Carbamide peroxide is classified as a cerumenolytic, a drug that softens and loosens earwax so it can be removed.
Missing Word
cerumenolytic
A cerumenolytic breaks up or softens earwax. Carbamide peroxide does this by releasing oxygen that foams in the canal, after which gentle warm-water irrigation may remove the rest.
Category: Cerumenolytics
Question 2
The medical term for earwax, made by glands in the outer ear canal, is cerumen.
Missing Word
cerumen
Cerumen is the waxy secretion of the outer ear canal. Buildup of cerumen can muffle hearing and is the target of cerumenolytic drops.
Category: Ear Anatomy and Disorders
Question 3
The tiny bones of the middle ear that pass vibrations from the eardrum to the inner ear are the ossicles.
Missing Word
ossicles
The ossicles (malleus, incus and stapes) carry sound vibrations across the middle ear to the inner ear.
Category: Ear Anatomy and Disorders
Question 4
The snail-shaped inner ear organ whose hair cells turn sound vibrations into nerve signals is the cochlea.
Missing Word
cochlea
The cochlea is the hearing organ of the inner ear. Ototoxic drugs can destroy its hair cells, causing tinnitus and hearing loss.
Category: Ototoxicity
Question 5
Damage to the vestibular part of the inner ear, as from an aminoglycoside, causes dizziness and an unsteady gait.
Missing Word
vestibular
The vestibular system, made up of the semicircular canals and related structures, senses head position and motion. Drug damage to it causes vertigo and loss of balance rather than hearing loss.
Category: Ototoxicity
Question 6
The fluoroquinolone ear drop approved for chronic suppurative otitis media in patients with a perforated eardrum is ofloxacin.
Missing Word
ofloxacin
Ofloxacin otic solution is labeled for otitis externa, for acute otitis media in children with tympanostomy tubes, and for chronic suppurative otitis media with a perforated eardrum, because fluoroquinolone drops are not ototoxic.
Category: Otic Anti-infectives
Question 7
The corticosteroid combined with ciprofloxacin in drops for otitis externa, and also with neomycin and polymyxin B, is hydrocortisone.
Missing Word
hydrocortisone
Hydrocortisone reduces inflammation, swelling and itching in the ear canal. It is paired with ciprofloxacin, and with neomycin and polymyxin B, in otic combination products.
Category: Otic Corticosteroids
Question 8
An otoscope is the lighted instrument used to look into the ear canal and at the eardrum.
Missing Word
otoscope
An otoscope lets the nurse or provider inspect the canal and eardrum, for example to check for wax, drainage or a perforation before and after drug treatment.
Category: Cerumenolytics
Question 9
The platinum-based chemotherapy drug that commonly causes hearing loss and tinnitus is cisplatin.
Missing Word
cisplatin
Cisplatin damages the hair cells of the cochlea, and the hearing loss can be permanent, so patients receiving it have hearing monitored and report ringing or muffled hearing.
Category: Ototoxicity
Question 10
Otitis media with effusion is the form in which fluid remains behind the eardrum without signs of acute infection.
Missing Word
effusion
An effusion is a collection of fluid. In otitis media with effusion the fluid causes a feeling of fullness and muffled hearing, and antibiotics are not routinely used.
Category: Ear Anatomy and Disorders
Question 11
The medical term for ear pain, a common symptom of acute otitis media, is otalgia.
Missing Word
otalgia
Otalgia means ear pain. In acute otitis media it is often accompanied by fever, and pain relief is part of treatment.
Category: Ear Anatomy and Disorders
Question 12
Drainage of fluid or pus from the ear, as through a perforated eardrum, is called otorrhea.
Missing Word
otorrhea
Otorrhea is ear drainage. It can mean a perforated eardrum or infection and is a reason to avoid products such as carbamide peroxide until the ear is examined.
Category: Ear Anatomy and Disorders
Question 13
Mastoiditis, an infection of the bone behind the ear, is a serious complication of untreated acute otitis media.
Missing Word
Mastoiditis
Mastoiditis develops when middle ear infection spreads into the mastoid bone. It needs prompt treatment, and it is one reason acute otitis media is followed until it resolves.
Category: Ear Anatomy and Disorders
Question 14
The tympanic membrane, also called the eardrum, separates the outer ear canal from the middle ear.
Missing Word
tympanic
The tympanic membrane vibrates with sound and seals off the middle ear. Whether it is intact determines which otic drops are safe to use.
Category: Ear Anatomy and Disorders
Question 15
The gram-negative genus Pseudomonas is a common cause of acute otitis externa and is covered by ciprofloxacin ear drops.
Missing Word
Pseudomonas
Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus are common causes of otitis externa, and ciprofloxacin-containing drops act against both.
Category: Otic Anti-infectives