Ears are vulnerable organs that undergo various diseases and infections. Edema appears as a result of a specific ailment. In the absence of appropriate therapy, serious complications arise. Ear edema and its treatment are described in the article.
Causes
What are the causes of ear swelling? This organ is associated with the nasopharynx. Infection of these organs can give a complication to the ears. Swelling occurs from the following reasons:
- Foreign body. The auditory organs are open, therefore they are susceptible to the penetration of small objects, insects, dust. As a result, the passage closes, inflammation is activated.
- Injuries. They usually appear in athletes. Edema of the ear appears not only with a strong shock, but also with a pressure drop from a strong voltage. This often happens with climbers and diving enthusiasts.
- Allergies. After penetration into the body of allergens, breathing is complicated and hearing is temporarily lost. Often this leads to Quincke's edema. With allergic edema of the ear, an ambulance is needed.
- Infectious and inflammatory processes - tonsillitis, tonsillitis, pharyngitis. With these ailments, hearing decreases, otitis media appears, and severe pain occurs.
- Radiation and exposure. Performing various procedures during the examination often leads to damage to the organ of hearing. This occurs when performing x-rays, tomography, irradiation with ultraviolet light.
- Oncology. Tumors arise from injuries, chronic ailments, burns. The ear canal will be closed, swelling appears.
Ear edema appears in people with weak immunity and a lack of vitamins and minerals. At risk are people with chronic ailments of the auditory organ, oncology. From hypothermia, inflammation and swelling occur.
How is it manifested?
Symptoms of otitis media in adults include:
- aching pain;
- an increase in behind the ear lymph nodes;
- hearing impairment;
- stuffy ears;
- discharge from the ears;
- deterioration in general condition;
- foreign body sensation;
- intoxication - fever, chills, myalgia.
A sore ear will be more healthy. It will hurt and respond to touch. Of the symptoms of otitis media in adults, a sharp, shooting, tugging pain is distinguished. It goes into the neck, head, manifested by general discomfort, fever, purulent discharge. A sore ear turns red, will be hypersensitive to light touch.
Symptoms and treatment of auditory nerve neuritis are interrelated. No matter how uncomfortable feelings appear, qualified assistance is required.
If swelling of the ear is detected in the child, it becomes tearful, nervous. This indicates that the problem is serious. The child should be taken to the doctor. Ear edema, like other symptoms of ear pathology, cannot be ignored. Do not self-medicate, you need to see a doctor.
Diagnostics
With edema and ear congestion, you need to contact the otolaryngologist. It will be he who will conduct the initial inspection. If necessary, consultation is required:
- infectious disease specialist;
- oncologist;
- surgeon.
Diagnosis is:
- in the collection of anamnesis;
- bacteriological examination of scraping from the affected area;
- KLA and LHC;
- otoscopy;
- microotoscopy;
- CT or MRI of the brain.
Diagnostic procedures are prescribed on the basis of the clinical picture and the established medical history during the initial examination of the patient. Only after the measures taken, the doctor prescribes treatment.
Treatment
If ear swelling is detected, what should I do? The following medicines can be used for treatment:
- Adrenaline, antihistamines (Suprastin, Diazolin), hormonal drugs (Prednisolone).
- Antibiotics with a general effect (Ciprofloxacin), ear drops with an antibacterial effect (Otipax).
- Nasal drops with a vasoconstrictor effect (Otrivin), drugs to increase mucosal secretion (Sinupret).
- "Tetracycline," suppressing Pseudomonas aeruginosa in the treatment of perichondritis.
If the cause is allergy, then allergen detection is required so that there is no secondary contact. The hematoma is treated by applying cold to the site of hemorrhage and edema. If this is ineffective, then an incision and suction of the accumulated blood is performed with a syringe. Sometimes they put drainage. When excess blood is removed, a tight dressing must be applied to prevent its secondary accumulation. In this case, antibiotics are used.
Foreign body removal
Previously, doctors removed foreign bodies with tweezers and forceps. But now this method is not applied, especially if the subject is round or oval. It can slip and go deeper. If the subject is deep, then removal is complicated.
First, an otoscopy is performed. This will help establish the site of localization of a foreign object and the place between it and the outer layer of the ear canal. A specialist must get into this gap to remove a foreign object. This is the easiest removal method.
If the item is in the ear for several days, then washing is performed for 3 days. Before this, 5-6 drops of alcohol should be instilled. On the 3rd day, under strong pressure of the water, the body is removed. If the item is not removed, the walls of the ear become inflamed, then the doctors perform the operation. In this case, anesthesia is administered, after which the foreign body is removed with special tools.
To exclude serious complications, timely medical attention is required. Often neglect of health leads to negative consequences. Often in these cases, complete hearing loss occurs, which greatly complicates a person’s life.
Other methods
Treatment of edema of the ear can be performed using physiotherapy if the acute phase of the disease subsides. Allowed application:
- magnetotherapy;
- quartzing;
- UHF therapy;
- electrophoresis.
Also, blowing and catheterization of the auditory tube are used, which lower the pressure in the ear, eliminate edema, and allow you to use the necessary drugs. With a tumor or abscess, surgery is needed. In young children, diagnosis and treatment are complicated, since they are not able to describe personal feelings, and the symptoms are often similar to other ailments.
ethnoscience
With edema of the ears, after consultation with a doctor, traditional medicine is used:
- Compresses based on cabbage or plantain. Sheets are applied to the affected area. The compress should be fixed with a bandage and left for several hours. Then the sheet is changed and the procedure is repeated.
- Compress with bay leaf. The sheet needs to be crushed, pour boiling water (1 cup), after which the product should be infused for 1 hour. Then a cotton swab is moistened and injected into the sore ear.
- Propolis-based compress. Eliminate inflammation and swelling will allow alcohol tincture of propolis, which must be mixed with vegetable oil in an amount of 1: 4. The resulting mixture should be moistened with a gauze swab and placed in the ear for several hours.
- Compress from essential oil. 2-3 drops of chamomile essential oil are added to warm water (1/2 cup). With a ready-made product, moisten a cotton swab and place it in a painful ear. You can use rose, sage, tea tree or lavender oil.
- Horseradish juice. If there is swelling and inflammation of the ear, this remedy is instilled 2 times a day, which is necessary to improve blood circulation. It must be borne in mind that this method with some ailments can lead to burns and a sharp deterioration of the condition.
Although these funds are effective, it is advisable to use them after consulting a doctor. Self-medication can lead to adverse consequences, which are then not so easy to get rid of.
Prevention
In order to prevent pathologies in which swelling of the ears appears, it is desirable:
- Proper hygiene. Do not use ear sticks for cleaning. Also, do not use other items for this. You just need to rinse the ear passages with your finger.
- In cold weather, you need to wear a hat that covers your ears.
- Do not allow frequent contact with the ears of water and other liquids.
- Do not swim in contaminated water.
- Timely conduct treatment of ailments that lead to swelling of the ears.
Preventive measures prevent many problems with the ears, including swelling. It will be much harder to fix it if you run the problem.
Effects
If a tumor is detected in the ear, it is advisable to consult a specialist. Of folk remedies, warming up the inflamed organ with salt placed in the sock is usually used. Inflammation in the middle ear can result in:
- to rupture of the eardrum;
- destruction of small auditory ossicles;
- hearing impairment;
- cholesteatoma;
- the transition of the infectious process to a chronic one;
- meningitis;
- spread of infection to the bone.
With timely treatment, which was prescribed by the doctor, it will be possible to get rid of ear swelling in a short time. If the therapy is carried out independently, then the appearance of complications is likely. Hearing may sometimes disappear.
the washing up
To exclude swelling of the ears, you must properly care for these organs. Hygiene procedures are important to carry out regularly. But this does not mean that sulfur removal procedures must be performed daily. With the systematic removal of fluid secretion, the glands will work intensely. Gradually, an excess of liquid masses appears, which are compacted and turn into traffic jams.
Experts advise to perform deep cleaning of the ears not too often. You need to wash the auricle daily to prevent the accumulation of opportunistic microorganisms on the surface of the skin. Wash your ears as follows:
- Hands are soaped with antibacterial soap.
- The little finger is inserted shallow into the ear canal.
- You should soap the auricle.
- You need to tilt your head, rinse the outer ear with warm water.
- Wet your ears with a towel.
Do not allow water to enter the ear, as this often causes inflammation. The washing procedure is considered mandatory when caring for babies, which is associated with malfunctions in the thermoregulation of the body. Heavy sweating is the cause of otitis media in infants. Sweat includes proteins and organic components, which are a suitable substrate for the development of pathogens.
Cleaning
So that sulfur does not accumulate in the ears, cleaning is performed no more often than 1-2 times a week. According to otolaryngologists, the appearance of traffic jams often occurs in people who daily perform cleansing of the auditory canal. If cotton buds are often used, fluid secretion can be promoted to the bony section of the ear canal. Then the gray masses condense and plugs appear.
To protect against the accumulation of sulfur, you must use tsermentolitikami. This means with the addition of surface-active components. They provide softening of sulfur and its evacuation from the auditory canal. When performing hygiene procedures, simple rules should be considered:
- In each ear, 2-3 drops of a drug are instilled, which softens the sulfur.
- The auditory canal is closed with cotton wool for 30-40 minutes.
- A cotton swab is moistened with hydrogen peroxide.
- Ears are cleaned of fluid accumulation.
To clean the auditory canal, it is better not to use cotton buds, as they push sulfur into the ear. Compliance with hygiene rules allows you to prevent many unpleasant phenomena, including swelling.