• Archives of Reconstructive Microsurgery
• /
• v.25 no.1
• /
• pp.1-6
• /
• 2016

Purpose: The external ear is a common area of trauma on the body prone to exposure of ultraviolet light, which can lead to skin cancer. Thus, variable techniques have been developed and used for reconstruction of the external ear. The aim of this study is to review the surgical method, its area of application, as well as advantages and pitfalls of reconstruction of the external ear with inferior based retroauricular flaps. Materials and Methods: Eight patients underwent external ear reconstruction with inferior based retroauricular flap for external ear defects in our institute from September 2012 to June 2015. According to the area of the defect, patients were classified as middle 1/3 (n=4), inferior 1/3 (n=2), superior auroculo-cephalic sulcus (n=1), and external auditory canal (n=1). Results: All of the flaps survived the operation and there was no marginal necrosis. Mean size of the defect was $2.8{\times}1.8cm$ and mean size of the retroauricular flap was $5{\times}2cm$. For insetting of the flap, a subcutaneous tunneling technique was used in 6 cases and rotation without subcutaneous tunneling was used in 2 cases. Transient paresthesia occurred in 3 cases. Two cases recovered within 3 months but one case did not recover until 6 months. Conclusion: The inferior based retroauricular flap is an available technique in external ear reconstruction with one stage operation.

• Journal of Clinical Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery
• /
• v.29 no.2
• /
• pp.235-239
• /
• 2018

Due to the structure with one end closed, the external ear resonance effect in which the high frequency is amplified can be generated, and the sound can be perceived well. The external ear resonance normally has a first peak and a second peak. On average, the first peak has a gain of 18.6 dB at 2620 Hz and the second peak has a gain of 18.2 dB at 4210 Hz. The resonance of the external auditory canal changes with the state of the tympanic membrane, the presence of the ventilation tube, and the structure (length, diameter, shape) of the external auditory canal. A patient with a postauricular meatomastoid cutaneous fistula was admitted to the hospital with a foreign body which is the molding of the hearing aid. After removal of the foreign body, the resonance of the external auditory canal was lost and the subjective sound cognitive ability decreased. In the case of postauricular meatomastoid cutaneous fistula, we confirmed the improvement of sound cognitive ability, the change of pure tone hearing threshold, and the change of the external ear resonance after reconstruction of the ear canal without middle ear reconstruction.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
• /
• v.10 no.3
• /
• pp.73-79
• /
• 2019

This study simulated external ear canal modeling with different external ear canal lengths, vertical flexion angles, and inner/outer diameter ratios using digital imaging and communications in medicine(DICOM) of the head temporal region and measured the acoustic sensitivity. The experiment was performed by increasing the audible frequency for humans by 200 Hz and expressing the frequency constantly transmitted at 1 Pa as the eardrum acoustic volume and presented the measurements by linear and quadratic curve regression analysis. The results showed that the longer the external ear canal length and the higher the ratio of the outer/inner diameter, the faster the acoustic response at lower frequencies. The acoustic sensitivity correlation of the meta-model using regression analysis showed a 77% influence by the external ear canal length and 5% by the external/internal diameter ratio, while the vertical flexion angle did not show a significant relationship. This showed that auditory acoustic sensitivity of humans is a factor that reacts faster at a low frequency when the external ear canal length is longer and when the difference between the outer and inner diameter is higher.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
• /
• v.9 no.1
• /
• pp.49-53
• /
• 2017

Formant frequencies depend on the position of tongue, the shape of lips, and larynx. In the auditory system, the external ear canal is an open-end resonator, which can modify the voice characteristics. This study investigates the effect of the real ear on formant frequencies. Fifteen subjects ranging from 22 to 30 years of age participated in the study. This study employed three corner vowels: the low central vowel /a/, the high front vowel /i/, and the high back vowel /u/. For this study, the voice of a well-educated undergraduate who majored in speech-language pathology, was recorded with a high performance condenser microphone placed in the upper pinna and in the ear canal. Paired t-test showed that there were significant difference in the formant frequencies of F1, F2, F3, and F4 between the free field and the real ear. For /a/, all formant frequencies decreased significantly in the real ear. For /i/, F2 increased and F3 and F4 decreased. For /u/, F1 and F2 increased, but F3 and F4 decreased. It seems that these voice modifications in the real ear contribute to interpreting voice quality and understanding speech, timbre, and individual characteristics, which are influenced by the shape of the outer ear and external ear canal in such a way that formant frequencies become centralized in the vowel space.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
• /
• v.1 no.3
• /
• pp.151-154
• /
• 2009

The external ear generates resonance gain because of anatomical characteristics. The ear canal resonance is influenced by the length and volume of the ear canal, the pinna, the concha cavity, the body trunk, and the speed of sound wave. This study is focus on the influence of the volume of ear canal. 17-healthy-adult (32 ears) were participated. They did not have any medical and ear disease history. The maximum resonance frequency of the ear canal was 2675 (${\pm}265$) Hz at azimuth $0^{\circ}$ and 2784 (${\pm}268$) Hz at azimuth $45^{\circ}$. The resonance gain was 18.1 (${\pm}3.9$) dB at azimuth $0^{\circ}$ and 17.9 (${\pm}3.8$) dB at azimuth $45^{\circ}$, respectively. The ear canal volume was 0.78 (${\pm}0.2$) cc and 1.32 (${\pm}0.8$) cc including static compliance. The ear canal resonance was changed depending on the ear canal volume. It was also statistically correlated at azimuth $0^{\circ}$ (p=0.038) and $45^{\circ}$ (p=0.013), respectively. The resonance gain was not correlated with the ear canal volume. The change of resonance frequency according to the ear canal volume will be useful information in the field of audiological rehabilitation especially for hearing aids fitting. In addition, we expected this study can provide the basic information for the study of the external ear resonance characteristics.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
• /
• v.21 no.2
• /
• pp.149-153
• /
• 2004

This study was to determine the procedure for ultrasonographic imaging of the canine external ear canal(ECC). By infusion of warm saline solution into the ear canal, a real-time B mode ultrasonographic examination of the ECC was performed in five healthy Beagle dogs and two dogs with severe otitis externa. The ultrasonography was very useful to detect the structures of the ECC and the tympanic membrane. An 11 NHz linear probe was permitted to assess an anechoic lumen of the ECC and a hyperechoic cartilage surrounding the ear canal. In two dogs with otitis externa, it could be assessed the ECC with ultrasonography without ear cleansing. A lumen of the ECC was irregular and a cerumen could be seen, but edematous inflammatory changes of the ECC could not be identified. The results suggest that ultrasonography of the ECC with an 11 NHz linear probe after infusing the saline solution into the ear canal may be an accurate, non-invasive, rapid, and widely available method for assessment of the ear canal diseases such as otitis externa, polyp, stenosis, hyperplasia, and foreign body in dogs.

• Proceedings of the KOR-BRONCHOESO Conference
• /
• 1976.06a
• /
• pp.86.3-86
• /
• 1976

The external ear canal is a rare site for development of squamous cell carcinoma which is usually in the advanced state of invasion by the time the diagnosis is made. Recently the authors experienced squamous cell carcinoma of the external ear canal which was treated with wide excision of the external ear canal and radical mastoidectomy followed by post-operative radiotherapy.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
• /
• v.10 no.11
• /
• pp.173-179
• /
• 2019

DICOM(Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine) imaging plays a significant role in the diagnosis and treatment of the human body, and design modeling is a technology of planning shapes in three dimensions according to the purpose. In this study, we converge these two technologies to observe the relationships of the cross-section, volume, and surface area to the morphological changes of the external ear canal. The experiment applied medical imaging technologies to acquire sections of the human body to create and divide centerlines using 3D shapes extracted from 19 external ear canals by applying stereolithography and 3-matic program. The results showed that the cross-sectional structure of the external ear canal had various shapes, such as oval (38.5%), semicircular (28.2%), mixed (17.9%), square (10.2%), and wrinkled (5.1%). In addition, the cross-sectional area of each phase increased as the length of the external ear canal increased, and the volume and surface area decreased towards the direction of the eardrum. However, the surface area reduction rate was relatively low. This indicates that the structure becomes irregular towards the direction of the eardrum.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
• /
• v.38 no.3
• /
• pp.159-162
• /
• 2021

A 5-year-old, intact male, poodle dog with right external auditory canal obstruction and subaural mass was presented. Physical examination revealed that right external auditory canal opening was absent and right head tilt was identified. Aspiration in right subaural mass revealed a small amount of dark brown exudate. Streptococcus canis and Staphylococcus spp. were identified on the microbial culture. Radiography of the skull was revealed absence of air-filled ear canal at the right external ear canal (EEC) level. Computed tomography (CT) revealed well capsulated, hypoattenuated mass in the right EEC region. On the contrast enhanced CT images, rim enhancement around the mass and ear canal obstruction were identified. Fluid attenuated material filled with right bulla. Mild thickening of the right tympanic bulla wall with mild lytic lesion of the ventral wall were found. Based on the images findings, the case was tentatively diagnosed as right external auditory canal atresia with otitis media. Total ear canal ablation and lateral bulla osteotomy was performed. The entire ear canal was removed, numerous hair in the canal and the thickening wall were founded. Right ear canal was sent for histopathological evaluation and found to otitis externa. The patient was followed up for two weeks and there were no complications. This report described the CT diagnosis of right EEC atresia with otitis media rarely reported in small breed dogs.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
• /
• v.39 no.3
• /
• pp.566-574
• /
• 1999

This study was conducted to examine the outbreak rate and the causative agents of otitis externa in 26 dogs (49 ears ; 23 dogs = bilateral, 3 dogs = unilateral), and the normal microfloras of external ear canal in 68 dogs(133 ears ; 65 dogs = bilateral, 3 dogs = unilateral ) in Taegu, 1997. The breed, living environment, sex, age and season distribution of otitic dogs were as follows : Dogs with erect and hairy ears(42.3%), pendulous and hairy ears(38.5%), indoor(92.3%), female(65.4%) and below one year old(38.5%) were more prevalent. According to season, otitis externa was mainly occurred between July and October. The major causative agents of canine otitis externa were Malassezia pachydermatis (32.7%), Staphylococcus aureus (26.5%) and S intermedius (16.3%). In the microorganism isolated 39 otitic ear canals, single infection was 53.8% and mixed infection was 46.2%. The normal microfloras of canine external ear canal were fungi including M pachydermatis, Aspergillus spp, Microsporum canis, Alternaria spp, Verticillium spp and Yeast, and bacteria including Staphylococcus spp(10 species including S xylosus), Bacillus spp, Corynebacterium spp, Listeria spp, Actinomyces pyogenes and Escherichia coli. No growth was 34.6%.