clinical features
Last reviewed 01/2018
Symptoms of acute mastoiditis include:
- earache, persistent and throbbing
- a creamy, often profuse ear discharge
- a history of increasing deafness
Signs include:
- patient is pyrexial and usually looks very ill
- there may be marked tenderness over the mastoid antrum
- the pinna may be pushed down and forward due to a swelling in the post-auricular region. Examination from behind may be required to assess this.
- the tympanic membrane is either red and bulging or perforated - N.B. a normal tympanic membrane that is not perforated is not seen in acute mastoiditis.
- signs of conductive deafness, e.g. Rinne negative; Weber's test shows that sound is heard loudest in the deafer ear.