Stapes ankylosis

What it means

Stapes ankylosis refers to congenital or acquired fixation of the stapes (the stirrup-shaped small bone or ossicle in the middle ear), which is associated with conductive hearing resulting from impairment of the sound-conduction mechanism (the external auditory canal, tympanic membrane, and/or middle-ear ossicles).

Stapes ankylosis may be congenital or acquired, in which case it is referred to as otosclerosis. Otosclerosis is the most common cause of progressive conductive hearing loss in adults, and is generally manifested as nonsyndromic, delayed-onset, conductive hearing loss, but it may also affect the inner ear to cause sensorineural loss. Congenital stapes ankylosis may be difficult to differentiate from otosclerosis when the diagnosis of conductive hearing loss is delayed.

Rare diseases that can present with this4

The range is how often this sign appears among people diagnosed with each disease — it is not a probability of having any of them. Many of these signs also occur in common, non-rare conditions. A sign on this page is a conversation to have with a clinician, not a conclusion.

Part of the broader category

Also called: Stapes fixation