The treatment of otitis externa should be a matter of principles rather than of the use of special agents. Once principles are established and understood, other therapeutic details fall into their proper relationship. The best results are secured by otologists who limit themselves to a few agents, select them because of their antibacterial or fungicidal effects, employ them for as brief a period as the necessities of the case permit, and supplement them by thorough cleansing of the external auditory canal and by measures for the relief of discomfort