What does a dull tympanic membrane mean?
A dull or absent light reflex from the eardrum may be a sign of a middle ear infection or fluid. The eardrum may be red and bulging if there is an infection.
What does a red tympanic membrane mean?
Dark red indicates a recent trauma or blood behind the TM. A dark pink or lighter red TM is consistent with AOM or hyperemia of the TM caused by crying, coughing, or nose blowing. The color of the eardrum is less important diagnostically than its position and mobility.
What is a pinna?
The pinna is the part of the ear you see on the side of your head. It’s made of tough cartilage covered by skin. Its main job is to gather sounds and funnel them to the ear canal, which is the pathway that leads to the middle ear.
What does cloudy eardrum mean?
Suppurative (filled with pus) chronic otitis media – This happens when there is a hole in the eardrum and an infection in the middle ear. Cloudy and sometimes foul-smelling fluid drains out through the opening. Treatment with antibiotics usually helps to clear the active infection.
What does tympanic membrane look like?
The membrane lies across the end of the external canal and looks like a flattened cone with its tip (apex) pointed inward. The edges are attached to a ring of bone, the tympanic annulus.
What causes inflammation of the eardrum?
Bacteria or viruses are usually the cause. The infection causes inflammation and swelling of the eustachian tube. The tube narrows and fluid builds behind the eardrum, causing pressure and pain. Children have shorter and narrower eustachian tubes than adults.
When is the tympanic membrane bulging in the middle ear?
If the lesion extends into the middle ear, however, conductive deafnessmay result. Is the tympanic membrane bulging or retracted? Bulging of the membrane may indicate fluid or pus in the middle ear. No bubbles or fluid should be seen behind the tympanic membrane in the middle ear.
How to describe the color of the tympanic membrane?
Describe the color, integrity, transparency, position, and landmarks of the tympanic membrane. Healthy tympanic membranes are usually pearly gray. Diseased tympanic membranes may be dull and become red or yellow. Is the eardrum injected? Injection refers to the dilatation of blood vessels, making them more apparent.
Is the eardrum injected into a healthy tympanic membrane?
Healthy tympanic membranes are usually pearly gray. Diseased tympanic membranes may be dull and become red or yellow. Is the eardrum injected? Injection refers to the dilatation of blood vessels, making them more apparent.
Where is the chorda tympani nerve located in the ear?
The chorda tympani nerve, which supplies innervation to the anterior two thirds of the tongue and stimulates taste there, is frequently visible in the upper posterior quadrant;it passes horizontally across the middle ear behind the tympanic membrane between the long process of the incus and the handle of the malleus.