An invasive infection of the external auditory canal that can lead to skull base osteomyelitis.
Typically occurs in older adults with diabetes mellitus.
Infection spreads beyond the skin to soft tissue, cartilage, and bone of the temporal region and skull base.
Risk factors in diabetics may include microangiopathy in the ear canal and increased pH in diabetic cerumen.
Caused by P. aeruginosa in more than 95 percent of cases. Other organisms include Aspergillus species. Occasional reports of Staphylococcus aureus, Proteus mirabilis, Klebsiella oxytoca, Burkholderia cepacia, and Candida parapsilosis.