Essay Healthy Eyes and Ears

• Faculty: Health Sciences

• School: Pedro Henriquez Ureña National University

• Name: Mell Brigitte Cordova Almonte

• Enrollment: 21-1376

• Teacher's name: Pedro Pablo Fragoso Garcia

Essay about "Healthy Eyes and Ears".

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Essay Healthy Eyes and Ears

Healthy Eyes and Ears

Vision and hearing loss can happen as you age. Other problems with your eyes and ears can
happen as you work and play. Prevention, early detection, and proper treatment for injury
or disease to your eyes and ears will help you enjoy independence and a better quality of
life.

Anatomy and function of the eye

The eye is a sensory organ. It collects light from the visible world around us and converts it
into nerve impulses. The optic nerve transmits these signals to the brain, which forms an
image so thereby providing sight.

Human eyes primarily consist of two globe-shaped structures, the eyeballs, which are
surrounded by the bony sockets of the skull, the orbits. The orbits are covered with fatty
and fibrous tissue to protect the eye. Additional structures protecting the eye include the
eyelids, the outer coating layer of the eye (fibrous tunic), the conjunctiva, and the lacrimal
glands. Six special muscles that insert at different sites outside the eyeball work together to
control eye movement.

Each eyeball houses the following parts of the eye:

• the three coating layers: the outer, middle and inner coat
• the inner part of the eyeball: it contains the lens and the vitreous body and is
divided into the anterior and the posterior chamber.

Layers of the eye

The eyeball is surrounded by a three-layered wall, the three coats of the eye. They consist
of different tissue and serve different functions.

Outer coat (fibrous tunic)

The eye’s outer layer is made of dense connective tissue, which protects the eyeball and
maintains its shape. It is also known as the fibrous tunic.

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The fibrous tunic is composed of the sclera and the cornea. The sclera covers nearly the
entire surface of the eyeball. With its external surface being white-coloured, it is commonly
known as the “white of the eye”. The sclera provides attachments for the muscles that
control the eye’s movement (see above). The transparent cornea occupies the front center
part of the external tunic. It serves as the eye’s “window”, which lets the light in and bends
its rays, thereby providing most of the eye’s focusing power.

The anterior, visible part of the sclera as well as the inner surface of the eyelids are covered
by the conjunctiva, a mucous membrane that helps lubricating the eye together with the
tears made by the lacrimal glands, thus protecting the eye from drying out.

Middle coat (vascular tunic)

The middle layer of tissue surrounding the eye, also known as the vascular tunic or uvea, is
formed from behind forward by the choroid, the ciliary body, and the iris. The choroid
takes up the posterior five sixths of the bulb and is mainly comprised of blood vessels.

The choroid, also known as the choroidea or choroid coat, is a part of the uvea, the vascular
layer of the eye, and contains connective tissues, and lies between the retina and the sclera.
The human choroid is thickest at the far extreme rear of the eye (at 0.2 mm), while in the
outlying areas it narrows to 0.1 mm. The choroid provides oxygen and nourishment to the
outer layers of the retina. Along with the ciliary body and iris, the choroid forms the uveal
tract.

The anterior part of the choroid passes into the ciliary body, one function of which is
anchoring the lens in place. The ciliary body contains a muscle (ciliary muscle), which can
change the shape of the lens for adjustment to far or near sight, respectively, thereby
controlling the so-called refractive power of the lens (accomodation). Additional functions
of the ciliary body are the production, secretion, and outflow of aquaeous humour

The iris controlling your pupil helps your eyes see clearly. The iris is constantly changing
how dilated your pupil is without you controlling it. This is called the pupillary light reflex.
Some people are born without an iris in one or both of their eyes a genetic condition called
aniridia.

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Essay Healthy Eyes and Ears

Inner coat

The third and inner coat of the eye is the retina, which is responsible for the perception of
images vision.

The retina is a light-sensitive layer of nervous tissue composed of multiple sensory cells, so
called light or photoreceptor cells, as well as associated nerve cells and other types of cells,
all working together to make a person see.

The inner part of the eyeball

The inner part of the eyeball consists of the lens, the vitreous body and the two eye
chambers.

The lens is a transparent olive-shaped structure in the eye that has no blood vessels. Lens
and cornea work together to focus the light rays passing through the eyeball to the back of
the eye, that is, to the retina, by bending or refracting them, thereby creating clear images of
the environment perceived from different distances.

The vitreous is a clear gelatinous mass held by collagen fibers. It is situated between lens
and retina and comprises about two thirds of the entire eyeball. By pushing the retina
towards the choroid, the vitreous promotes keeping the retina in place.

The anterior chamber of the eye is located between the iris and the cornea. The posterior
chamber is the space between parts of the iris and the lens. Both chambers are filled with
aquaeous fluid to nourish cornea and lens.

The human eye is a complex optical system that basically works like a camera: the iris
serves as the aperture that controls the amount of light rays reaching cornea and lens
(photographic objective), and the retina works as the film. Bending of light rays by cornea
and lens serves to create sharp images on the retina. These images ultimately trigger nerve
impulses, which are transmitted to the brain where the images are perceived and
interpreted.

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Essay Healthy Eyes and Ears

These easy steps to keep your peepers healthy.

• Eat Well. Good eye health starts with the food on your plate.
• Quit Smoking.
• Wear Sunglasses.
• Use Safety Eyewear.
• Look Away From the Computer Screen.
• Visit Your Eye Doctor Regularly.

Common Eye Disorders and Diseases

• Refractive Errors.
• Age-Related Macular Degeneration.
• Cataract.
• Diabetic Retinopathy.
• Glaucoma.
• Amblyopia.
• Strabismus.

Anatomy and Function of the ears

human ear, organ of hearing and equilibrium that detects and analyzes sound by
transduction (or the conversion of sound waves into electrochemical impulses) and
maintains the sense of balance (equilibrium).

The ear is the organ of hearing and balance. It consists of a cavity in the skull structure
lined with soft tissue, which encloses three distinctive spaces filled with air or liquid
(external, middle and inner ear) these distinctive spaces host both sound transmission
mechanisms and sensory apparatuses.

The external ear includes the pinna (auricle) and the ear canal up to the eardrum (tympanic
membrane), which separates it from the middle ear. The lining of the external ear is skin
rich with glands that produce earwax. The middle ear is a cavity in a temporal bone lined
with a thin layer of tissue similar to that found in the nose and throat. It is separated from
the ear canal by the eardrum and connected to the throat via the Eustachian tube. It includes

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three tiny bones (auditory ossicles) forming the chain attached to the eardrum on one side
and to the oval window membrane on the inner ear side.

The middle ear space is filled with air at ambient pressure, which needs to be equalized
when ambient pressure changes (as occurs in diving or flying). This is accomplished by
moving air in or out through the Eustachian tubes, which connect the throat to the middle
ear, using equalization techniques such as the Valsalva maneuver. The inner ear, or
labyrinth, includes the cochlea (hearing organ) and the vestibule and semicircular canals
balance organs. The cochlea and the vestibule are the origin of the auditory and vestibular
nerves.

Anatomy of the Human Ear

• External ear: The ear itself and the ear canal until the tympanic membrane.
• Middle ear: Essentially an air-filled cavity in between the tympanic membrane and
the inner ear. It has three components:
1. middle ear cavity itself
2. the three auditory ossicles: malleus, incus, and stapes
3. the mastoid air cells
• Inner ear: The inner ear is a sensory organ, it is part of the Central Nervous System
(CNS) and it has a dual function:
1. Auditory: The cochlea transduces the mechanical waves of sound into
electrical impulses for the brain.
2. Balance, vertical orientation and acceleration: The semicircular canals are
responsible for providing some of the “sensors” that help us control balance,
position and three-axis acceleration.

How can we protect our ears

• Wear earplugs when there are loud noises.

• Down the volume.
• Give your ears time to recover.
• Stop using cotton swabs in your ears.
• Take medications only as directed.

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Essay Healthy Eyes and Ears

• Keep your ears dry.

• Get up and move.
• Manage stress levels.

Common Diseases of the Ear

• Swimmer’s ear, also called otitis externa, is an infection that people develop
between the eardrum and the outer ear (the bit that you can see on the side of the
head).
• Blocked Ears, our ears naturally produce wax from small glands that line the ear
canal. The purpose of this sticky, gooey substance is to trap incoming dust and
microbes and prevent them from penetrating the eardrum.
When it functions correctly, it collects these particles and shifts them to the opening
of the ear where they dry and then flake off. Sometimes, though, the body produces
too much earwax. It then becomes stuck in front of the eardrum and hardens,
making it tough to remove.
• Meniere’s disease is a condition that results from the excess fluid buildup in the
inner ear. When machinery inside the ear becomes saturated, they are no longer able
to carry out their regular function. In turn, this leads to problems with hearing and
balance, as well as a sensation of pressure inside the ear.
• Otosclerosis is a condition of abnormal bone growth in the ear. The ear is a complex
system that relies on a series of mechanisms to convert incoming sound waves into
nerve impulses. Part of this mechanism relies on a tiny bone, called the stapes bone.
Usually, this bone is free to move in its pouch and transmit information further
along the chain. But in people with otosclerosis, it can grow so large that it no
longer moves. And when that happens, it can no longer pass on incoming sound
signals to the inner ear.
Treatment for otosclerosis usually follows one of two paths. Either the patient is
recommended to wear hearing aids, or they go for surgery to reduce the size of the
bone.

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Essay Healthy Eyes and Ears

• Changes In PressureThe ear is sensitive to changes in pressure. If the pressure inside

the ear is higher than the pressure outside, then it can result in discomfort. Pressure
change isn’t a disease in itself, but it is a common occurrence.
Some people, for instance, experience intense pain while flying. As the plane comes
into land, the cabin repressurizes, and then puts pressure on the ear, which can’t
adjust. Scuba divers and mountain climbers can experience similar symptoms, such
as hearing loss hearing and feelings of fullness in the ear.