Dr. Huntley's
Diagnosis
Checklist
Have a symptom?
See what questions
a doctor would ask.
See what questions
a doctor would ask.
During a consultation, your doctor will use various techniques in his assesment of the symptom: Earache. These may include a physical examination or other medical tests. Your doctor may ask several questions when assessing your condition. It is important to remember that your consultation is a two-way process and any extra information you can share with your doctor may help them with their diagnosis.
Some of the questions your doctor may ask are listed below:
Why: to determine if acute or chronic.
Why: may assist in diagnosis e.g. in ear, behind ear, below ear.
Why: e.g. sore throat, runny nose, sinusitis - may suggest acute otitis media or myringitis bullosa (occurs with influenza, Haemophilus influenza and mycoplasma pneumoniae infections).
Why: may suggest otitis externa.
Why: may suggest otitis externa.
Why: e.g. ear bud - may suggest foreign body and resultant otitis externa infection.
Why: suggests infected ear lobe. Often due to contact allergy to nickel or chromium in an ear ring.
Why: may suggest barotrauma to ear drum and may present with ear pain, deafness, dizziness, ringing in the ears and sometimes a discharge.
Why: e.g. allergic skin conditions such as eczema may predispose to otitis externa; medical conditions that may increase risk of recurrent middle ear infections include selective IgA deficiency, common variable immunodeficiency, X-linked agammaglobulinaemia, recurrent adenoiditis, Wegener's granulomatosis, HIV infection and obstructive sleep apnea; diabetes predisposes to furunculosis.
Sometimes, other symptoms may be present and may help your doctor analyse your condition. These may include:
Why: Acute ear discharge suggests acute otitis media (middle ear infection) with a rupture of the ear drum, otitis externa (outer ear infection) or myringitis bullosa. A chronic ear discharge may suggest cholesteatoma, chronic otitis media or mastoiditis.
Why: A mucopurulent discharge (mucous to pus-like) suggests chronic otitis media and mastoiditis. A offensive discharge with whitish debris suggests cholesteatoma. A bloody discharge may suggest myringitis bullosa.
Why: suggests otitis media, mastoiditis, tonsillitis, sinusitis or tooth abscess.
Why: may suggest acute otitis media, chronic otitis media, otitis externa, foreign body, mastoiditis, cholesteatoma, eustachian tube catarrh and barotrauma.
Why: e.g. deep-seated ear pain, deafness , fever, a discharge may follow if the tympanic membrane ruptures which results in relief of pain and fever.
Why: e.g. itching at first, pain which may be aggravated by moving the ear of even the jaw, fullness feeling in the ear canal, mild discharge, hearing loss.
Why: e.g. pain, swelling and tenderness developing behind the ear associated with general deterioration in well-being and mucous to pus-like ear discharge.
Why: e.g. unilateral facial muscle weakness, pain behind the ear and sometimes deafness.
Why: e.g. pain over the jaw joint which may radiate to the ear, down the angle of the jaw, towards the cheek and even the neck; limitation of jaw movements , especially on opening the mouth; crackling and creaking in jaw joint with movement.
Why: disorders of the upper cervical spine, especially C2 and C3 levels may refer pain to the back area of the ear.
Why: may suggest throat disorders that may refer pain to the ear e.g. tonsillitis, pharyngitis.
Why: may suggest dental conditions that may refer pain to the ear e.g. tooth abscess, recent dental work, dental disorders, impacted 3rd molars.
Why: may suggest certain conditions that may refer pain to the ear e.g. sinusitis, trigeminal neuralgia.
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