TranslateOtitis externa
Outpatients | Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT)
This condition is treated in the Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) clinic.
Pre-referral work-up
History
All referrals should comply to the referral standards and include:
- Otalgia, hearing loss, otorrhoea, pruritic ear canal
- History ear canal trauma e.g. cotton bud/hair pin use
- Diabetic history
- Examination findings of oedematous ear canal (TM may not be seen) and purulent otorrhoea
- Tuning forks consistent with conductive or sensorineural loss
Interim/GP management
To refer a patient with this condition, please see the ENT clinic page for the full referral process and templates.
- Protect ear from water exposure
- Aural toilet (not syringing) if experienced and adequate equipment available
- Tissue spear can be used for dry mopping
- Topical antibiotic/steroid drops
- Consider topical antifungal/steroid drops if fungal (e.g. spores)
- If unresponsive to initial management, prescribe culture directed topical drops
- If perforation present, use Ciloxan or consider locacorten vioform drops
For more information please see the HealthPathways Tasmania website.
Clinic appointments
? Red location flags are clinical indicators of possible serious underlying conditions requiring further medical intervention. They may or may not indicate an emergency.
Emergency
? If otalgia disproportionate with signs in diabetic patient non-responsive to topical therapy - refer immediately to ED to exclude skull base osteomyelitis
? If ear canal occluded by oedema / unable to clear discharge - refer immediately to ED
If you, or someone else, are experiencing a serious and life-threatening injury or illness call triple zero (000) immediately or go to the nearest Emergency Department.
Learn more about when to access emergency care and non-emergency care options if the injury or illness is not serious or life-threatening.
Availability
North
Launceston General Hospital
Level 3 - Specialist Clinics
Phone: 1300 977 694
Fax: 03 6777 5227
North West
Unavailable.
See HealthPathways Tasmania for more information
South
Wellington Clinics
Phone: 03 6166 0000
Fax: 03 6234 9454
To contact the on-call ENT Registrar, phone the switchboard on 03 6166 8308.
