Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.
Dr. Shiel received a Bachelor of Science degree with honors from the University of Notre Dame. There he was involved in research in radiation biology and received the Huisking Scholarship. After graduating from St. Louis University School of Medicine, he completed his Internal Medicine residency and Rheumatology fellowship at the University of California, Irvine. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology.
Jay W. Marks, MD, is a board-certified internist and gastroenterologist. He graduated from Yale University School of Medicine and trained in internal medicine and gastroenterology at UCLA/Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
Never put anything smaller than your elbow in your ear! Wax is not formed in
the deep part of the ear canal near the eardrum, but only in the outer part of
the canal near the external opening. So when a doctor sees that a patient has
wax pushed up against the eardrum, he or she knows that it is often because the
patient has been probing his or her ear with such things as Q-Tips, bobby pins
or twisted napkin corners! Such objects only serve as ramrods to push the wax
deeper into the ear and can lead to problems.
The skin of the ear canal and the eardrum is very
thin and fragile, and is easily injured. The ear canal is more prone to
infection after it has been whipped clean of the "good," coating-type wax.
Doctors see many perforated eardrums as a result of the above efforts. Some
doctors recommend the use of two drops of mineral oil in each ear one day per
week at bedtime to help liquefy ear wax in people who have a history of
recurrent problems with ear wax. This should only be done if the individual has
an intact eardrum and no other known problems with their ears.
Middle ear infection or inflammation (otitis media) is inflammation fo the middle ear. There are two types of otitis media, acute and chronic. Acute otitis media is generally short in duration, and chronic otitis media generally lasts several weeks. Seventy-five percent of children in the U.S. suffer from otitis media at some point. Treatment depends upon the type (chronic or acute).
Swimmer's ear (external otitis) is an infection of the skin that covers the outer ear canal. Causes of swimmer's ear include excessive water exposure that leads to trapped bacteria in the ear canal. Symptoms include a feeling of fullness in the ear, itching, and ear pain. Chronic swimmer's ear may be caused by eczema, seborrhea, fungus, chronic irritation, and other conditions. Common treatment includes antibiotic ear drops.
Objects or insects in the ear can be placed in the ear by patients themselves, or an insect crawling in the ear. Ear wax can also cause ear problems if Q-tips are overused to clean the ears. Symptoms of an object in the ear are inflammation and sensitivity, redness, or discharge of pus or blood. When to seek medical care for an object or insect in the ear is included in the article information.
Noise-induced hearing loss may be an acoustic trauma (temporary hearing loss), or permanent due to an acute acoustic trauma. Experts agree that continual exposure to more then 85 dBs (decibels) is dangerous to the ears. Ear plugs and ear muffs can help prevent noise-induced hearing loss as well as decreasing exposure to loud noises.
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