Summary
Differentials
Common
- Cerumen impaction
- Foreign body
- Benign tumors (e.g., exostosis, osteoma, polyps)
- Uncomplicated otitis externa
- Acute otitis media
- Serous otitis/middle-ear effusion
- Cholesteatoma
- Labyrinthitis
- Noise-related hearing loss
- External ear-canal trauma
- Complication of meningitis
- Stroke
- Age-related hearing impairment: presbycusis
Uncommon
- External ear canal neoplasm
- Necrotizing otitis externa
- Tympanic-membrane perforation
- Temporal bone fracture
- Isolated developmental abnormality
- Congenital hearing loss
- Alport syndrome
- Jervell Lange-Nielsen syndrome
- Craniofacial abnormalities (e.g., Pierre Robin, Crouzon, Apert syndromes)
- Waardenburg syndrome
- Acoustic neuroma (vestibular schwannoma)
- Glomus tumor
- Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection
- Toxoplasmosis infection
- Syphilis infection
- Paget disease
- Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)
- Granulomatosis with polyangiitis (formerly known as Wegener granulomatosis)
- Diabetes mellitus
- Osteogenesis imperfecta
- Vertebral artery dissection
- Multiple sclerosis (MS)
- Arnold-Chiari malformation
- Auditory neuropathy
- Ototoxic drugs
- Meniere disease
- Neonatal hyperbilirubinemia
- Otosclerosis
- Autoimmune inner ear disease
- Perilymphatic fistula
Contributors
Authors
Otolaryngologist (Otology/Neurotology)
Department of Otolaryngology
Virginia Mason Medical Center
Medical Director
The Listen for Life Center at Virginia Mason
Seattle
WA
Disclosures
SRS is an author of a reference cited in this topic.
Dr S.R. Schwartz would like to gratefully acknowledge Dr S.J. Marzo, Dr J.P. Leonetti, and Dr R.J. Buckingham, previous contributors to this topic. SJM, JPL, and RJB declare that they have no competing interests.
Peer reviewers
Assistant Professor
Department of Otolaryngology
Department of Neurosurgery
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Chicago
IL
Disclosures
AM declares that he has no competing interests.
Professor of Otorhinolaryngology
MRC Institute of Hearing Research
Glasgow
UK
Disclosures
GB is an author of several books that include discussion of evaluation of hearing loss.
Use of this content is subject to our disclaimer