Ears

Equipment Needed

• Otoscope
• Tuning fork (512 Hz)

What to Say to the Patient

• "I'm going to look in your ears and check your hearing."

Inspection Steps

• External ear shape, lesions
• Otoscopic view of canal and tympanic membrane

Palpation Steps

• Tragus and pinna for tenderness

Normal Findings

• TM pearly gray, landmarks visible
• Weber midline, Rinne AC>BC

Abnormal Findings

• TM erythema/bulging (otitis media)
• Cerumen impaction
• Weber lateralization
• Rinne BC>AC (conductive loss)

Common Mistakes

• Pulling pinna wrong direction (should be up/back in adults)
• Inserting speculum too deep

Documentation Example

External ears normal. TMs pearly gray with landmarks intact bilaterally. Weber midline, Rinne AC>BC bilaterally.