(Disclaimer: This article is for scientific use only, and the relevant information in the following content has been processed in order to protect patient privacy)
Abstract: A 20-year-old girl came to our hospital directly without any treatment in the meantime, after accidentally noticing symptoms of ear discomfort such as hearing loss, ear pain and tinnitus, which had recently become more pronounced. Through detailed examination, the patient was diagnosed as having secretory otitis media, and was given anti-inflammatory drugs for targeted treatment. After 2 weeks of medication, the patient’s symptoms of hearing loss, tinnitus and ear pain disappeared, and her condition was cured.
Basic information】Female, 20 years old
Disease Type】Secretory otitis media
Hospital】Shanghai Changhai Hospital
Date of Consultation】June 2020
Treatment plan】Medication (amoxicillin capsule, budesonide nasal spray, lemongrastine enteric soft capsule, prednisone acetate tablet)
Treatment Period】2 weeks of medication, outpatient review after 1 month
Effectiveness】The disease has been cured, and the hearing loss, tinnitus, ear pain and other undesirable phenomena have disappeared.
I. Initial consultation
After coming to the clinic, the 20-year-old girl reported unexplained tinnitus, ear pain and hearing loss in her ears, and sometimes the discomfort was more pronounced and could not be relieved even after resting and pressing. After listening to the patient’s description, I asked her if she had a history of colds, adenoid hypertrophy, etc. She replied in the negative and had not suffered from any other underlying pathology before. On otoscopic examination, I observed that the patient had amber-colored tympanic membranes bilaterally and fluid was visible in the tympanic chamber, and on audiometric examination, I found that the patient did have hearing loss. Combining the above examination with the ear malpractice, a diagnosis of secretory otitis media was made, and promptly targeted treatment measures were taken.
II. Treatment history
After confirming that the patient was suffering from secretory otitis media, I actively communicated with her that timely medication should be taken to prevent deafness from spreading or getting worse, which would seriously affect the quality of her daily life, and the girl said she would cooperate with the treatment. The girl was prescribed amoxicillin capsules for anti-inflammatory treatment, leptocin enteric soft capsules to promote mucus drainage, budesonide nasal spray and prednisone acetate tablets and other hormonal drugs for treatment in order to control or reduce the infected lesions inside the ear. During the treatment period, the nasal cavity and the eustachian tube should be kept open as much as possible, so that the secretions can be better discharged out of the body, which will in turn promote the improvement and healing of the disease to a certain extent, and also reduce the discomfort caused by the disease. In addition, the patient was asked to regularly observe his mental state and the improvement of his symptoms during the treatment period and to give me positive feedback, which the patient readily agreed to.
III. Treatment effect
On the third day of the standard treatment, the patient gave feedback that his mental state gradually improved, and his hearing loss, tinnitus, ear pain and other adverse phenomena had a certain trend of improvement. On the 7th day of treatment, the patient’s hearing loss, tinnitus and ear pain improved significantly. After 2 weeks of treatment with the medication, the ear discomfort had subsided and better results were achieved. The patient himself was also satisfied with the results of this treatment and reported that he no longer had to worry about his ear discomfort. One month after discharge, the patient went back to the outpatient clinic for a follow-up examination and was completely cured by then, with no recurrence.
IV. Notes
I am glad that after a series of treatments, the patient’s condition was completely cured and his mental outlook had improved greatly when he came back for a follow-up checkup. However, since secretory otitis media is more prone to recurrence, patients still need to pay attention to the following conditions.
1. Patients should pay attention to their diet in daily life, especially in the early recovery period, and try to avoid eating relatively stimulating foods such as hot pot, spicy hotpot, fatty meat and fried chicken, etc. They should eat nutritious foods such as beef, eggs, spinach, bananas and milk appropriately, and increase exercise and rest on time to promote the normal work of the body’s immune system.
2. Patients should actively prevent colds, sinusitis and other diseases in their daily lives to prevent the development of otitis media.
3. Patients should pay attention to keep their ears clean in daily life and avoid violent ear picking to prevent recurrence of the disease.
V. Personal insight
Most cases of secretory otitis media are caused by infection, ear trauma and other factors, and during the illness, they will mostly show phenomena such as ear stuffiness, ear pain and tinnitus. When similar manifestations of secretory otitis media appear, you should immediately consult a doctor to investigate the causes and choose an individualized treatment plan that takes into account your own situation. You should not ignore the abnormal signals given by your body and delay treatment or blindly use medication at home, otherwise it is easier to cause the disease to persist and even develop serious complications. In addition, when each patient is admitted to the hospital, the doctor should also give a detailed examination, so as to better treat the disease.