Contents:
- Medical Video: Young man's rare inner ear tumor removed by Loyola Medicine ENT specialist
- What is cholesteatoma?
- What causes the growth of a benign tumor in the middle ear?
- What are the symptoms if cholesteatoma occurs?
- Untreated, cholesteatoma can cause complications
- How to treat cholesteatoma?
- Can cholesteatoma be prevented?
Medical Video: Young man's rare inner ear tumor removed by Loyola Medicine ENT specialist
Ears are very important for human life. Not only as a listener's senses, the ears also play a role in maintaining body balance. One of the disorders that causes the ability of the ear to decline, even permanently damaged is cholesteatoma. What, really, is cholesteatoma? Come on, find out more about the disease in the following review.
What is cholesteatoma?
Cholesteatoma is the growth of a benign tumor in the area of the middle ear or behind the eardrum. This condition may occur due to birth defects, but generally occurs in people who experience recurrent middle ear infections.
The formation of a benign tumor is caused by the growth of cysts accompanied by accumulation of dead skin cells, mucus, or earwax. The buildup then grows bigger and can destroy the bone structure in the middle ear. If this happens, this disease can disrupt the function of the ears, balance the body, and also the muscles around the face.
What causes the growth of a benign tumor in the middle ear?
In addition to recurrent ear infections, cholesteatoma can also occur due to disruption of eustachian tube function. The esutachius tube is a channel connecting the middle ear with the nasal passages.
Normally, the eusachius tube will open and close to equalize the air pressure between the outer and inner ears. However, its function can be disrupted due to infection. Some conditions that cause the eustachian tube to not function properly and risk causing cholesteatoma are:
- Severe flu or cold
- Sinusitis
- Middle ear infection (otitis media)
- Allergy
All of the above conditions can cause more mucus production in the respiratory tract. Extra mucus can spread to the middle ear canal area through the ostia, accumulate in the eustachian tube, attract bacteria to multiply and cause infection.
What are the symptoms if cholesteatoma occurs?
The main symptom that you need to be aware of from cholesteatoma is the presence of mucus in the ear. This indicates that the tumor begins to enlarge.
If the tumor has attacked the middle ear, smelly mucus will flow out of the ear. You will feel pressure around the ear and it is difficult to hear properly. Other symptoms are itching in the area of the ear accompanied by a headache and pain behind the ear. In some cases, this condition can cause facial muscle stiffness.
If you feel the initial symptoms and do not know the cause, immediately see a doctor. Don't underestimate symptoms and delay treatment because it can worsen your condition.
Untreated, cholesteatoma can cause complications
Reporting from the Healthline page, untreated cholestomas will continue to grow and increase mucus in the ear. The dirty environment becomes a place where bacteria and fungi reproduce well so that it easily infects the ears.
Repeated inflammation can destroy the bone structure that forms the middle ear and damages the eardrum. This condition makes the inner ear swell and will eventually cause permanent deafness. If left unchecked, the infection can spread to damage the nerves around the face. In fact, spreading to the brain area causes meningitis or the formation of pus-filled lumps in the brain.
How to treat cholesteatoma?
There is no definite specific health test to diagnose cholesteatoma. So, patients have to do imaging tests and physical examinations. If the patient has been diagnosed, the only treatment that must be performed by cholesteatoma patients is surgical removal of the tumor.
Patients will be given antibiotics and ear drops to kill germs and fungi to prevent recurrent infections, reduce inflammation, and normalize ear fluids. After surgery, the patient must check his health regularly to ensure that the tumor will not form again. Patients will also receive guidance on how to maintain and maintain postoperative ear health.
However, surgery will be performed again if cholesteatoma has caused the destruction of the middle ear forming bone. Surgery is performed to reshape the ear bone to its original shape. After surgery the patient may feel a sense of dizziness or sense of sensation for several days due to the operating procedure.
Can cholesteatoma be prevented?
Although the impact decreases the quality of life, this disease cannot be prevented. So, you must be very aware of the signs and symptoms.
Perform the right and complete treatment if you have or have frequent ear infections. Then, prevent ear infections and risk factors such as flu, runny nose, sinusitis, or allergies by maintaining ear hygiene, increasing the immune system, and avoiding allergic triggers.
These diseases can be avoided by routinely washing hands with soap, maintaining cleanliness of the house, and eating nutritious foods.
