How to Diagnose Ear Problems
Ear problems in both adults and children can cause pain and various other indications that something is wrong. Diagnosing ear problems in infants and individuals who have trouble communicating adds an additional barrier in diagnosis. This is the reason it is crucial to know how to diagnose an ear problem whether the person communicates effectively or not. Knowing the signs may also help you to prevent permanent hearing damaging in yourself.
- Ask yourself or the person you are diagnosing if he or she is experiencing any pain. If the answer is yes, pinpoint the location of the pain. For example, note if you or the other person is encountering pain inside the ear. In non-verbal individuals, you may notice tugging on the ear or moodiness. In infants, frequent or relentless crying may occur.
- Examine the ear for discharge. The discharge may contain pus and blood; take note of your findings.
- Take a sample of ear wax. Pay attention to see if there is excessive ear wax or if there are any changes in the color of the wax.
- Look in the person's ears. If it is you who may have an ear problem, ask someone to examine inside the ear. Take note of any changes or redness of the ear.
- Take your temperature or the temperature of the person who may have the ear problems. A temperature above 100 degrees means you have a fever and infection may be to blame.
- If you have a fever, you may want to take some acetaminophen.
- Call your physician or the other person's physician to inform the doctor of your findings. Let the physician know where the pain is, how high the fever is, color of the discharge or wax and how long it has been occurring.
- Follow the physician's orders, so that you are treating the condition correctly.