Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Earwax and Foreign Body in Ear & Nose
Earwax and Foreign Body in Ear & Nose
& Nose
Earwax
• Known as cerumen, is a yellowish, waxy
substance secreted in the ear canal of humans
and many other mammals.
• It plays an important role in the human ear canal,
assisting in cleaning and lubrication.
• Provides some protection from bacteria, fungus,
and insects.
• In normal circumstances, excess wax finds its way
out of the canal and into the ear opening
naturally, and then is washed away.
Excess earwax
• May get hard and block the ear
• You can accidentally push the wax deeper,
causing a blockage.
• Wax buildup is a common reason for
temporary hearing loss.
Causes of earwax buildup
• Use of ear buds (This is the most common cause
of ear wax problem)
– In an attempt to clean the ear, wax is pushed in deep
into the ear canal and
• Use of pins/ match sticks/rolled napkin corners
• Using ear plugs
• Hearing aid users
• Structural variations in ear canal producing
narrow/collapsed outer ear canal
• Swellings in outer ear canal
– an osteoma
These can prevent earwax from coming out of the ear canals
and cause blockages.
Signs and symptoms of earwax buildup
• The appearance of earwax varies from light yellow to dark
brown.
• Signs of earwax buildup include:
– Ear Blockage
– Ear Fullness
– Ear Pain
– Ear Discomfort
– Ear Itching
– Sudden or partial hearing loss, which is usually
temporary
– Dizziness
– Tinnitus which is a ringing or buzzing in the ear sudden
or partial hearing loss, which is usually temporary
Complication of earwax
• Unremoved earwax buildup can lead to infection.
• small toys
• pieces of eraser
• tissue
• clay (used for arts and crafts)
• food
• pebbles
• dirt
• paired disc magnets
• button batteries
Symptoms of foreign body in nose
• Difficulty breathing through the affected
nostril
• Feeling of something in the nose
• Foul-smelling
• Bloody nasal discharge
• Irritability, particularly in infants
• Irritation or pain in the nose
Investigation
• Patient history
• Rhinoscopy
• Radiograph
– Computed tomography (CT) scanning or other
advanced imaging modalities may be useful when the
differential diagnosis includes, for example, tumor or
sinusitis.
– Ingestion or aspiration of a foreign body, the patient
should be evaluated with chest/abdominal
radiography.
• An aspirated, radiolucent foreign body may be inferred by post-
obstructive air trapping, and an ingested foreign body will show up if it
is radiopaque, as most ingested foreign bodies are.
Treatment
• Give anaesthesia – general or local
• Visualization
• Removal
Complications
• Nasal Infection
• Sinusitis
• Rhinolith
– Stone Formation
• over the Foreign Body
• Inhalation into the
– Tracheobronchial Tree.
Foreign body is shown in the left nasal cavity with
surrounding inflammation.
• View of the nasal cavity after removal of the
foreign body. Note the rust from screw.
REFERENCES
• https://www.healthline.com/health/earwax-
buildup
• https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/763
767-overview
• https://www.healthline.com/health/foreign-
body-in-the-nose#treatment