Ear Disease Flashcards
What are the “D’s” of ear disease?
Dizziness, discomfort, discharge, deafness, din-din (tinnitus), defective facial movement, destruction by disease
What is the difference between conductive and sensorinueral hearing loss?
Conductive is due to pathology of the pinna, external auditory meatus and inner ear (problems conducting sound); sensorineural is due to pathology of the inner ear in either the perception of sound by sensory cells (sensori-) or the transmission of these signals by nerve cells (-neural)
What are the four categories of hearing loss?
Conductive, sensorineural, mixed and central
What causes most otalgia?
Referred pain
Which nerves are often responsible for referred pain in the ear?
V (trigeminal) VII (facial) IX (glossopharnygeal) X (vagus) C2 and C3 (great auricular nerve)
When might CSF be discharged from the ear?
Head trauma
In the case of acute dizziness, what useful information is provided by asking the patient if they are hard of hearing?
If hard of hearing, suggests pathology affected the whole of the inner ear
What is tinnitus?
Symptom of ear disease- subjective experience of hearing sound, not related to any external source.
Which condition does “destruction by disease” relate to?
Cholesteatoma
What is a cholesteatoma?
Sqaumous epithelium trapped in the skull base (in the ear, within the mastoid bone in the middle ear)
What are the two types of cholesteatoma?
Congenital and acquired
What can cholesteatoma do if left untreated?
Erode the temporal bone
How is acute otitis media often caused?
Spread of viral infection from URT- often a secondary bacterial infection
What symptoms are often seen in acute otitis media?
Otaliga (earache), otorrhea, headache, concurrent URT symptoms
How does otitis media with effusion differ from acute otitis media?
No infection per se; indolent effusion of the middle ear
