Everyone Healthy Library
Earache Otitis Externa
Also Known As: Swimmer’s ear and is characterized by the swelling, redness and inflammation of the outer ear canal
Condition / disease reference page from the Everyone Healthy database.
Connected health information
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Linked signs and symptoms
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Linked drugs / medications
1Medication information is educational only. A doctor or pharmacist should advise whether any medicine is appropriate.
Treatments, therapies and supportive options
1Grouped by treatment type. These are educational database links, not personal treatment recommendations. Evidence labels are shown only where stored in the EH database.
Linked diagnostic tests and investigations
2These are pulled from both EH diagnostic-test link tables, including the older large test-link table.
Biological and test markers
4This visual map uses existing EH database links to show biological agents and lab markers reported as increased, decreased, or associated with this condition. These are educational relationships only; test results must be interpreted by a qualified clinician because ranges vary by lab, method, age, sex and clinical context.
Often increased
4- Alpha-1-Globulin (Blood, Serum)Reference range exampleAll: 0.1–0.3 gm/dLLinked diagnostic tests1Protein Electrophoresis (Blood, Serum Protein)
- Alpha-2-Globulin (Blood, Serum)Reference range exampleAll: 0.6–1 gm/dLLinked diagnostic tests1Protein Electrophoresis (Blood, Serum Protein)
- Beta GlobulinReference range exampleAll: 0.7–1.2 gm/dLLinked diagnostic tests1Protein Electrophoresis (Blood, Serum Protein)
- White Blood Cell (WBC)Reference range exampleAdult ( > 16y): 4.5–10.5 million/mL; Adult ( > 16y): 3.2–10 million/mLLinked diagnostic tests1White Blood Cell (WBC) Count
Often decreased
0No markers in this group.
Other associated markers
0No markers in this group.
Introduction / full article
Earache Otitis Externa
Otitis externa
Earache Otitis Externa is also known as Swimmer’s ear and is characterized by the swelling, redness and inflammation of the outer ear canal. This area is from the eardrums/tympanic membrane to the external portion of the outer ear. As its popular layman’s term implies, this type of ear problem is often caused due to repeated exposure of the ears to water making the ear canal more susceptible to inflammation. Some of the symptoms of otitis externa may include moderate to severe ear pain, a certain level of temporary auditory impairment/hearing loss and the discharge of pus or liquid from the affected ear.
Alternative Treatment Efficacy According to GRADE* Ranking:
Naturopathic Medicine:
Recommendation: weakly in favor (available evidence shows that Naturopathic medicine may be slightly more effective in treating ear pain than conventional anesthetic drops)
Grade of Evidence: low quality of evidence
* www.gradeworkinggroup.org