An Otoscope or Auris cope is a medical device used to examine the ears. ENT Specialists
use this to check and investigate ear illness during their regular medical examinations. It
gives a view of the ear canal and tympanic membrane or eardrum. The characteristics of the eardrum is useful to find out diseases of middle ear space, since it separates the external ear canal from the middle ear.

The presence of earwax (cerumen), shed skin, pus, canal skin edema, foreign body, and various ear
diseases can block the eardrum and they can be detected through this instrument. Diseases like otitis media and otitis externa, infection of the middle and outer parts of the ear, respectively are diagnosed using this equipment.

PARTS:

The Otoscopes contains a handle and a head. The head has a light source and a simple low-power
magnifying lens, around 8 diopters (3.00x Mag). The front end of the Otoscope has an attachment
for disposable plastic ear specula. The examiner first straightens the ear canal by pulling on the pinna (usually the earlobe, side or top) and then inserts the ear speculum side of the Otoscope into the external ear.

It is important to brace the hand holding the Otoscope against the patient’s head to avoid injury to
the ear canal by placing the index finger or little finger against the head. The examiner can then look through a lens on the rear of the instrument and see inside the ear canal.

DIFFERENT MODELS:

Many models has a removable lens, which allows the examiner to insert instruments through the Otoscope into the ear canal, such as for removing earwax. Most models also have an insertion point for a bulb capable of pushing air through the speculum which is called Pneumatic Otoscope. This puff of air allows an examiner to test the mobility of the tympanic membrane.

Many Otoscopes are either wall-mounted or portable. Wall-mounted are attached by a flexible power
cord to a base, which serves to hold the Otoscope when it’s not in use and also serves as a source of electric power, being plugged into an electric outlet. Portable models are powered by rechargeable batteries in the handle.

Otoscopes are often sold with Ophthalmoscopes as a diagnostic set. They can also be used for examining patients’ noses (avoiding the need for a separate nasal speculum) and (with the speculum removed) upper throats.

Commonly used Otoscopes- in emergency rooms, Pediatric offices, general practice, and by
internists- are monocular devices which provide only a two-dimensional view of the ear canal, its contents, and a portion of the eardrum, depending on what is within the ear canal and its status.

A binocular microscope, in conjunction with a larger metal ear speculum, with the patient supine and
the head tilted, provides a larger field of view, with added advantages of a stable head, far superior lighting, and most importantly, depth perception, for ear examination.

A binocular (two-eyed) view is useful to judge depth of the wax or another material obstructing the
canal and/or a view of the entire eardrum and for their easy and confident removal with specialized suction tips and other microscopic ear instruments