Z96.2: Presence of otological and audiological implants

You have artificial material in your ear.

The ear is a sensory organ that is used to hear and to maintain one's balance. There are 3 different areas in the ear: the outer ear, middle ear and inner ear. The middle ear begins behind the eardrum. It consists of the air-filled tympanic cavity and the 3 ossicles. The ossicles transmit sounds from the eardrum to the inner ear in the form of vibrations. The middle ear is connected to the throat by a passageway. This allows air to get to the middle ear. The actual hearing organ, the cochlea, is in the inner ear. The cochlea consists of a channel of bone in a spiral, like a snail. Inside the cochlea are the sensory cells for hearing. The inner ear connects to the brain via the auditory nerve.

Sometimes you have artificial material in your ear because the middle ear is otherwise not properly ventilated. The material may be a thin tube in the eardrum or in the connection to the throat. If the middle ear is not properly ventilated, then it may for instance become inflamed.

Sometimes you may also have artificial material in your ear in order to hear better. Part of the ossicles may have been replaced, for example. You may also have a special hearing device. Sometimes you will have a cochlear implant as well. This device records noises and converts them into signals that are conveyed to the acoustic nerve in the inner ear.