If you’ve ever felt a little unsteady when your ears are acting up, you’re not imagining it. Your inner ear does far more than help you hear—it also plays a crucial role in keeping you balanced. Because hearing and balance share the same inner ear structures, changes in one system often affect the other.
Let’s take a closer look at how the ear supports both hearing and balance, what can disrupt these functions and how specialists evaluate both.
The Connection Between Hearing and Balance
Inside your inner ear are two remarkable systems working side by side:
- The hearing system. The cochlea and auditory nerve form the hearing system, converting sound vibrations into signals that your brain recognizes as speech, music and scurrying squirrels on the Wheat Ridge Greenbelt.
- The balance system. Your body’s balance center is called the vestibular system. It’s made up of the semicircular canals, utricle, saccule and vestibular nerve—tiny structures that detect motion and position changes. Working together, these systems send vital information to your brain to help you stay upright and steady.
Common Causes of Hearing and Balance Problems
Conditions that may interfere with both systems include:
- Acoustic neuroma: a benign growth on the auditory or vestibular nerve that can cause hearing loss, tinnitus or balance issues.
- Ménière’s disease: A chronic disorder that causes episodes of vertigo, hearing loss and a sensation of fullness in the ear.
- Inner ear infections: Infections such as labyrinthitis or vestibular neuritis can inflame the inner ear, leading to dizziness and hearing changes.
- Ototoxic medications: Certain antibiotics, chemotherapy drugs and high-dose diuretics can damage delicate inner ear structures, affecting both hearing and balance.
When To Consider Hearing and Balance Testing
You may benefit from testing if you experience:
- Trouble following conversations
- Ringing or buzzing in your ears
- Ear pressure or fullness
- Frequent dizziness or vertigo
- Unexplained headaches or nausea
A Few Hearing and Balance Tests
Ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialists and audiologists use several diagnostic tools to evaluate hearing and balance, such as:
- Pure tone audiometry: Measures how well you hear sounds at different pitches and volumes.
- Otoacoustic emissions (OAE): Assesses how the cochlea’s hair cells respond to sound.
- Auditory brainstem response (ABR): Evaluates how well sound signals travel from the ear to the brain.
- Electrocochleography: Detects excess fluid in the inner ear, which can indicate Ménière’s disease.
- Vestibular testing: Examines how your eyes and inner ear coordinate to maintain balance. Your provider may track your eye movements while you follow a target or move your head.
Next Steps
After testing, your specialist will discuss your results and create a treatment plan tailored to your needs. Depending on the cause, treatment may include physical therapy, medication or hearing aids to improve background and speech awareness.
If you’re struggling with dizziness, unsteadiness or hearing changes, contact Advantage ENT & Audiology to schedule an appointment with one of our specialists.