Inflammation of the Middle Ear (Otitis Media): Or something else? Differential Diagnosis

Infectious and parasitic diseases (A00-B99).

Erysipelas (erysipelas) – is an infection of the skin caused by Streptococcus pyogenes.
Middle ear tuberculosis – very rare clinical picture that occurs only in generalized tuberculosis (consumption).
Zoster oticus – infestation of the auditory canal with the varicella zoster virus (Possible consequences: Zoster-typical severe pain, hearing loss (cochlear nerve), disturbances of the sense of balance (vestibular nerve). If left untreated, permanent hearing impairment or deafness may result).

Mouth, esophagus (food pipe), stomach, and intestines (K00-K67; K90-K93).

Musculoskeletal system and connective tissue (M00-M99).

Granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA), formerly Wegener’s granulomatosis – necrotizing (tissue dying) vasculitis (vascular inflammation) of the small to medium-sized vessels (small-vessel vasculitides), which is associated with granuloma formation (nodule formation) in the upper respiratory tract (nose, sinuses, middle ear, oropharynx) as well as the lower respiratory tract (lungs)
Temporomandibular joint arthropathy – degenerative joint changes in the area of the temporomandibular joint, resulting in pain.
Cervical neuralgia – pain that occurs in the neck and neck area.

Neoplasms – tumor diseases (C00-D48).

Acoustic neuroma – arising from the VIII. Cranial nerve, the auditory and vestibular nerves (vestibulocochlear nerve) originating benign tumor consisting of connective and nervous tissue.
Naso-/Oropharyngeal carcinoma – malignant neoplasms in the area of the nasopharynx.

Ears – mastoid process (H60-H95).

Cerumen obturans – obstruction of the ear canal by earwax (cerumen).
Chronic otitis media (inflammation of the middle ear).
Ear canal furuncle – accumulation of pus in the ear canal.
Mucosusotitis – inflammation of the middle ear caused by the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus).
Myringitis (inflammation of the eardrum).
Otitis externa (external otitis) – an inflammation of the outer ear, especially the external auditory canal.
Otosclerosis – bony remodeling of the elastic suspension of the stapes, so that its mobility continuously decreases. The sound transmission via the eardrum ossicular chain is increasingly impeded, the hearing loss increases.
Tympanic effusion (synonym: seromucotympanum) – accumulation of serous (serum-like), sero-mucous or mucous (mucous) fluid in the middle ear – in the context of a viral infection (tubal catarrh, tubal middle ear catarrh) or in the event of a rapid change in air pressure (barotrauma); neither redness of the eardrum, pain, nor a purulent exudate in the tympanic cavity are present.
Perichondritis – inflammation of the cartilaginous membrane (perichondrium); the most common form of this disease is auricular perichondritis.

Psyche – nervous system (F00-F99; G00-G99).

Psychogenic otalgia (earache)
Trigeminal neuralgia (also called tic douloureux) – is a form of facial pain; it is an extremely painful irritation of the 5th cranial nerve (trigeminal nerve).

Injuries, poisonings and other consequences of external causes (S00-T98).