Bullous myringitis is an acute inflammatory condition affecting the tympanic membrane characterized by the presence of bullae or vesicles on the surface of the TM. The bullae may be single or multiple, may affect segment or the whole of the TM and may even spread onto the adjacent ear canal. Diagnosis of this condition is clinical. Typically, patients present with sudden onset severe otalgia, usually unilateral and often in association with an upper respiratory tract infection.
Otoscopy reveals bullae on the TM. Rupture of the bulla may be associated with scanty serosanguinous otorrhoea, which is usually short lived due to the absence of a TM perforation.
