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What do Otoscopic exams look for?
Test Overview An ear exam is a thorough check of the ears. It is done to screen for ear problems, such as hearing loss, ear pain, discharge, lumps, or objects in the ear. An ear exam can find problems in the ear canal, eardrum, and middle ear.
How do they perform an ear test on a child?
When checking the ear of a child older than 12 months or an adult, hold the otoscope in one hand and use your free hand to pull the outer ear gently up and back. This straightens the ear canal and improves visualization. In babies younger than 12 months, gently pull the outer ear down and back.
Why do we do Otoscopic examination?
The otoscope exam helps to assess the condition of the external auditory canal (EAC), tympanic membrane (TM), and the middle ear. Mastering the otoscope exam leads to accurate diagnoses, allowing for targeted treatment and prevention of complications.
What are the steps of an otoscope exam?
Clinicians perform an otoscope exam to assess the condition of the external auditory canal (EAC), tympanic membrane (TM), and the middle ear. Steps of the otoscope exam include inspecting the EAC and the TM with its identifying landmarks as outlined below.
Do you need to practice otoscopy before ear exam?
Technique is very important to this station, so ensure you’ve practised how to hold and use an otoscope before your exam. Examining normal ears will make detecting pathology much easier. Often there is no pathology to see and the examiners will fabricate a hearing loss to be picked up using the objective tests below.
Is there a YouTube video of an otoscopy?
This video – produced by students at Oxford University Medical School in conjunction with the ENT faculty – demonstrates how to perform an examination of the ear using an otoscope. It also demonstrates the anatomy of the tympanic membrane.
Where does the otoscopy of the ear take place?
This is performed in order to examine the ‘external auditory canal’ – the tunnel that leads from the outer ear (pinna) to the eardrum.