Shiny thing in ear...?

[iRNman, BSN]

Admittedly I haven't looked in a ton of ears. A kiddo came into the nurse's office today complaining of ear pain. I looked into her ear and saw what looked like a tiny lightbulb, one of those clear ones where you can see the coils. I initially thought a tiny sliver of metal or something, but then when I looked in the other ear, same thing!! I know the eardrum should reflect light, but this didn't just look like a typical reflection...but again, I haven't looked into a ton of ears.

She has been to the doctor for ear pain before and nothing has ever turned up. It's fairly obvious upon inspection so I can't imagine others would have missed something so blatant. I feel silly sending her to the ER for what may end up being a perfectly normal ear. I ultimately ended up calling the father and letting him know that there was possibly a foreign object in her ear and to have her checked out.

What's your experience with this?

[JKL33]

Are you sure it isn't tympanostomy tubes?

[iRNman, BSN]

Haha I did think about some kind of tubing or implant, but the student denied any procedures. Not to say she hasn't had any, but she denied it and it's not in her medical hx. Her father didn't speak English well and he kind of just kept saying, "oh okay okay..."

I wish I had handled this interaction better.