earwax build-up (Cerumen impaction)
• Ear infection
• Hole in the eardrum (Perforated tympanic membrane)
• Throat infections (Pharyngitis, tonsillitis, laryngitis)
• Jaw problems (Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction)

Hearing Problems

• Hearing Loss
• Hearing tests
• Hearing tests for children
• Glue ear(Otitis media with effusion)
• Cholesteatoma (Skin trapped behind the eardrum)
• Otosclerosis (Stiffening of the bones of the middle ear)
• Tinnitus (Hearing sound from inside the body)
• Hyperacusis (Intolerance to everyday sounds)
• Auditory processing disorder (The brain not processing sounds in the normal way)

Vertigo

• Lightheadedness / dizziness
• Labyrinthitis (Inner ear infection)
• Vestibular Neuronitis (Infection of the balance nerve of the ear)
• Meniere's disease
• Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV)
• Migraine

Facial (Bell's) palsy

Ramsay-Hunt syndrome (Shingles affecting the nerves to the ear and the face)