Ear examination

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Ear anatomy

Medical findings based on ear anatomy

Otoscopic exam of the ear

An ear examination is when your doctor looks inside your ear using an instrument called an otoscope.

Otoscopy

The health care provider may dim the lights in the room.

A young child will be asked to lie on his or her back with the head turned to the side, or the child's head may rest against an adult's chest.

Older children and adults may sit with the head tilted toward the shoulder opposite the ear being examined.

The health care provider will gently pull up, back, or forward on the ear to straighten the ear canal. Then, the tip of the otoscope will be placed gently into your ear. A light beam shines through the otoscope into the ear canal. The health care provider will carefully move the scope in different directions to see the inside of the ear and eardrum. Sometimes, this view may be blocked by earwax.

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The otoscope may have a plastic bulb on it, which delivers a tiny puff of air into the outer ear canal when pressed. This is done to see how the eardrum moves. Decreased movement can mean that there is fluid in the middle ear.

No preparation is needed for this test.

If there is an ear infection, there may be some discomfort or pain. The health care provider will stop the test if the pain gets worse.

An ear exam may be done if you have an earache, ear infection, hearing loss, or other ear symptoms.

Examining the ear also helps the health care provider see if treatment for an ear problem is working.

Review Date: 02/16/2011
Reviewed By: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org).