Ossicular Reconstruction (Ossiculoplasty) Patient Information Leaflet 1. Why am I being offered ossicular reconstruction? You have hearing loss caused by damage or disruption to the ossicles — the three tiny bones in the middle ear ( malleus, incus, and stapes ) that transmit sound from the eardrum to the inner ear. This damage may be due to: Chronic ear infections Cholesteatoma Previous ear surgery Long-standing eardrum perforation Trauma or erosion of the hearing bones Ossicular reconstruction (ossiculoplasty) is a surgical procedure designed to improve hearing by rebuilding this sound-conduction mechanism. 2. What is ossicular reconstruction? Ossiculoplasty involves repairing or replacing one or more of the hearing bones using either: Your own tissue (e.g. reshaped ossicles or cartilage), or A biocompatible prosthesis (most commonly titanium) The operation is usually performed alongside: Eardrum repair (tympanoplasty), and/or Mastoid surgery (especially if cholesteatoma i...
What's a vestibular migraine? Vestibular migraine is also known as migraine-related dizziness, migraine with prominent vertigo or migrainous vertigo. Patients will have vertigo symptoms, dizziness or imbalance, and some migraine symptoms. It is vital to understand that not all vestibular migraine patients will have headaches as the main symptoms. So migraine symptoms can be any of these: headache with or without nausea and vomiting, sensitivity to sound or lights or motion sickness. Each episode can last for minutes to hours. What causes or triggers a vestibular migraine? A lot of factors can trigger a vestibular migraine attack. The most common trigger factors are stress and anxiety, poor sleep hygiene, fasting and dehydration, menstrual cycle and food such as chocolate, cheese and red wine. How is vestibular migraine diagnosed? Diagnosis of vestibular migraine solely depends on patients history of symptoms. It is beneficial to record his or her episode in a vertigo or dizziness...