“There’s water in my ear.”

60 y/o man presents for follow up of his diabetes and hypertension. All is well until the end of the appointment when he says, “Oh, by the way, Doc, I feel like I have water in my ear” No ear pain, URI symptoms, hearing loss, tinnitus, vertigo, trauma, fever, recent swimming. 124/78 87 T 98.9

“Do not attempt to remove a large bug or insect without killing it first. They tend to be wily, evasive little creatures well equipped for fighting in tunnels. In the heat of battle, the patient can become terrorized by the noise and pain and the instrument that you are using is likely to damage the ear canal.” -NCEMI.ORG

Removal Techniques  Irrigation  Suction  Alligator forceps  Hooks or curette

Removal Pearls  Swelling  Viscous lidocaine  Don’t make it worse!  Batteries are bad!  Reexamine the ear