Vincent Cumberworth BSc FRCS Consultant Ear, Nose and Throat Surgeon

Vincent Cumberworth BSc FRCS Consultant Ear, Nose and Throat Surgeon

Clementine Churchill Hospital Sudbury Hill Harrow Middlesex HA1 3RX
Private Secretary: Tel: 020 8872 3866 Fax: 0208872 3861

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Otitis Externa

Otitis externa is a common condition which involves inflammation of the skin of the ear canal or even sometimes the pinna, “the ear itself”. Predisposing factors to this include any skin condition such as eczema or psoriasis and it may be triggered by a bacterial infection.

Itching, which can be very severe follows one of the most troublesome features and this gives rise to a tendency to put objects such as a Q tip in the ear to try and clean the ear and relieve this and this in itself makes the condition significantly worse. The cotton wool is actually quite abrasive and can create very small breaks in the skin and it is bacteria then enter and the inflammation becomes worse.

The pain actually can be very severe as the tissue is in a bony canal in the ear and any swelling becomes very painful.

Discharge is common which may have an unpleasant smell.

Hearing may be impaired because of the amount of debris blocking the ear canal lying on the drum.

Treatment – this will be clearance of debris from the ear which is likely to require microsuction of the ear after full review by an ENT Specialist. Topical antibiotics, often combined with a mild steroid, can be necessary to settle the infection and occasionally fungal infection may be present which requires a slightly different management.

In the case of severe infection involving the skin of the face and the ear then admission may be required sometimes for intravenous antibiotics.

General Advice

Try to keep the ears dry if possible and the use of earplugs or cotton wool covered with Vaseline for showering, bathing or swimming may be useful. It may be advisable to check with your specialist that it is satisfactory for you to swim, depending on your ears.

Avoid any self-instrumentation with cotton buds, hairgrip etc., in the ear which is likely to exacerbate the problem.

Do not scratch the ears as this may spread infection.

Olive oil may help if there is regular wax accumulation but longer-term use of commercial anti-wax preparations can sometimes cause irritant problems.

If there is an underlying tympanic perforation (hole in the drum) then syringing is certainly inadvisable and review would best be by your ENT Specialist and microsuction could then be performed if necessary.