{"id":3073,"date":"2023-11-08T14:46:00","date_gmt":"2023-11-08T14:46:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/blog\/?p=3073"},"modified":"2026-03-20T13:51:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T21:51:13","slug":"nclex-qotd-left-ear-pain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/blog\/nclex-qotd-left-ear-pain","title":{"rendered":"NCLEX-RN\u00ae Question of the Day: Left ear pain"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_80 ez-toc-wrap-center counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">In This Article<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/blog\/nclex-qotd-left-ear-pain\/#The_correct_answer_to_todays_NCLEX-RN%C2%AE_Question_is%E2%80%A6\" >The correct answer to today&#8217;s NCLEX-RN\u00ae Question is&#8230;<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/blog\/nclex-qotd-left-ear-pain\/#B_Dependent_neglect\" >B. Dependent neglect<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/blog\/nclex-qotd-left-ear-pain\/#Major_Takeaway\" >Major Takeaway<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/blog\/nclex-qotd-left-ear-pain\/#Incorrect_answer_explanations\" >Incorrect answer explanations<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/blog\/nclex-qotd-left-ear-pain\/#A_Depression\" >A. Depression<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/blog\/nclex-qotd-left-ear-pain\/#C_Physical_abuse\" >C. Physical abuse<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/blog\/nclex-qotd-left-ear-pain\/#D_Financial_constraints\" >D. Financial constraints<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/blog\/nclex-qotd-left-ear-pain\/#i\" >________________________<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>Today&#8217;s NCLEX-RN\u00ae question of the day focuses on a nurse who is assessing a patient with left ear pain and purulent drainage, resides in an adult group home, and displays poor hygiene and thinness. The patient has a history of cerebral palsy and requires caregiver assistance for daily activities. Given these observations, what condition should the nurse consider as the most probable cause of the patient&#8217;s current presentation?&nbsp;<\/em><em>Can you figure it out?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The nurse is assessing a patient from an adult group home who presents to an urgent care clinic with left ear pain with purulent drainage. The nurse notices the patient is wearing dirty clothes, smells strongly of urine, and is very thin. The patient has a history of cerebral palsy and requires caregiver support because they are unable to perform activities of daily living independently. Based on these findings, which condition should the nurse suspect is most likely the cause of this patient&#8217;s presentation?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>A. Depression<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>B. Dependent neglect<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>C. Physical abuse<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>D. Financial constraints<\/strong>Scroll down for the correct answer!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_correct_answer_to_todays_NCLEX-RN%C2%AE_Question_is%E2%80%A6\"><\/span>The correct answer to today&#8217;s NCLEX-RN\u00ae Question is&#8230;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"B_Dependent_neglect\"><\/span>B. Dependent neglect<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Rationale:&nbsp;<\/strong>Dirty clothes and smelling strongly of urine are signs of neglect. The patient is also very thin which could mean food is not being offered routinely.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Major_Takeaway\"><\/span>Major Takeaway<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The nurse should use clinical judgment to analyze cues related to dependent adult abuse and neglect by organizing and correlating the recognized cues to the patient\u2019s clinical presentation. Patients who are dependent adults who present with dirty clothes, smell strongly of urine and are very thin raise suspicion of neglect because these cues show that their basic needs are not being met. Since this patient has licensed caregivers at an adult foster home, the nurse would not be suspicious of depression or financial constraints as reasons for their appearance. Physical abuse is not suspected because the patient has no signs of unexplained physical injury.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Incorrect_answer_explanations\"><\/span>Incorrect answer explanations<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"A_Depression\"><\/span>A. Depression<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Rationale:<\/strong>&nbsp;If the patient were living alone in the community, this presentation could signal depression. However, this patient is under the care of an adult group home where personal care should be performed by a licensed caregiver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"C_Physical_abuse\"><\/span>C. Physical abuse<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Rationale:&nbsp;<\/strong>The patient does not show any signs of physical injury that would suggest physical abuse.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"D_Financial_constraints\"><\/span>D. Financial constraints<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Rationale:<\/strong>&nbsp;The patient is under the care of an adult foster home where a licensed caregiver should be assisting the patient with personal hygiene, including ensuring they have clean clothes and is cleaned after episodes of incontinence. If the patient were living independently, their presentation could signal financial constraints.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"i\"><\/span><strong><em>________________________<\/em><\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>Want more NCLEX\u00ae-style practice questions? Try Osmosis by Elsevier today! Access your&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/login?type=create\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">free trial<\/a>&nbsp;and find out why millions of current and future clinicians and caregivers love learning with us.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/plans\/rn\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"904\" height=\"324\" src=\"https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/09\/image_76d0b4.png?w=904\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2619\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/09\/image_76d0b4.png 904w, https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/09\/image_76d0b4.png?resize=300,108 300w, https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/09\/image_76d0b4.png?resize=768,275 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 904px) 100vw, 904px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Today&#8217;s NCLEX-RN\u00ae question of the day focuses on a nurse who is assessing a patient with left ear pain and purulent drainage, resides in an adult group home, and displays poor hygiene and thinness. The patient has a history of cerebral palsy and requires caregiver assistance for daily activities. Given these observations, what condition should [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":279,"featured_media":3074,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20,29,1367,32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3073","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exam-prep","category-nclex","category-nclex-rn","category-nursing"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>NCLEX-RN\u00ae Question of the Day: Left ear pain - Osmosis Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/blog\/nclex-qotd-left-ear-pain\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"NCLEX-RN\u00ae Question of the Day: Left ear pain - Osmosis Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Today&#8217;s NCLEX-RN\u00ae question of the day focuses on a nurse who is assessing a patient with left ear pain and purulent drainage, resides in an adult group home, and displays poor hygiene and thinness. 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