ear, nose, and throat disorders
External Ear Obstructions
Introduction
The ear canal may be obstructed by cerumen (earwax), a foreign object, or an insect. Itching, pain, and temporary conductive hearing loss may result. Most causes of obstruction are readily apparent during otoscopic examination. Treatment is careful manual removal with proper lighting and instruments. Before and after attempting to remove cerumen or a foreign body from the ear canal, clinicians should consider doing a Hearing Loss if they have the necessary equipment readily available. Hearing loss (compared to the unaffected ear) that does not improve after removal of the obstruction could indicate that the foreign body (or prior attempts to remove it) has damaged the middle or inner ear. Hearing that worsens after removal of the obstruction could indicate damage caused by the removal process. However, practitioners who cannot formally assess hearing need not defer removal of common, easily removable obstructions. An in-office tuning fork test may also document hearing status. 