Hearing and Balance Disorders - Exam 2 Study Notes

Vocabulary flashcards covering ear anatomy, signs of head trauma, auditory assessments, hearing loss categories, cerumen management, and middle ear disorders.

Adult otoscopy technique

The clinical technique of pulling the pinna up and back to straighten the external ear canal for examination.

Normal tympanic membrane

An intact, pearly-gray, translucent, and slightly concave eardrum with visible bony landmarks (such as the malleus) and a distinct cone of light reflex.

Eustachian tube

The channel connecting the middle ear space to the nasopharynx that functions to ventilate the middle ear and equalize atmospheric pressure.

Hemotympanum

A blue, purple, or dark-red appearance visible behind the tympanic membrane caused by blood accumulation in the middle ear, indicating potential temporal or basilar skull fracture.

CSF otorrhea

Clear, watery drainage discharging from the ear following head trauma, signifying a cerebrospinal fluid leak.

Battle sign

Bruising or ecchymosis developing over the mastoid process behind the ear, presenting as a delayed finding concerning for a basilar skull fracture.

Conductive hearing loss

Hearing impairment occurring when sound is not efficiently transmitted through the outer or middle ear to the cochlea, frequently treatable medically or surgically.

Sensorineural hearing loss

Hearing impairment resulting from damage to the inner ear cochlear hair cells or the CN VIII (auditory nerve) pathway, often presenting as permanent loss.

Presbycusis

Age-related sensorineural hearing loss characteristically marked by loss of high-frequency perception and difficulty discriminating speech in noisy environments.

Whisper test

A quick bedside screening method evaluating gross hearing acuity by masking one ear and whispering numbers or letters from behind the patient.

Weber test

A tuning fork test applied to the midline skull assessing bone conduction lateralization; sound lateralizes to the affected ear in conductive hearing loss and to the unaffected (better) ear in sensorineural hearing loss.

Rinne test

A tuning fork assessment comparing air conduction to bone conduction; normal or sensorineural results show air conduction exceeding bone conduction ($AC > BC$), whereas conductive loss shows bone conduction equal to or greater than air conduction ($BC \ge AC$).

Tympanoplasty

A surgical procedure involving the reconstruction or repair of a diseased or perforated tympanic membrane.

Mastoidectomy

Surgical removal of infected or diseased mastoid air cells, which may include the excision of a cholesteatoma.

Cerumenolytic

A topical softening agent (such as mineral oil or prescribed drops) instilled into the ear canal to loosen impacted cerumen before removal or irrigation.

Ear irrigation contraindications

Clinical factors prohibiting flushing of the ear canal, including tympanic membrane perforation, the presence of ear tubes, suspected ear infection, or prior relevant ear surgeries.

Acute otitis media (AOM)

An acute middle ear infection and inflammation commonly preceded by a URI and Eustachian tube dysfunction, presenting with otalgia, fever, middle-ear effusion, and a bulging, erythematous tympanic membrane.

Tympanostomy tubes

Surgically inserted ventilating tubes placed into the tympanic membrane to manage qualifying recurrent middle ear infections or persistent middle-ear effusion.