The Tympanic Membrane and the Thyroid Gland Assessments

The tympanic membrane or the human eardrum plays an important function in the human hearing. Its main function is to receive vibrations in the air and retransmit them to middle ear, also known as auditory ossicles (Weber & Kelley, 2013). The thyroid gland is a butterfly-shaped organ located at the base of the neck. It produces hormones that regulate body metabolism and thus control important functions such as breathing, heart rate, body weight, cholesterol levels, body temperature, muscle strength and menstrual cycles. Any problem in thyroid gland often manifests itself in form of is done to diagnose hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism. The accurate diagnosis of the tympanic membrane and thyroid gland can be achieved using the historic and physical assessments. Both assessment types must be performed by a licensed registered nurse (RN).

The physical assessment of the tympanic membrane is done to provide effective diagnosis of the present condition (Dillon, 2015). The assessment should ask about any changes in hearing acuity, pain, ear drainage, itching, past contact with water such as in swimming, past encounters with environmental noise and personal care.

The historical assessment of the thyroid gland specifically focuses on getting subjective data on medical, family and dietary histories of the patient (Dillon, 2015). The RN history assessment must ask questions about the treatment that the patient has taken and the effects on the thyroid swelling. Some drugs are goitrogenic, which can cause changes in the thyroid swelling. The family history assessment should determine whether the conditions are as a result of familial predilection. The dietary history assessment should determine the patient dietary patterns. Low iodine content in the diet can result in goiter. Foods such as kale, rape and cabbage are goitrogens.

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