Can an ultra sound be done on the side of your face near your ear?

As this article shows, ultrasound of the face and head can be done.

yes ultrasound can be done…. but theres no point of doing it in ur case ur history leads me more to a psychiatric diagnosis though i may need to hear it more in details!

@marinelife Thank you for that article.

Biopsy with gram stain and culture, AFB, fungal stains and cultures (of the area) are indicated. Of course, ultrasounds can be done there. Ultrasounds of the carotid arteries (in the neck) are done routinely, and that is done all the way to the jaw/ear area.

@shilolo Don’t you think if it were fungal that taking all of those antibiotics especially augment XR for 10 days would have made it worse?

@JLeslie No. You hear fungal and think yeast (Candida albicans). I mean, endemic fungi/mold like histoplasmosis, cryptococcosis, coccidiomycosis, mucor, etc.

@shilolo I see. Would it be treated with sporonox or Diflucan, or something different? The whole thing began very strangely (I may have written you months ago about it, I don’t remember?) with a pain in my nose that travelled seemingly accross the left side of my face, but I figure that was just my perception and settling in this spot. Literally moved across, like some thing was moving through there. Start to finish was less than a half hour. I thought it might be a foreign object of some sort, then I thought maybe along a nerve?? But my knowledge of the anatomy of that part of my body is very limited, especially nerves. But, the doctor does see redness of the adenoid, but does not describe it as inflammation, or what I mean is he did not say the adenoid is enlarged, but I could have misunderstood.

I just looked at the doctors notes, I recently asked for copies if I go to another doctor, and he says he sees more cobblestoning, but did not write down about the redness (but he told this to me verbally, and my husband saw it on my first appointment).

I can’t say. Without a detailed history and exam, it would be impossible to speculate. Depending on the fungal entity, different drugs would be needed for different durations.

@shilolo Do you think I should see ID, or should I pursue a new ENT possibly? I am seriously considering going to Cleveland Clinic or Mayo. Some place where they will be able to work together with different specialities, and have the newest equipment. I have been to 3 ENTS, one did not scope me, one scoped me in two seconds and completely missed the inflamed area, and the last found the area, but is stuck on the idea of it being related to a bacterial infection.

I just want to clarify one thing. You are saying the fungal infection is in the tissue possibly? So swabbing the area would not work like strep throat?

@JLeslie I’m not saying you have a fungal infection. What I am saying is that you need a fresh approach, someone who might consider more indolent processes rather than an acute bacterial infection. And no, swabbing alone may not be enough. Deeper tissue biopsies might be necessary.

go the the mayo clinic and get it thoroughly checked out. Nothing to lose, and much to gain.

@shilolo I realize you are not diagnosing me :). Just thinking from the ID perspective, I really appreciate the info you provided.

@skfinkel I might. I hate going to the doctor, because when it is something not easily diagnosed I get VERY dissappointed and lose my stamina. This time, the first time in my life, I kept going to doctor after doctor when I was not getting a result. I did everything the doctors said, went along with their guesses, even though I disagreed, and took all of the medicine they threw at me, except one guy wanted to give me neurontin, which I would not do. Now it has been a few months since the last ENT, although I did see the neurologist and he did an MRI, but I think it showed nothing, because he did not call. I go to see him again in a week or so (The MRI was for more than just this problem).

I just sent a note to an old friend of mine who worked at Johns Hopkins, I have no idea if she is still there, to see what she says. I have not idea if Hopkins even sees something like this, or if they take more sever typw cases by referral. Next I am going to look at mayo. My husband had a contact there a while back, but not a medical doctor, he works with benefit plans.

how’s your ear / hearing / balance and coordination? middle and inner ear problems can have referred pain to the end of the eustacian tube. Did the ENT evaluate this?

I feel like we should pull out Dr. House’s white board and just jotting down the first things that come to mind.

@drhat77 My ear, inner, hearing, etc. is unnaffected.