If severe congestion from a cold prevented your pharyngotympanic tube from opening, what could happen to your tympanic membrane? Explain your answer.

Video transcript

Hi, everyone. Let's take a look at this practice problem together. Which of the following can happen when the Eustachian tube is severely congested. The answer options are a, there will be an uncontrollable flow of mucus from the middle ear. B, the tympanic membrane cannot vibrate properly. C the inner ear will be pulled outward and D all of the above. So what should we know about the Eustace tubes? Recall that the tubes connect the middle ear to the nasal sinus cavities. They have two main functions. Can you recall what those are? The first is to drain fluid and the second is to equalize air pressure in the ears. So, if these tubes are congested, what happens? Well, in option A, there will not be uncontrollable flow of mucus in congestion, there is accumulation of mucus. So option A is incorrect option C the inner ear will be pulled outward. This is also an incorrect answer choice. The inner ear recall contains organs for the sense of hearing and balance. It does not get directly affected by congestion in the Eustace tubes and we can also eliminate option D all of the above. So the correct answer is option B, the tympanic membrane cannot vibrate. Recall that the sound waves that enter the ear cause the tympanic membrane to vibrate. If there is congestion, this congestion actually creates negative pressure and that can cause the panic membrane to be pulled inward. In this position, it's not able to vibrate properly. So the correct answer is option B, the tympanic membrane cannot vibrate properly. All right, everyone. I hope you found this helpful and I'll see you soon for the next practice problem.