ENT - Otitis Externa

What is Otitis Externa?

Otitis externa is a general term for an outer ear infection (infection in the ear canal). This can be caused by bacteria or fungus / yeast and can sometimes be quite difficult to manage.

People with otitis externa can experience some or all of the following symptoms:

• Pain/discomfort
• Discharge
• Blocked ear/hearing loss
• Itching
• Swelling of the outer ear (ear canal and pinna)

Sometimes people don’t experience any symptoms at all.

How is otitis externa treated?

If your doctor or nurse has diagnosed otitis externa there are a few different treatments that might be used. If there is any discharge or debris in your ear canal, this will be removed by using either microsuction or one of our specially designed instruments.

Once the ear is clean, the doctor or nurse may insert some ointment into your ear to treat the infection or they might prescribe you some ear drops to use.

In very severe or difficult to manage cases of infection, you might be given a prescription for some tablet antibiotics as well but usually the drops or ointment are very successful and this is not required.

What can I do to help my infection get better?

Always follow the instructions on your prescriptions and even if your ear feels as if it is better, continue the prescription until the course of treatment is complete.

Sometimes your ear can feel better very quickly but some of the infection is still present so it will get worse if you stop the treatment.

Keep your ear very dry when bathing. When having a shower or washing your hair, use a piece of cotton wool covered in Vaseline or other yellow soft paraffin product to block your infected ear canal to stop the water from going into the ear.
 
This will stop the ear from becoming irritated by the water and will stop any more bacteria from entering the ear whilst you shower. If you have a bath, don’t put your head under the water and it is a good idea to avoid swimming while you have an ear infection.

If you wear a hearing aid, it is very important to keep this clean. You should clean the ear mould (the part that goes in your ear) with anti-bacterial wipes or solution every day as the infection from your ear will stay on the hearing aid until it is cleaned and will keep re-infecting your ear.

It is also a good idea to not wear your hearing aid until the infection has cleared or to leave it out for long periods of time throughout the day. This will help the ear dry up a little and stop it from getting warm and sweaty (the perfect environment for bacteria to grow in).

Please only leave your hearing aid out if you are safe to do so. It is important that you hear any alarms, doorbells, traffic and if you are at risk of being unable to do this we would prefer you to wear your hearing aid.

Do not clean your ears with anything. Even if your ears feel blocked, do not use cotton buds or any other instruments or tissue to clean inside them.

This will damage your ear canals and push the infection further down into the ear making it much harder to be treated.

Contact Numbers

If you have any questions or problems, please contact:

Rachel Parks
ENT Specialist Nurse
rachel.parks@nca.nhs.uk

Ear, Nose, and Throat (E.N.T.) Dept - 0161 206 4758