The clinical features and etiology of chronic granular myringitis were studied in our laboratory.
Since Mofet reported the first cases of chronic granular myringitis in 1953, several authors have described the clinical features of this disease. According to them, it is characterized by local granulation of the tympanic membrane with otorrhea as the only symptom.
Tuiki et al presented the following clinical definition of this disease:
1. the only symptom is otorrhea
2. there is little or no hearing loss
3. x-rays of the mastoid show a well-developed air cell system
4. non-specific bacteria are found in culture
The cause of this disease is not known, but there might be two factors, exogenous and endogenous. The exogenous factor seems to be high temperature and high humidity leading to external ear canal infection. The endogenous factor might be an abnormality of the tympanic membrane.
Scanning electron microscopic observations of the crust on the surface of the tympanic membrane now being done in our laboratory demonstrate bacterial colonies, crystal structures and epithelial cells on the surface of the crust. These findings suggest that bacterial colonies on the dry crust are a cause of reinfection in this disease. The crystal formation may be related to epithelial cells. The results are briefly discussed in relation to the etiology of this disease.
