EXTERNAL EAR AURAL ATRESIA

Course overview

AURAL ATRESIA IS THE ABSENCE OF A PATENT EAR CANAL, WHICH MAY BE EITHER ACQUIRED OR CONGENITAL. ACQUIRED AURAL ATRESIA IS MOST OFTEN DUE TO AN INFLAMMATORY PROCESS OR FOLLOWING TRAUMA OR OTOLOGIC SURGERY. CONGENITAL AURAL ATRESIA IS A MALFORMATION OF THE EXTERNAL AUDITORY CANAL RESULTING IN PROFOUND CONDUCTIVE HEARING LOSS IN THE NEWBORN THAT PERSISTS INTO LATER LIFE. IN THE SETTING OF CONGENITAL AURAL ATRESIA, THE MIDDLE EAR MAY BE COMPLETELY STRUCTURALLY AND FUNCTIONALLY NORMAL OR MAY HAVE CONCURRENT MALFORMATIONS. TO PRESERVE HEARING AND ALLOW NORMAL SPEECH AND LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT IN THE FACE OF THIS CONGENITAL MALFORMATION, PROMPT DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT ARE REQUIRED. THIS ACTIVITY REVIEWS THE EVALUATION AND TREATMENT OF AURAL ATRESIA AND HIGHLIGHTS THE ROLE OF THE INTERPROFESSIONAL TEAM IN THE CARE OF PATIENTS WITH THIS CONDITION.