Is your ear itchy and painful, and is oozing and crusting over? You may have acute otitis externa

We often encounter such situations in life: water enters the ears or the ears become painful and itchy after cleaning, and the ears ooze and scab repeatedly, and sometimes even hurt so much that you can't sleep at night. What is the reason? An otolaryngologist from the Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine said that it may be caused by otitis externa, a common clinical disease that is prone to recurrence.

Xu Xiujuan, deputy chief physician of the Department of Otolaryngology at the Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, said that the ear is a very delicate organ that is responsible for the body's hearing and balance and plays a very important role. The ear consists of three parts: the outer ear, the middle ear and the inner ear. The outer ear consists of two parts: the auricle and the external auditory canal. The external auditory canal is a curved tube from the external auditory meatus to the eardrum, about 2.5-3.5 cm long. Its skin is continued from the auricle. The outer third of the external auditory canal wall is made of cartilage, and the inner two thirds of the external auditory canal wall is made of bone.

The external auditory canal is a sound transmission channel that amplifies external sounds and has resonance characteristics, which can enhance or expand the sound in the mid- and high-frequency bands by 10-15dB. There are ear hairs, sebaceous glands, and cerumen glands on the skin of the cartilage part of the external auditory canal. The secretions of the glands can adhere to foreign matter such as dust from the outside world, producing "earwax", which has a certain protective and safety effect.

The external auditory canal is like a precision instrument that maintains the health of the ear. First, the external auditory canal is often curved in an "S" shape, which can prevent external environmental dirt and flying insects from entering the ear, and also has a certain buffering effect on sound waves; secondly, the epithelial layer of the skin of the external auditory canal is different from other parts of the body. It will migrate dynamically, starting from the center of the eardrum and gradually moving from the inside to the outside of the external auditory canal, forming a natural cleaning mechanism for the external auditory canal. Because of this mechanism, although the ear canal constantly produces earwax, with our swallowing and chewing movements, the earwax and foreign matter in the external auditory canal are constantly expelled from the body; thirdly, the earwax in the external auditory canal of normal people is slightly acidic and has an anti-infection effect. When earwax is lacking, the external auditory canal loses its antibacterial "acid coat" and is prone to disease.

So, how does otitis externa occur? Xu Xiujuan said that due to bad ear-picking habits, ear injuries, water in the ear, excessive cleaning of earwax, and changes in temperature and humidity in the external environment, the skin and subcutaneous tissue of the external auditory canal are damaged by viruses or bacteria, which leads to the occurrence of otitis externa.

Xu Xiujuan said that in the early stage of acute otitis externa, there is often a burning sensation and slight pain in the ear. As the disease progresses, the pain gradually intensifies, accompanied by swelling of the ear canal, dampness and water flow. Most patients have unbearable pain, obvious pain at night, and even restlessness. It worsens when chewing or talking, and some are accompanied by systemic symptoms such as headache and fever. Chronic otitis externa is mainly characterized by itching in the ear, stuffy and blocked ears, damp water flow, and discomfort in the ear. Healthy people often suffer from chronic diseases due to frequent ear digging, while some patients are often accompanied by systemic diseases such as skin diseases, anemia, endocrine disorders and diabetes. The treatment of otitis externa is relatively simple, and ear drops can achieve the purpose of cure for mild cases. However, due to the curvature of the ear canal, the habit of ear digging and the influence of the living environment, otitis externa often recurs, becomes chronic or is complicated by fungal infection, which has a certain impact on life. Regardless of acute or chronic otitis externa, the treatment is mainly to reduce swelling and pain, dry the ear canal, and re-establish the defense mechanism of the ear canal.

At present, the Department of Otolaryngology of Jiangsu Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine is conducting a clinical efficacy study on Chinese herbal ear drops for acute and chronic otitis externa. The drug is mild and non-irritating, has good antipruritic and astringent effects, and provides free physical examinations and free otoscopy examinations. Patients with otitis externa are welcome to actively participate.

Sun Qian, Ji Kan