How to Diagnose Otosclerosis

Otosclerosis is a bone disease that affects the bones in the middle ear. It is an autosomal dominant inherited trait, although its expression and penetrance are both variable. Otosclerosis is much more common in Caucasians and women are affected twice as often as men. The following steps will show how to diagnose otosclerosis.

Instructions

• 1

  Obtain the presenting symptoms for otosclerosis. These are primarily a loss of hearing and tinnitus and some patients also may experience dizziness. This can range from a slight loss of equilibrium to severe rotatory vertigo.

• 2

  Conduct basic hearing tests with a tuning fork. Patients with a fixation of the stapedial footplate will demonstrate a conductive hearing loss and a Rinne test will determine if the bone conduction is better than the air conduction. A Weber test will identify the ear with the greater conductive hearing loss.

• 3

  Perform a physical examination. A Schwartze sign is characteristic of otosclerosis but other causes of hearing loss also should be considered if there are any abnormalities in the ear canal, middle ear or eardrum.

• 4

  Take a Computed Tomography (CT) scan of the ear. These images frequently will show deposits of new bone within the cochlea and labyrinthine capsule called a "halo sign."

• 5

  Run advanced audiometric testing to determine the extent and progression of the hearing loss. Patients with otosclerosis will show a slow, progressive loss of hearing that is not caused by a disease or injury to the ear. Specific results of these tests will determine if this is because of footplate fixation or if other areas of the otic capsule are involved.