Tympanic Membrane and Thyroid Gland - Essay Example

"Tympanic Membrane and Thyroid Gland" is a decent example of a paper on symptoms.
The tympanic membrane is also called the eardrum. It is the membrane that receives sound waves/vibrations from the sclera and delivers them to the auditory ossicles inside the ear. It is located in the tympanic cavity of the middle year together with the ossicles. It also has the task of separating the tympanic cavity from the external auditory canal of the outer ear. The tympanic membrane lies laterally across the cavity. The tympanic membrane is an important part of the hearing process and it is diagnosed for various hearing problems as will be discussed in this work (Better Health Channel, n.d). Accurate diagnoses can lead to the corrective restoration of the hearing ability or vice versa.

The thyroid gland is an important gland in the secretion of hormones responsible for various roles in the body. It stores hormones that regulate the blood pressure, aid in thermoregulation, and also in the metabolic pathways which yield energy for the body. It also plays an important role in growth and development through the secretion of growth hormones. In the production of hormones, the thyroid gland uses iodine. The main hormones produced include T3 & T4 (Production of these hormones is stimulated by the Thyroid Stimulating Hormone produced by the pituitary gland.

Thyroid Gland

The first patient was a lady aged 36 years. This is the SOAP conducted.

Subjective: She was complaining of pain in the joints and the muscles. She had neck discomfort and having problems tilting her neck. Her neck was also enlarged on the frontal area posterior to the larynx. Her hair had changed to a brittle and coarse nature. She also complained that she had been having menstrual irregularities in the past few months.

Objective: The patient had an enlarged neck area. Upon palpation, in the enlarged area, she claimed not to experience much pain. The pain was however centralized around the area around the thyroid. She had muscle pains and joint pains. Her hair was coarse.  Hashimoto’s disease was confirmed.

Assessment: The patient was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s disease caused by hypothyroidism which is a condition occurring in situations where there is inadequate production of thyroid hormones. Lack of iodine in the body which plays a critical role in the making of the hormones is also a major reason. Tests of her Thyroid Stimulating Hormones were conducted on her blood.

Plan: Hormone replacing was advocated for. This was to be done to raise the TSH levels to a significant level. Surgery was not done since the case was not advanced (Bickley, 2012).

Tympanic Membrane

The second patient was a managed 47 years.

Subjective: The patient was complaining of having a severe headache. He looked confused and it was hard responding to the questions I asked. There was blood coming from the ear.

Objective: The patient was complaining of having severe pain from one ear. No inflammation was noted but there were signs of bleeding after using the otoscope. Traumatic perforation of the tympanic membrane was detected.

Assessment: The use of an otoscope to examine the ear was suggested. Audiometry was also done to evaluate the extent of the damage and whether the ossicles in the middle ear were affected.

Plan: The patient was advised to keep the ear dry and he was given amoxicillin since early signs of infection had started to develop (Physiopedia, n.d).