Ear pierced gay side

Your outer ear and middle ear are separated by your eardrum, and your inner ear houses the cochlea, vestibular nerve and semicircular canals (fluid-filled spaces involved in balance and hearing). Your eustachian tubes connect the middle of your ears to the back of your throat, and when they get blocked—often because of things like allergies and infections—they can cause pressure to build up in your eardrums.

Over time, exposing yourself to these loud noises adds up—and it can cause lasting hearing damage, no matter your age. Your ears need plenty of blood flow to function properly. Nearly one-third of Americans over 65 have difficulty hearing—and about half of those over 75 do too, per the National Institutes of Health NIH.

This hearing loss may be caused by age-related changes in the ear, brain, and nervous system, per the NIH. But exposure to loud noises and genetics may also play a role. When something seems off with your ears, it's easy to file it away in the temporary nuisance category as opposed to the serious symptom one.

Here, discover the surprising conditions you should know about that can lead to ear symptoms. Anatomically, the ear has three distinguishable parts: the outer, middle, and inner ear. As we get older, many of us experience age-related hearing loss. However, they may actually be signs of weird ear conditions that you may not necessarily associate with your ears.

These drugs can make your ears ring, throw off your balance, and even cause hearing loss. In humans, the ear is described as having three parts: the outer ear, the middle ear and the inner ear. When you rupture your eardrum—the thin layer of tissue that separates your outer and middle ear—it can cause all kinds of uncomfortable symptoms, like pain, discharge, vertigo, and hearing loss, per the Mayo Clinic.

Ear UMass Memorial Health : The middle ear includes the eardrum (tympanic membrane) and the air-filled chamber behind it

Cranking up the volume on your headphones. You might also notice a bump on your ear or your hearing starting to fade. Human ear, organ of hearing and equilibrium that detects and analyzes sound by transduction and maintains the sense of balance.

Mowing the lawn without hearing protection.

The outer ear consists of the auricle and the ear canal. Depending on where the tumor is, you may experience symptoms like pain, discharge, dizziness, or headaches, per the Cleveland Clinic. In vertebrates, an ear is the organ that enables hearing and (in mammals) body balance using the vestibular system.

But feeling this way without a change in air pressure could be a sign of eustachian tube dysfunction, per the Cleveland Clinic. While your symptoms may subside within a few days, you might also experience lasting damage, depending on what caused your eardrum to rupture.

This can muffle your hearing, make your ears pop, cause pain and discomfort, and even throw off your balance, per the Cleveland Clinic. Meet the experts: Alison M. Grimes, Au. Indeed, whether your ear problems appear suddenly or worsen over time, they are worth paying attention to—experts say they could be signs of an illness that requires treatment or a condition that's worth monitoring.

Having trouble hearing?

How you hear Mayo : These structures collect sound, convert it into electrical signals, and help regulate spatial orientation

If you have diabetes and want to protect your hearing, ear surgeon Erika Woodson, M. Going to loud concerts. And since heart disease makes it harder for blood to pass through your arteries, it can reduce the amount of blood flowing to your ears—potentially causing damage.

For even though persistent ringing can make it hard to concentrate at work, difficulty hearing can make phone calls twice as long, and pain might mean you can't sleep on your preferred side, ear symptoms always feel like they will pass.