Ears PrepU

An alternate pathway that bypasses the external and middle ear is called what?

Bone conduction

The nurse notes otitis media with effusion in the left ear of a 3-year-old child. Which assessment data is consistent with otitis media with effusion?

Redness and bulging of the eardrum

A nurse is interviewing a client as part of a routine examination of his ears and hearing. The nurse notes that this client has high blood pressure. Which of the following questions regarding his hearing should the nurse ask that is associated with his high blood pressure?

"Do you experience any ringing, roaring, or crackling in your ears?"

Which question asked by the nurse is assessing problems with tinnitus?

"Do you experience buzzing in your ears?"

The nurse is planning to perform an ear examination on an adult client. After explaining the procedures to the client, the nurse should

observe the client's response to the explanations.

Which of the following is a priority patient teaching topic related to the ears?

How to prevent skin cancer

A 61-year-old man has visited the clinic at the prompting of his wife, who states that his hearing is becoming less acute. Which of the following assessment questions is most useful in determining whether the man's hearing loss is sensorineural or conductive?

"Do you find that you have particular difficulty understanding people's speech?"

A client presents with otalgia and yellow-green discharge from the external ear canal. Which question should the nurse ask to determine the cause of this problem?

"Have you had any recent trauma to the inside of your ear?"

A client reports the onset of tinnitus. What question should the nurse ask the client to further assess this condition?

"Have you taken any antibiotics in the past few weeks?"

The patient asks the nurse why the nurse put the tuning fork on the bone behind the ear. Which is the best response by the nurse?

"It identifies a problem with the normal pathways for sound to travel to your inner ear."

An adult client tells the nurse that his 80-year-old father is almost completely deaf. After an explanation to the client about risk factors for hearing loss, the nurse determines that the client needs further instruction when the client says

"It is difficult to prevent hearing loss or worsening of hearing."

The mother of a small child with tubes in both eardrums asks the nurse if it is okay if the child travels by airplane. What is the nurse's best response?

"It's safe to fly because the tubes will equalize pressure."

A patient calls the clinic and tells the nurse that the doctor told her that she has "otalgia." The patient cannot remember what the doctor explained this to be. How would the nurse most appropriately respond?

"Otalgia is a dysfunction of the ear."

The results of a client's Rinne test are as follows: bone conduction > air conduction. How should the nurse explain these findings to the client?

"You have a conductive hearing loss."

The nurse notes a tophus of the ear of an older adult. Which assessment data is consistent with a tophus?

A hard nodule composed of uric acid crystals

You are teaching a class on diseases of the ear. What would you teach the class is the most characteristic symptom of otosclerosis?

A progressive, bilateral loss of hearing

A 55-year-old male client has just been diagnosed with presbycusis. In the interview with the client, the nurse should most expect the client to complain of having trouble hearing which of the following in the initial stages of this condition?

A story his wife is telling him

A mother of a small child calls the clinical and asks to schedule an appointment for ear tube removal. The call is transferred to the nurse. What is the nurse's best action?

Ask the mother how long the tubes have been in place.

Upon inspection of an elderly client's ears using an otoscope, the nurse observes a cloudy appearance to the tympanic membranes with prominent landmarks. What action should the nurse perform first?

Ask whether the client is experiencing ear pain or pressure

As a part of the ear examination for hearing loss, a nurse conducts a Weber test on a client. To accurately perform this test, the nurse should place the base of the tuning fork in which of the following locations?

At the center of the client's forehead

When providing client education on hearing, the nurse should remind clients to utilize ear plugs when they are what? (Select all that apply.)

At train stations Using lawnmowers At concerts

A nurse is inspecting the ears of an Asian client and observes that her earlobes appear soldered, or tightly attached to adjacent skin with no apparent lobe. Which of the following should the nurse do next?

Continue with the examination

A nurse is educating a client about the function of the parts of the auditory system. Which is the function of the eustachian tube?

Equalizes the pressure in the middle ear with atmospheric pressure.

The nursing student hopefuls are taking a pre-nursing anatomy and physiology class. What will they learn is the anatomical feature that equalizes air pressure in the middle ear?

Eustachian tube

A client visits a community clinic reporting severe allergies causing a "crackling sensation" in the ear. The physician diagnoses serous otitis media. Which of the following is a characteristic of this condition?

Fluid collects in the middle ear causing an obstruction of the auditory tube.

A client has been receiving intravenous antibiotics for several weeks. Which prevention strategy would be best for the nurse to recommend for this client?

Formal hearing test

When inspecting the tympanic membrane, which of the following structures does the nurse expect to identify?

Handle of malleus, short process of malleus, cone of light

A nurse is preparing to perform a general assessment of an adult client who is new to the clinic. How would the nurse prepare to obtain objective data about the client's ears? (Select all that apply.)

Have the client sit on the examination table Make sure the client is comfortable in a quiet room Perform the whisper, Weber, and Rinne tests before inspection Place the client's ears at the nurse's eye level

A nurse is preparing a community education session on hearing loss. Which information should the nurse include?

Hearing loss can lead to mental health problems.

The eustachian tube is a passage between the middle ear and the nasopharynx. What is the function of the eustachian tube?

Helps to regulate pressure in the middle ear

Which finding should a nurse recognize as normal when assessing the ears of an elderly client?

High-tone frequency loss

The client is having a Weber test. During a Weber test, where should the tuning fork be placed?

In the midline of the client's skull or in the center of the forehead.

Which of the following is inconsistent with acute otitis media?

It is a relatively uncommon childhood infection.

When teaching a class of school-age children about hygiene, the nurse should include which information about the ears?

Never put anything smaller than your elbow in your ears.

The nurse palpates a client's auricles and notes an elarged lymph node on one ear. No redness is observed, and the client denies pain or tenderness. What is the nurse's best action?

Notify the healthcare provider about the finding.

A patient comes to the clinic and reports pain when he touches his ear. With what is this finding most consistent?

Otitis externa

Which of the following describes a condition characterized by abnormal spongy bone formation around the stapes?

Otosclerosis

You are a pediatric nurse caring for a child who has been brought to the clinic with otitis externa. What assessment finding is characteristic of otitis externa?

Pain on manipulation of the auricle

A client has been diagnosed with conductive hearing loss. The nurse understands that which of the following could be the cause of this type of hearing loss?

Perforated eardrum

Which precaution should a nurse take to ensure the safety of a client when performing the Romberg test?

Place arms around the client without touching

An adult farm worker presents at the ED after falling out of a hay loft. The client states falling approximately 4 hours ago and did not lose consciousness. The client is experiencing only a mild headache. When asked why the client came to the ED, the patient states that he had a clear discharge from the right ear ever since the accident. What should this finding indicate to the nurse?

Possible basilar skull fracture

The nurse is assessing the hearing of an older adult. Which type of hearing problem might the nurse expect to find in the older adult?

Presbycusis

Which terms refers to the progressive hearing loss associated with aging?

Presbycusis

What action should the nurse implement using an otoscope when assessing the ear of an adult client?

Pull the auricle out, up, and back

Which characteristic feature of the tympanic membrane should a nurse anticipate finding in a client with acute otitis media?

Red, bulging, with an absent light reflex

A nurse performs a Rinne test on a client who relates a history of decreased hearing in the right ear. The test demonstrates that the client has conductive hearing loss in the right ear. What is the correct documentation of this test by the nurse?

Right: BC greater than AC; left AC greater than BC

Which of the following tests use a tuning fork between two positions to assess hearing?

Rinne

During a physical examination the nurse performs the action shown. What assessment is the nurse performing?

Rinne test

A client admitted to the health care facility is diagnosed with vertigo. Which test is appropriate for the nurse to perform to assess for equilibrium in the client?

Romberg

A client presents at the clinic complaining of a loss of balance. What test should the nurse expect the physician to carry out on a client with a loss of balance?

Romberg test

The nurse is presenting an educational event for gardeners. When discussing the ears, what would be an important topic to cover?

Skin cancer prevention

A patient is diagnosed with otosclerosis, a condition in which the auditory ossicles develop a spongy consistency, which results in conductive hearing loss. It appears that the worst site is the inner most bone, which transmits sound waves through the oval window. Which bone is this?

Stapes

A nurse is admitting a client to the hospital. When reviewing the client's medical record, the nurse notes that this client had abnormal findings during the Weber test. What would the nurse know this means?

The client has unilateral hearing loss

Which action by the nurse is consistent with Weber's test?

The nurse activates the tuning fork and places it on the midline of the parietal bone in line with both ears.

Which action by the nurse is consistent with the Rinne test?

The nurse strikes the tuning fork and places it on the patient's mastoid process to measure bone conduction.

A nurse practitioner is assessing the tympanic membrane of a client who has come to the clinic. What would the nurse practitioner expect to visualize if the client has a normal otoscopic evaluation?

The short process of the malleus

A 52-year-old patient fails the Romberg test. The nurse explains that this might indicate a dysfunction in what part of the ear?

The vestibular portion of the inner ear

A patient diagnosed with arthritis has been taking aspirin and now reports experiencing adverse effects. What adverse effect indicates that a decrease in dose may be necessary?

Tinnitus

During a pharmacology class the students are told that some drugs need to be closely monitored. What aspect should the nurse closely monitor for in clients who have been administered salicylates, loop diuretics, quinidine, quinine, or aminoglycosides?

Tinnitus and sensorineural hearing loss

While performing an otoscopic examination of a client's ear, the nurse finds white patches on the tympanic membrane. How would the nurse note this finding in the chart?

Tympanic membrane visualized with areas of sclerosis noted.

When planning care for a client with an inner ear infection, the nurse will need to include interventions for which of the following potential problems?

Vertigo

A nurse performs an initial examination of a client brought to the emergency department after sustaining a head injury in an automobile accident. Which characteristic of discharge from the ears should alert the nurse that the client has a cerebrospinal fluid leak?

Watery or bloody

The nurse assessing for unilateral hearing loss by using a tuning fork. What test is the nurse performing?

Weber's test

After examining the client's tympanic membranes, the nurse documents "Right tympanic membrane, red and bulging with no light reflex." The nurse recognizes that these are signs of

acute otitis media.

The nurse has performed the Rinne test on an older adult client. After the test, the client reports that her bone conduction sound was heard longer than the air conduction sound. The nurse determines that the client is most likely experiencing

conductive hearing loss.

The transmission of sound waves through the external ear and the middle ear is known as

conductive hearing.

While assessing the ears of an adult client, the nurse observes that the tympanic membrane is completely immobile. The nurse should further assess the client for signs and symptoms of

infection.

A patient has Darwin tubercle. What is this?

small, painless nodule at the helix

The nurse is planning to conduct the Weber test on an adult male client. To perform this test, the nurse should plan to

strike a tuning fork and place it on the center of the client's head or forehead.

A nurse performs a hearing test on an elderly client. Which result should the nurse recognize as an indication that presbycusis is present? An inability to hear:

whispered sounds