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Ear, Nose and Throat (5/8)

This is also part of this series: Don't Die Young (8)

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Subjects: Anatomy, Health Issues, Human Body, Medicine, Nutrition, Science

Grade Level: SrH-Adult
Producer: BBC
Closed Captioned: No

Running Time: 30 mins
Country of Origin: Great Britain
Study Guide: No

Copyright Date: 2008
Available in French: No

Most of us are aware that our ears, nose and throat are connected in some way though not too sure how. To demonstrate their work, Dr Alice Roberts begins with a trip to an old-fashioned big-top circus, which houses under one roof an amazing variety of acts which stimulate many different senses. In that way, it’s a bit like the ear, nose and throat – each has a different function but they are all situated close together in the skull.

Dr Alice shows viewers the tiny bones in the ear called the ossicles. It’s clear that our ears are intricate pieces of machinery and vulnerable to damage, so much so that nearly nine million people in the UK alone suffer from some form of hearing loss. With the aid of specially designed headphones, Dr Alice gets a short insight into what it is like, as she struggles to order a drink at a bar and do some clothes shopping. She then discovers how loud noise can cause irretrievable damage to our ears – how loud is too loud for your MP3 player, for instance? And every time you leave a nightclub or concert with ringing in your ears, you may wonder whether you have damaged your hearing? Unfortunately, the bad news is you have.

Danny Byrd, a 28-year-old DJ and record producer from Bath, fears that his regular exposure to loud drum and base may be causing long-term damage to his hearing. Dr Alice investigates solutions for him and other people who want to continue to enjoy their music but protect their hearing. The good news is that an investment of just £20 might be all you need to protect your hearing.

The ears also have a vital role to play in balance, as Dr Alice experiences for herself when she has warm water poured in her ears as part of a medical experiment…

Using her skills as an anatomist, Dr Alice explains some of the roles of the nose and the throat, and why snoring can, for some, be a sign of a life-threatening condition – as it was for Scott Johnson from Tamworth, before he was diagnosed with sleep apnoea and finally got his first full night’s sleep in two years.

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