The Outer Ear Disorders Flashcards
What are the functions of the outer ear?
- It houses the pinna & auditory meatus
- Collects and directs sound waves to tympanic membrane
- Provides directional ques
- Resonance provides increase in sound pressure from 2-7kHz
What part of the outer ear should you know?
- Crus (Helix)
- Tragus
- Lobule
- Concha (Cymba & Cavum)
For the external auditory meatus, describe the outer portion…
It’s made of cartilage, has hairs and its where ear wax is formed
For the external auditory meatus, describe the inner portion…
It’s made of bone and it has no hairs and ear wax is not formed here
Why shouldn’t we use Q-tips?
- Can lead to buildup of earwax in the inner portion
- Slows down cleaning process of the ear
- Can damage eardrum
- Can cause abrasions and leads to infection
Describe the texture of the outer portion of the ear canal
Starts out floppy and becomes more rigid as you age out of childhood and then sags when you get older
When does a collapsed canal form?
As we get older, our ears sag
Define a collapsed canal
It’s when the ears droops and leads to a narrow space and less wax buildup in the outer portion
What happens when we put pressure on a collapsed canal?
It can close since its more floppy
With the devices we’re using during testing, how can it affect someone with a collapsed canal?
If we use a Supra-Aural earphone can cause the ear canal to close off and this creates a conductive hearing loss
For the EAM, what are the two concerns?
- Knowing why Q-tips aren’t effective
- Change in rigidity of cartilage with age
- Collapsed canals
The ____ forms the beginning of the outer ear and the _____ends it?
pinna, TM
How many layers are there for the TM?
3
What is the umbo?
The head of malleus
What is the cone of light?
aka Light Reflex is a reflection of the TM from the otoscope light
What makes up the TM?
- Three layers
- Umbo
- Cone of light
How do we look to see if something is wrong with the ear canal or the eardrum?
By performing an otoscopy
What is an otoscope?
It’s a lighted magnifier to view the ear canal/TM
What are two things you must do when using an Otoscope?
- Must pull up and back on pinna to straighten out the ear canal
- Must brace head to prevent accidental trauma
Why must we pull back on the ear canal?
To see past the bends of our ear canal and to see our TM
What could cause harm to our patient?
Performing an otoscopy
When performing an otoscopy, what are we looking for?
Anything: Wax (too much or not enough), debris, trauma, & signs of infections (behind the eardrum)
What are the 2 functions for our having ear wax in our ears?
- It keeps bugs out
2. Prevents ear canal from getting dry and itchy
If a hearing loss is present and the only problem is in the outer ear what kind of hearing loss is it?
Conductive HL
Define Conductive Hearing Loss
Is when hearing is loss is present when doing AC but hearing is normal when BC is done
If additional problems exist in the cochlea, what kind of hearing loss is present?
Mixed
How else can disorders of the outer ear occur?
From syndromes associated with craniofacial anomalies