Have you ever wondered how the human body is capable of standing on two legs? While standing up seem so simple we take it for granted, it is entirely reliant on our adaptive ability to balance ourselves, a skill that rests largely in the elegant anatomy of the inner ear.
The inner ear is home to some of the most important - and delicate - parts of our senses. Tiny sensory hair cells line the inner ear canal and are the direct biomechanics we use to translate soundwaves in the air into signals for the brain. The inner ear also houses a suite of bones and tissues responsible for our sense of balance.
A Tour of the Inner Ear
Within the inner ear, the area that functions as the body’s balance center is called the labyrinth. The labyrinth is comprised from three main parts: the cochlea, the otolithic organs and the semicircular canals. Each of these structures has an important role in how our body stabilizes and orients itself to its surroundings, as well as how we perform complex feats of balance like dancing or running.
The cochlea is where the hair cells involved in auditory sensation reside. These tiny and fragile cells bend when they encounter pressure from incoming sound waves and send signals to the brain that we then interpret as the act of hearing. Our hearing is so finely calibrated that we use the small differences in timing between when a sound wave reaches our left and right ear to triangulate the directionality of a noise.
The otolithic organs and the semicircular canals are also lined with tiny sensitive hair cells. These structures are partially filled with fluid and the hair cells sense when the fluid moves, and calibrate the motion to a change in balance and position. Each of the three semicircular canals arcs out in a different direction, like the three axes of a cube, and detects motion in a distinct direction - side-to-side, up-and-down, and angle tilt. The otolithic organs are sac-like and positioned in such a way to be attuned to movement forward and backward as well as up and down. Combined, these tiny structures of the inner ear give us a comprehensive and instantly responsive sense of balance.
Balance and Hearing Issues
Both balance and hearing have fundamental sensory structures in the inner ear, also known as the vestibular system. Balance and hearing are reliant on the sensitivity of small and fragile hair cells to translate the physical world to our cognitive center, the brain.
Signs of balance problems are most often dizziness, nausea and vertigo. Hearing problems are most often defined by hearing loss. Hearing issues can exist without affecting balance, and balance problems can arise even when hearing loss is not present. With the two sensory systems so close together in the body, however, it should come as no surprise that sometimes problems with balance and hearing can be related.
Meniere’s disease and labyrinthitis are two health issues that are marked by both hearing and balance symptoms. Meniere’s disease is caused by an unusual buildup of pressure in the labyrinth of the ear, resulting in extreme vertigo and sudden hearing loss. Meniere’s disease usually manifests only on a single side of the head and while it can be managed with medication, there is no definitive cure.
Labyrinthitis is the name for infections of the inner ear. In addition to symptoms of dizziness and hearing difficulty, swelling caused by labyrinthitis can be physically painful. Most labyrinthitis can be treated and cured, restoring hearing and balance. Extreme infections may have permanent or long-lasting effects however, even after the infection itself has been cleared.
Hart Hearing and Balance Centers
Hearing and balance work alongside each other in our vestibular system, and that’s where our expertise at Hart Hearing and Balance Centers comes into play. We specialize in diagnosing and treating balance disorders as well as our comprehensive care for hearing loss and other auditory problems. Not only do we provide expert care, we can also help identify when balance and hearing problems are affecting one another. Understanding the full vestibular system allows us to provide you with nuanced, personalized care and fine-tuned treatment for all your hearing health and balance concerns.