ACUTE ON-CHRONIC MIDDLE-EAR DISEASE

The discharging ear is a common presenting symptom to GPs and otologis ts. The commonest causes are otitis externa and otitis media. Less com mon is cholesteatoma, which presents with a chronic offensive mucopuru lent discharge and deafness, Acute mastoiditis as a presenting symptom of cholesteatoma is rare and, with the introduction of antibiotics, t he incidence has declined even further. We present three cases of chol esteatoma presenting as mastoiditis.