Symptoms
Basic signs of inflammation are pain, redness, swelling and overheating in the area of the affected area, in this case the auricle. In contact dermatitis in particular, in addition to redness, dry skin with scaling and itching often occurs. Bacterial inflammation can also cause enlarged lymph nodes on the head and neck.
The above-mentioned signs of inflammation can occur in all the diseases mentioned at the beginning. However, not all signs need to be present in every disease. If there is an inflammation of the cartilaginous skin of the auricle (perichondritis), it usually manifests itself as redness, swelling and severe pain in the corresponding area.
Pus can also be seen.If the symptoms also occur in the area of the earlobe and there is fever or chills, the cause may be a bacterial infection of the skin, the erysipelas. Symptoms of an inflammation caused by chickenpox virus can include reddening of the auricle and fluid-filled blisters. These can also occur in the auditory canal and in adjacent areas of the head.
The bursting of the vesicles often causes encrustations to form on the auricle, the auditory canal and other affected areas. These phenomena can be accompanied by fever. In addition, there is often very severe pain, which can sometimes persist before the blisters appear and for a long time after they have healed. Impaired nerves can also cause paralysis of the facial muscles, dizziness and hearing loss.
Diagnosis
Most important for the diagnosis is the examination of the outer ear by the doctor. For this purpose, the auricle is examined with the naked eye and the auditory canal with a so-called otoscope. Usually, the doctor then makes the diagnosis based on the findings and the patient’s information about existing symptoms.
In addition, depending on the suspected diagnosis, inflammation values in the blood can be examined or tests for allergies can be carried out. In addition, swabs are often taken from the inflamed area in order to determine the pathogen and to adjust the therapy to it. If shingles is suspected, tests of the sense of hearing and balance and of the facial muscles should also be carried out in order to detect involvement of the nerves of the head. If psoriasis, neurodermatitis or any other skin disease is suspected, the skin of other parts of the body must also be examined.
