Swimmer's ear with right tragal tenderness is often accompanied by which symptom?

• A. Otic itching
• B. Fever
• C. Jaw pain
• D. Otitis media

Answer: (A)

Swimmer’s ear is otitis externa, an inflammation of the external auditory canal. The tragal tenderness reflects canal involvement, and itching in the ear canal is a very common accompanying symptom because the inflamed skin in the canal becomes irritated and itchy. Fever is not typically present with simple otitis externa, jaw pain isn’t a hallmark feature, and otitis media is a middle-ear infection with different signs (often deeper ear pain or hearing changes) and not tied to tragal tenderness. So itching of the ear canal best fits the picture.