How to Treat Cholesteatoma

A cholesteatoma may be a benign growth of skin cells in any abnormal location. In practice, however, the term refers specifically to growths in the middle and inner ear. Cholesteatomas have a variety of causes and may be acquired or congenital.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Observe common presenting symptoms of a cholesteatoma. These include a chronic discharge from the ear that can be seen with a casual examination. Hearing loss also is a common sign of a cholesteatoma.
2. Gather a patient history for causes of the cholesteatoma. Frequent swimmers should be checked closely for recurring ear infections that have perforated the eardrum. This can result in frequent flooding of the ear.
3. Examine the patient for congenital causes of cholesteatoma. Some people have small remnants of skin that become trapped in the middle ear where it is called a congenital cholesteatoma or the inner ear where it is a petrous apex epidermoid.
4. Check the patient's Eustachian tubes. This canal connects the inner ear to the back of the nose and may cause a negative pressure in the inner ear if it can't open. This can cause the eardrum to retract toward the inner ear, resulting in a skin-lined sac forming over time.
5. Conduct specific diagnostic tests for a cholesteatoma. This will most likely consist of a hearing test by an audiologist in a sound-proof room. A Computed Tomography (CT) scan of the inner ear and mastoid bone should appear black, whereas a cholesteatoma should appear gray.