How to check the ear? Does it cause pain?

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Ear examination is a simple test to help diagnose ear diseases in a preliminary way before otoscopy is indicated in ear problems to help diagnose the cause and provide appropriate treatment. So how to check the ear? Does it cause pain?

1. Ear examination helps diagnose ear diseases

A home ear exam is a procedure that examines the ear canal and eardrum using an otoscope. An otoscope is a hand-held instrument consisting of a lamp, a magnifying glass, and a funnel-shaped viewing device with a narrow end called an otoscope.
Ear examination is a simple, non-invasive procedure, so there is absolutely no pain or discomfort for the patient.
The purpose of an ear exam is to screen for ear problems in case of hearing loss, ear pain, discharge, clots, foreign objects in the ear to detect diseases in the ear canal, eardrum and middle ear. . These problems may include infection, excessive earwax, otitis media, foreign body, perforated eardrum for preliminary evaluation prior to performing ENT.
Indication of ear examination:
Routine ear examination may be performed; Children who are fussy, have unexplained fevers, and are suspected of having an ear infection should also have an ear exam to diagnose the disease. ; To screen for causes of hearing loss in infants and young children; Find the cause of ear pain, feeling of pressure or fullness in the ear, or hearing loss; To check for excess wax or foreign body buildup in the ear canal; Find the location of an ear infection that could be the outer ear canal, otitis media; Evaluate the effectiveness of treatment for an ear problem.

2. How to examine the ear?

Prepare the Clari Lights; Otoscopes of all sizes; Otoscope; Cotton swabs, alcohol lamps, cotton swabs; Medicine tray. Examination position: The doctor and the patient sit facing each other, at eye level, if it is a child, someone should hold the child's forehead.
Examination steps Wear lights, adjust lights; Observing the rim of the ear, the pinna, the posterior ear groove, the mastoid region behind the ear to detect the accumulation of fluid in the ear canal, ear shingles, otitis externa, skin cancer of the auricle,... Press the pain points: Pain point in front of the ear: cap, pull the earlobe up, pull the earlobe down to detect diseases of the ear canal such as: inflammation of the ear canal, boils in the ear canal; The pain point behind the ear includes the pain point that is located horizontally with the upper wall of the ear canal close to the groove behind the ear; Cylindrical point; Posterior mastoid point. These pain points are often painful in diseases of the mastoid bone such as: acute mastoiditis, chronic inflammatory mastoiditis.
Examination of the outer ear canal: Pull the earlobe up and back, shine the clar light into the inflamed ear canal with boils, otitis externa, polyps, foreign bodies in the external ear canal, fungal infections of the outer ear canal. Examination of the eardrum:

Observation of the tympanic membrane: gently insert the scope into the ear canal: observe the tympanic membrane, hammer shaft, hammer bone ball, umbilicus, light cone, dural membrane, stretch membrane... Normally, the eardrum is transparent and bright. Look closely at the ingredients above. Observing the tympanic membrane to detect diseases such as: perforated eardrum, tympanicitis, otitis media, acute otitis media,... Changes in the tympanic membrane such as: color, gloss, inclination of the eardrum. tympanic membrane, the tympanic membrane protrudes out to help detect and diagnose the disease. If the tympanic membrane is perforated, it is necessary to carefully examine the perforation, whether the membrane is stretchy or overlapping, the perforation morphology, one hole or more holes, the size and proximity to the skeleton, the perforation margin is smooth or jagged, and whether there are polyps. .. Examining the Eustachian tubes: There are several tests to see if the Eustachian tubes are blocked. Check by the following maneuvers:
Toyenbee test: the patient closes the nose, closes the mouth and swallows saliva, if the patient hears a sound in the ear, the eustachian tube is open. Valsava maneuver: ask the patient to close the nose, close the mouth and blow hard to inflate both cheeks, if the patient hears a sound in the ear, the eustachian tube is open. Politzer test: the patient takes a sip of water, covers one nostril, the doctor uses a large rubber balloon to pump air into the other nose while the patient swallows, if the patient hears a sound in the ear, it is a faucet. Eustache pine. Ear examination is a simple procedure, simple to perform, easy to observe and detect some ear diseases, to help preliminary assessment and order more tests to evaluate the disease accurately and treat promptly.
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