[Diagnosis and treatment of external otitis]

External otitis is one of the most common infections in the head and neck region, as about 10% of all people suffer from it at least once during their life. It is an infection of the cutis and subcutis of the outer ear canal caused by bacteria, viruses, and fungus as well as allergens or degenerative toxic substances. A concomitant infection of the eardrum (myringitis) may develop. Patients typically present with unilateral, rarely bilateral, earache (otalgia), with accompanying hearing loss and sometimes discharge from the ear (otorrhea). In general, otalgia is one of the most common reasons for consulting a general practitioner in Germany (4.2-7.7%), especially for children up to 14 years.