Otoscopes

Otoscopes
Otoscopes Category Page

Shop Simply Medical’s otoscope selection for all your medical office needs. We have otoscope accessories, including tips for ear exams and replacement otoscope halogen bulbs available for purchase.

What is an Otoscope?
An otoscope, also known as an auriscope, is the device used during an otoscopy. Otoscopies are clinical examinations where medical professionals look at the ear and its structures, which include the external auditory canal, tympanic membrane, and middle ear. Doctors and nurses use otoscopes during regular check-ups to make sure patients are healthy. They also use otoscopes when a client has specific ear complaints.

What Happens During an Otoscopy?
During an otoscopic procedure, a healthcare professional gently inserts the cone of the otoscope into a patient’s external ear canal. Otoscopes contain both a light and magnifying lens to help the doctor accurately see and evaluate the health of the visible auditory structures.

Who Uses Otoscopes?
The typical otoscope users are specialists like ear, nose, and throat physicians (ENTs), and primary care providers. Medical offices usually have multiple speculums in various sizes that attach to the otoscope. The provider should select the largest speculum that the patient’s ear can accommodate, as this offers maximum lighting for the best possible ear visualization.

It is recommended that users hold the otoscope like a pen in between their first and second fingers. The otoscope is generally held in the right hand when examining the patient’s right ear, and the left hand when assessing the left ear. The otoscope user should place their free fifth finger of the hand that’s holding the otoscope against the patient’s cheek as a way to brace their hand during the procedure.

Why is an Otoscopy Important?
As detailed in a book snippet available via the National Library of Medicine, “Examination of the tympanic membrane and middle ear by otoscopic examination can help providers diagnose a wide variety of conditions, including acute otitis media, traumatic perforation of the tympanic membrane, and cholesteatoma. Delayed diagnosis of various pathologies of the ear can facilitate progression to more serious conditions, highlighting the importance of otoscopy.”

In layman’s terms, it’s just another way of making sure patients are healthy. We often forget about ear health, but it’s as important as any other system of the body!

What Do Doctors See When Using an Otoscope?
The following descriptions of an auditory canal and ear drum describe what medical professional would typically see in a normal, healthy ear during an otoscopy.
    Auditory canal:
  • Some hair, often with yellow to brown earwax
    • Ear drum:
  • Pinkish gray color, translucent and in neutral position
  • Malleus lies in oblique position behind upper part of drum
  • Mobile with air inflation
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