The ears are a pair of sensory organs whose primary functions are hearing and balance. They are divided into three portions: the outer ear, the middle ear, and the inner ear. Each has an intricate ...

Evolution has left humans with many vestigial traits—remnants of once-useful biological features that serve little or no modern purpose. One such example is the muscles around our ears, which in many ...

It also offers some insight into the condition of the middle ear (ME), although to a lesser extent. Clinicians utilize an otoscope as part of routine wellness physical examination and when assessing ...

The brain is a never-ending machine that receives, processes, and sends out countless messages every day. Sound is just a fraction of the many stimuli that the brain receives daily, but it is one of ...

Eliene Augenbraun, D.O., Ph.D., is a lifelong science and health journalist whose mission is to make sense of complex concepts. She led ScienCentral, a broadcast television newsroom that supplied ...

Ear tube surgery, or tympanostomy surgery, aims to reduce chronic fluid buildup behind the eardrums. This can reduce the frequency of middle ear infections. It may also improve hearing. Ear tube ...

Chronic otitis media (chronic ear infection) occurs when fluid behind your eardrum becomes infected and does not go away with antibiotics. Unlike swimmer’s ear that affects the external ear canal, a ...