ENT surgery Flashcards
Audiometry
- Used to differentiate between conductive and sensorineural hearing loss
Sensorineural - both air and bone conduction will be more than 20db (can be only one or both sides)
Conductive - bone conduction readings will be normal but air conduction will be greater than 20db
Mixed - both air and bone conduction will be greater than 20db but there will be a difference of more than 15db between the two (bone more than air)
Presbycusis
*Age related hearing loss - a type of sensorineural hearing loss
* Affects higher pitched sounds
*Occurs gradually and symmetrically
Sx - male voices can be easier to hear, not paying attention or missing conversations, concerns about dementia, tinnitus,
Ix - audiometry - sensorineural (both reduced)
Mx - Hearing aids
Sudden sensorial hearing loss
- Hearing loss over less than 72 hrs, unexplained by other causes
- ENT emergency
Cx - MS, infection, Menieres, medications, migraines, acoustic neuroma, stroke
Sx - often unilateral
Ix - Tuning fork, audiometry (reduction by 30db in 3 consecutive frequencies)
- CT head
Mx - steroids asap
Eustachian tube dysfunction
- When the tube that drains the inner ear to the throat and equalises pressure becomes blocked
Sx - reduced or altered hearing, popping noises, a fullness sensation in the ear, pain or discomfort, tinnitus
* Worsened when external ear pressure changes and inner ear cannot adjust
Ix - typanometry (CHANGING PRESSURE), audiometry, nasopharyngoscopy, CT head
Mx - nasal sprays, valsalva manoeuvre, anti histamines
- Surgery if persistent
Otosclerosis
- Remodelling of small ear bones (mostly base of stapes), causing stiffening, preventing sound being transmitted
**Conductive hearing loss
**Autosomal dominant
Sx - patient under 40 - tinnitus, hearing loss - unilateral hearing loss, lower frequency sounds affected,
Ix - audiometry, tymapometry, CT head
Mx - hearing aids, surgical stapedectomy with replacement
**Surgery generally curative
otitis media
*infection in the middle ear (space between tympanic membrane and inner ear) where vestibular apparatus and nerves are found
*Effusion present means glue ear (common in kids)
Cx - Bacteria entering via eustachain tube via back of the throat from upper resp tract infection
**Strep pneumonia most common
- haemophilous influenza
Px - ear pain, reduced hearing, fever, upper resp infection
- vertigo and discharge possible
Ix - otoscope - bulging red, tympanic membrane, discharge if perforation
Mx - Amoxicillin
- allergy give clarithromycin
Otitis externa
- Inflammation of the skin in the external ear canal
Cx - swimmers ear, trauma, removal of ear wax, eczema, fungal infections (lots of antibiotics)
* Staph aureus and pseudomonas aeruginosa
^later can colonise the lung in cystic fibrosis patients - resistant to many antibiotics (mx with gentamicin)
Sx - ear pain, itchiness, discharge, conductive hearing loss
Ix - otoscopy and ear swab
Mx - acetic acid (mild)
- topical antibiotic (neomycin) and topical steroid spray (moderate)
- oral antibiotic (severe)
Tinnitus
- Ears trying to turn up the volume when they cant hear sound
Primary - associated with sensorial hearing loss
Secondary - tinnitus with an identifiable cause (gentamicin and loop diuretics***)
Systemic conditions Axs - anaemia, diabetes, thyroid issues, hyperlipademia
Objective tinnitus - where the patient can hear an extra sound, that can be heard on auscultation with a stethoscope - carotid bruit, aortic murmur, AVM, Eustachian tube dysfunction
Ix - underlying conditions - anaemia, glucose, thyroid, lipids, audiology,
Mx - x
Vertigo
- Imbalance between sensory inputs and the environment of a person
Cx - Proprioception, vision, signals from vestibular system (fluid shifting detection problems in the inner ear)
BPPV
Cx - calcium carbonate crystals building up in the inner ear, disrupting flow of endolymph in (posterior) semi circular canals
Px - head movement triggers attacks that last up to a minute
- no hearing loss or tinnitus
Ix - Dix hall pike - triggering rotational nystagmus and vertigo
Mx - eply manœuvre
Vestibular neuronitis
- Inflammation of vestibular nerve - usually due to a viral infection
Sx - acute onset vertigo - initially constant then triggered by head movement, nausea and vomiting, balance problems
*No hearing loss or tinnitus
* History of upper resp viral infections
Ix - Head impulse test - diagnosis for peripheral vertigo (problem with nerve)
Mx - Prochlorperazine (in acute phase only) and antihistamines
- If chronic - vestibular rehab exercises
HiNTS exam - distinguishes between posterior circulation stroke
Labyrinthitis
- Inflammation of the bony labyrinth in the inner ear (cochlea affected)
**Often post upper viral resp infection - Can be bacterial via otitis media or meningitis
Px - acute onset vertigo, can have associated tinnitus and hearing loss, horizontal nystagmus
Ix - head impulse test - to detected movement problems
Mx - prochlorperazine and antihistamines
- antibiotics
Menieres disease
- Long term inner ear disorder that causes recurrent attacks of vertigo, hearing loss and tinnitus
- Full feeling in ear
Cx - excessive build up of endolymph in the labyrinth, increasing pressure
Px - 40-50 yo with unilateral vertigo, tinnitus and hearing loss, episodic lasting for 20mins to hours (can be clustered over weeks and months)
- unexplained drop attacks
- spontaneous nystagmus during attacks (horizontal)
Ix - clinical diagnosis
Mx - conservative
- acute attacks - prochlorperazine and anti histamines
*Beta histine to prevent attacks
Vestibular schwannomas
- Benign tumours of Schwann cells surrounding the auditory/vestibular nerve
- Occur at cerebellopontine angle
- Unilateral but if bilateral - neurofibromatosis II
Sx - Unilateral sensory hearing loss, unilateral tinnitus, dizziness, fullness in the ear
*Patient typically 40-60
Ix - Audiometry - sensorineural hearing loss
- CT or MRI to detect presence
Mx - Surgery to remove (scar behind ear)
- radiotherapy to shrink
- Associated with facial nerve palsy
Cholesteatoma
- Abnormal collection of squamous epithelial cells in the middle ear - non cancerous
- can erode middle ear boned and invade tissues
Px - foul discharge, unilateral conductive hearing loss
- infection, pain, vertigo, facial nerve palsy (if expanding)
Ix - otoscopy - build up of white debris or crust in upper tympanic membrane - locate the attic to exclude cholesteatoma
- CT head for surgery
Mx - surgical removal