CASE STUDY (BYU2): GLASS SHARD NEAR TYMPANIC MEMBRANE

Contributed by: Richard W. Harris, Ph.D.
Department of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology @ Brigham Young University
Provo, UT


Figures A and B represent two different observation depths of video otoscopy in the ear canal. The images display the left ear of an adult male patient involved in a severe automobile accident. The vehicle rolled over, shattering the windshield. Several days after the accident, the patient was seen with a chief complaint that his left ear "did not feel quite right". Video otoscopy revealed the presence of a windshield glass fragment lodged just lateral to the left tympanic membrane. Audiometry and tympanometry on that ear were within normal limits. The patient was referred for (ENT) medical consultation with atraumatic removal of the artifact.