OTOSCLEROSIS

ear disorder characterized by the growth of excess bone in the middle ear in the region of the oval window. It is at the oval window that the footplate of the stapes (stirrup) comes into contact with the fluids of the inner ear and acts as a piston to conduct sound energy from the eardrum into the fluids of the inner ear. In otosclerosis, a gradual buildup of new spongy bony tissue around the stapes welds it against the wall of the surrounding bone and immobilizes it, causing deafness. A hereditary disorder, it is the most common type of progressive hearing impairment in young adults, usually affects one ear before the other (but both eventually), and occurs more frequently in females than in males. Surgery is generally the most effective treatment and usually today consists of a stapedectomy, in which the encrusted stapes is removed and replaced by a plastic or wire substitute.