The ENT examination
Otoscopy, tuning forks, audiometry, tympanometry, the vestibular exam, rhinoscopy, laryngoscopy and the neck exam.
14 pages
Examination
- Bedside vestibular exam: nystagmus, head impulse, HINTS and Dix-HallpikeA few eye and head tests at the bedside separate inner-ear vertigo from stroke and diagnose…
- Facial nerve exam and the House–Brackmann scaleTesting the forehead, eyes and mouth tells a stroke from a facial nerve palsy; the…
- Mirror and flexible laryngoscopyLaryngoscopy lets the examiner see the vocal folds and the throat below the tongue; it is the…
- Nasal exam: external nose, anterior rhinoscopy and nasal endoscopyLooking at the outside of the nose, then inside with a speculum and, when needed, an endoscope…
- Objective hearing tests: otoacoustic emissions and ABROtoacoustic emissions and the auditory brainstem response test hearing without the patient…
- Oral cavity and oropharynx examA careful look and feel of the whole mouth and throat finds early cancer, premalignant patches…
- Otoscopy: technique and the normal eardrumOtoscopy shows the ear canal and eardrum; reading them well separates wax, infection, fluid…
- Pure-tone audiometry: how to read an audiogramThe audiogram plots the faintest tone heard at each pitch, by air and by bone; its shape gives…
- The ENT neck examThe ENT neck exam describes any lump precisely and then searches the mouth, nose and throat for…
- Tuning fork tests: Rinne, Weber and absolute bone conductionThree quick tuning fork tests tell a conductive from a sensorineural hearing loss at the…
- Tympanometry and the acoustic reflexTympanometry measures how easily the eardrum moves as air pressure changes; it shows fluid…
- Vestibular laboratory tests: calorics, VNG, video head impulse, VEMP and posturographyLab tests measure each part of the balance organ: calorics and head impulse test the canals…
Topic
- Common ENT instruments and what they are forA short guide, in words, to the ENT instruments you will see in clinic, in the emergency room…
- Imaging in ENT: which study for which questionCT shows bone, MRI shows soft tissue and nerves, ultrasound is the first look at a neck lump…
A to Z
Educational content; it does not replace a medical assessment and is not a clinical instruction. For a real case, follow current guidelines and specialist advice.
Representative model, for educational purposes only.