Item Brochure

2524
Pneumatic Otoscopy
Pneumatic otoscopy provides practitioners with a simple method for
determining tympanic mobility and helps then recognize many middle
ear disorders.
It is the pneumatic capability and insufflator attach-
ment of the otoscope which enable the examiner to
assess the mobility of the intact tympanic membrane.
This first requires that you use a speculum sufficiently
large to fit snugly into the ear canal in order to
establish an airtight chamber between the canal
and the interior of the otoscope head.
Gently squeezing the insufflator attachment produces small changes
in the air pressure of the canal. By observing the relative movements
of the tympanic membrane in response to the induced changes in
pressure, the practitioner can obtain valuable diagnostic information
about the mobility of the tympanic membrane. When fluid is present
in the middle ear, for example, movement of the tympanic membrane
is generally diminished or absent. The pneumatic otoscope may
also be useful in distinguishing between a thin atrophic intact
tympanic membrane adherent to the medial wall of the middle
ear, which can be made to move, and a large perforation, which
will not move. This procedure provides a simple method for
determining tympanic membrane mobility and is of value in
the recognition of many middle ear disorders.
Common Pathologies of the Ear
NORMAL TYMPANIC MEMBRANE (LEFT EAR)
The normal tympanic membrane (TM) is a pale, gray, ovoid
semitransparent membrane situated obliquely at the end of the
bony external auditory canal. The handle of the malleus is seen
extending downwards and backwards, ending at the apex of the
triangular “cone of reflected light.” The long process of the incus
and its articulation with the head of the stapes may frequently be
seen through the postero-superior quadrant of a thin tympanic
membrane. The mobility of an intact TM can readily be assessed
by using the pneumatic attachment to the otoscope.
RED REFLEX (RIGHT EAR)
The introduction of a speculum into the external auditory canal
may cause a reflex dilatation of the circumferential and manubrial
blood vessels supplying the tympanic membrane.
Following a prolonged examination of the ear or in a crying child,
this vasodilatation may produce an appearance mimicking that of
an early acute otitis media.
EXOSTOSIS (LEFT EAR)
Exostoses appear as discreet, hard, round or oval outcroppings
which are sometimes pedunculated. Exostoses in the ear canal are
more often multiple than single and are usually bilateral. They are
usually asymptomatic, extremely slow growing and seldom enlarge
sufficiently to occlude the meatus. Multiple exostoses appear to
result from the prolonged stimulation of the bony external canal
with cold water and are consequently seen more commonly in
persons who swim frequently.