2. Both Ears (AU)
The ear is subdivided into three areas:
External ear
Middle ear
Inner Ear
The study of the ear is known as otology.
The study of ear disorders is known as
audiology.
4. Otitis Media (OM)
Otitis Media is inflammation of the middle ear.
The inflammation can occur as a result of an infection
extending up the eustachian tube.
This tube may become blocked by a bacterial or viral
infection or by enlarged adenoids.
Fluid produced by the inflammation cannot drain off through
the tube and instead collects in the middle ear
Four main causes:
Allergy
Infection
Blockage of the eustachian tube
Nutritional deficiency
5. Otitis Media (OM) – Cont’d
Treatments include:
Antibiotics
Surgery (if antibiotics fail)
Myringotomy (involves insertion of PE tube through
small incision in the eardrum)
Adenoidectomy (surgical removal of adenoids)
This is usually a last resort.
6. Pressure Equalizing Tube (PE tube)
Small tube surgically placed in a child’s
eardrum to assist in drainage of trapped fluid
and to equalize pressure between the middle
ear cavity and the atmosphere.
Tiny, hollow tube made of soft material
Known by other names:
Tympanostomy tubes
Ventilating tubes
Doesn’t cause hearing loss or long term
damage to the ear drum.
7. Bone Conduction (BC)
Bone conduction is the conduction of sound
through the bones of the skull.
Two types:
Compressional: high-pitched sounds cause the
segments of the skull to vibrate individually.
Inertial: low-pitched sounds vibrate the entire
skull, causing it to move while the suspended
sensory parts of the inner ear remain at rest.
8. Eye, Ear, Nose, and Throat (EENT)
Patient services include diagnostics,
medical treatment, and surgical services
for eye, ear, nose, and throat.
A patient experiencing allergy symptoms
would see an EENT specialist.
10. Left Eye (OS)
The study of the eye is known as ophthalmology.
The eyeball is the organ of sight that transmits an
external image by way of the nervous system – the
optic nerve – to the brain.
In addition to the eyeball, several external structures
play a role in vision:
Eye muscles
Eyelids
Conjunctiva
Lacrimal apparatus
11. Extraocular Movement (EOM)
Refers to eye movements
There are the six extraocular muscles, which
act to turn or rotate an eye about its vertical,
horizontal, and antero-posterior axes:
medial rectus (MR),
lateral rectus (LR),
superior rectus (SR),
inferior rectus (IR),
superior oblique (SO), and
inferior oblique (IO).
13. Visual Acuity (VA)
Refers to the measurement of the
sharpness of a patient’s vision.
Usually, a Snellen chart is used for
this test
A patient identifies letters on a chart from a
distance of 20 feet.
15. Emmetropia (EM)
Emmetropia is referred to as state of normal
vision.
A person with emmetropia (perfect vision)
doesn’t need eyeglasses or contacts.
The reason for this is that the light that enters
a person’s eye bends correctly
16. Exotropia (XT)
Refers to outward turning of the eye (also called wall-
eyed)
Form of strabismus (muscle weakness of the eye)
Symptoms:
Decreased vision
Misaligned eyes
Sensitivity to light
Treatment:
Although glasses, exercises or prisms may reduce or help
control the outward turning eye in some children, surgery is
often needed to correct exotropia, obtain 3-dimensional
vision, and prevent permanent vision loss.
