Otoscopy: The ins and outs of your OUTER EARS!

Have you ever wondered why your doctor and audiologist look in your ears?

What exactly are they looking for?

Is it JUST about wax?

In this month's article our Dr. Nicole Lilly dives into your ears and why it's standard procedure and so important that your audiologist look in your ears every visit!

There are some great photos that you’ll want to check out.

If it's been a minute since anyone's peeked inside your ears, please give us the honor; with 7 front-range locations, we're bound to have a clinic conveniently near you!

Firstly, before we even go into your ear, we take a look at the external part of your ear called the pinna, for any abnormalities such as moles or freckles. Anything we deem as suspicious or serious, we report back to your physician for you to follow-up with at a later date.
Once this outer portion has been examined, we move into your ear with the specula, or the tip of the otoscope. While placing the specula down into your ear canal, we are noting the amount of ear-hair and wax inside your ears, along with the dryness or oiliness of the wax present. We are also observing if we see any foreign objects or debris that may have accidentally made its way down your ear.

Hair and a mild amount of wax is normal to see inside your ears; however, if the amount of wax present prevents us from seeing the tympanic membrane, also known as your eardrum, we will need to remove it! Removing wax is usually a painless and quick process, depending on how dry or oily it is. Here is a picture of an ear full of wax, preventing ANY sight of the ear drum which would need to be removed before further assessment.

If the canal is clear, we can take a good look at your eardrum. When looking at your eardrum we are checking for typical landmarks that are usually present.
These include:
1. The head of the malleus bone inside your middle ear.
2. The "Cone of Light" which is the reflection of the otoscope light bouncing off your eardrum back to the audiologist.
3. Opaqueness or how transparent your eardrum is;
4. Any trauma or scarring present such as bulging or perforations.
(The Audiologist will be able to note if you had tubes or a perforated eardrum by the scarring left on your eardrum.)

Sometimes when looking at your eardrum your audiologist may notice fluid trapped behind it. If the fluid is clear and you have no pain associated with it, your audiologist may recommend an over-the-counter allergy medication and ask if you've experienced recent allergies that may attest to you having fluid in your ears.

If the fluid is cloudy, yellowish or green, you are having pain, and the audiologists notes redness, he or she will suspect that you have an ear infection and should seek medical attention immediately.

Something else your audiologist or physician may see when looking inside your ear, as previously noted, are perforations.
Perforations are holes that may have occurred to your ear drum as a result of a number of things for example, when there is so much fluid build-up behind the ear that the pressure is so great that the membrane actually tears, which can occur during an ear-infection.

Sometimes perforations are intentional, for example, when a surgeon places tubes in an individual's ears to allow drainage.

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