El Khaoua Sakina, Marouane Balouki, Aiman Ftouhi1 Jalal Eddine Oubenjah, Mohamed Sahli, Bouchaib Hemmaoui, Fouad Benariba, Noureddine Errami
Journal: Medpeer Publisher
ISSN: 3066-2737
Volume: 2
Issue: 10
Date of Publication: 2025/10/16
Background: Otalgia is defined as ear pain. It is a recurrent symptom at consultations due to the complexity of the sensory innervation of the ear as well as the diversity of pain mechanisms. In this context, a retrospective study, spread over 10 months (from January 25, 2022 to November 18, 2022) was conducted at the level of the ENT department of the Mohamed V Military Hospital in Rabat (Morocco). The epidemiological, clinical and etiological profiles were studied during this study.
Methods: This study included 157 patients. Out of this population, 97 (62%) were female versus 60 (38%) male patients. The age average of the patients was 38.29 years with extremes ranging from 3 to 80 years. Otogenic otalgia was the most common (65%). Chronic otitis was the most frequent pathology of otodynia (35%) followed by earwax plug (24%) then otitis externa (16%) as well as other pathologies: auricular blast 7%, foreign body of the CAE 7%, perichondritis 4%, otitis cholesteatomatosis 3%, seromucous otitis 3%, ear trauma 1%.
Results: Referred or secondary otalgia, which is an earache caused by external factors, accounted for 34% of the sample. Temporomandibular joint dysfunction was the most frequent (30%) in this type of otalgia, followed by angina (24%), then cervical lymphadenopathy (15%), goiter (9%), cavum cancer (9%), GERD (9%), chronic pharyngitis (7%), parotid tumor (5%), parotitis (2%), Herpes zoster Oticus (2%), osteoarthrosis (2%), cervicobrachial neuralgia (2%) and finally the SHARP syndrome (2%).
Conclusions: This study has shown that otalgia is not always of otological origin but can also be of nonotological origin. Following this result, we recommend that our colleagues should always examine the TMJ, the teeth as well as the entire head and neck region after having identified the otalgia through a normal otological examination.
Referred otalgia, Chronic otitis media, Temporomandibular joint dysfunction
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