Chapter 16 – Vestibulocochlear System Assessment – The Ears
Introduction to the Vestibulocochlear System: The Ears
The vestibulocochlear system is important to assess because it is responsible for hearing and equilibrium (sense of balance). In this chapter, we focus mainly on hearing; additional information particularly related to objective assessment related to balance can be found in the neurological system assessment chapter.
As a nurse, your assessment of the vestibulocochlear system provides information about the functioning of this system and potential cues that may require your action.
The main components of the vestibulocochlear system include:
- External ear (auricle/pinna): Figure 1 and Figure 2.
- Middle ear and inner ear: Figure 2.
- Vestibulocochlear nerve (cranial nerve [CN] VIII): Figure 2.
Figure 1: External ear.
This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. Attribution: Genusfotografen (genusfotografen.se) & Wikimedia Sverige (wikimedia.se). From: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Human_right_ear_(cropped).jpg. Our team made modifications with labelling.
Figure 2: External, middle, and inner ear and vestibulocochlear nerve.
J. Gordon Betts, Kelly A. Young, James A. Wise, Eddie Johnson, Brandon Poe, Dean H. Kruse, Oksana Korol, Jody E. Johnson, Mark Womble, Peter DeSaix. (2022). The Somatic Nervous System. In Anatomy and Physiology 2e. OpenStax. CC BY 4.0 license
Watch this video to refresh your knowledge of anatomy and physiology of the vestibulocochlear system.
Clinical Tip
The vestibulocochlear system is closely interconnected with the neurological, ophthalmic, and musculoskeletal system, so it is rarely assessed in isolation. Also, when assessing the ears, you will often assess the lymph nodes around the ears: lymphatic assessment.
