Complications of ear mold impressions: two case reports

An 8-year-old male, with a past history of right chronic otitis media, with tympanic membrane perforation was advised to use an external auditory canal protector for preventing the entrance of water in the ear. This was a measure to prevent the occurrence of infections before further surgery. During the process of impression taking, the patient experienced extreme pain and worsening of hearing loss and the ear mold was impossible to remove. He was referred to the ENT emergency department where in otoscopy, it was possible to see a foreign material under the tympanic membrane (Fig. 1). Audiometry evidenced a conductive hearing loss with an air bone GAP of 45 dB (Fig. 2a). The computerized tomography (CT) demonstrated the filling of the middle ear and antrum, with a soft tissue density material, without bone erosion (Fig. 2b). A right atticotomy with type I tympanoplasty, with removal of the foreign material was performed. The postoperative period held uneventful.