This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Sign in
Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages without signing in

Golden rules referring to adults

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

  • unilateral acute otitis externa is a serious pseudomonas infection until proved otherwise *

  • unilateral glue ear in an adult is a post nasal space tumour until proved otherwise

  • otitis externa in diabetes needs to be treated in an ENT department. It may be necrotising otitis externa

  • superior or postero superior disease in chronic secretory otitis media is cholesteatoma

  • sudden sensory neurological hearing loss is an otological emergency and should be referred to the ENT department

  • remember the false negative Rhinne test. Always use the Weber as well

  • all cases of unilateral sensorineural hearing loss need to have acoustic neuromas excluded

  • sudden hearing loss, tinnitus or vertigo - think about perilymph leak

  • patients with only one hearing ear - send to the ENT department

* more than 90% of cases of otitis externa are due to bacteria - most commonly Pseudomonas aeruginosa (22–62%) and Staphylococcus aureus (11–34%) (1)

Reference:

  • Roland PS, Stroman DW. Microbiology of acute otitis externa. Laryngoscope. 2002;112:1166–1177

Create an account to add page annotations

Create a free account

Annotations allow you to add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation. E.g. a website or number. This information will always show when you visit this page.

The content herein is provided for informational purposes and does not replace the need to apply professional clinical judgement when diagnosing or treating any medical condition. A licensed medical practitioner should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions.

Connect

Copyright 2024 Oxbridge Solutions Limited, a subsidiary of OmniaMed Communications Limited. All rights reserved. Any distribution or duplication of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited. Oxbridge Solutions receives funding from advertising but maintains editorial independence.