Ear and ear canal anomalies are also related to this structure of the ear and are known to be associated with sensorineural hearing loss and conductive hearing loss. Vertigo refers to the inappropriate perception of motion. This is due to dysfunction of the vestibular system. One common type of vertigo is benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, when an otolith is displaced from the ventricles to the semicircular canal. The displaced otolith rests on the cupola, causing a sensation of movement when there is none. Ménière's disease, labyrinthitis, strokes, and other infective and congenital diseases may also result in the perception of vertigo.
Inner ear sends information to the brain about the attitude, rotation, and linear motion of the head. The type of motion or attitude detected by a hair cell depends on its associated mechanical structures, such as the curved tube of a semicircular canal or the calcium carbonate crystals (otolith) of the saccule and utricle. The human inner ear develops during week 4 of embryonic development from the auditory placode, a thickening of the ectoderm which gives rise to the bipolar neurons of the cochlear and vestibular ganglions. As the auditory placode invaginates towards the embryonic mesoderm, it forms the auditory vesicle or