Talk to a parent or call a doctor right away if you have any symptoms of a perforated eardrum. You should also see a doctor if you continue to have symptoms after getting treatment for a perforated eardrum. Even though most perforations heal on their own, you want to take steps to make sure any hearing loss you experience is only temporary. Go to the emergency room right away if you have severe symptoms. Examples of severe symptoms are bloody discharge from your ear, extreme pain, total hearing loss in one ear, or dizziness that causes vomiting.
To check for a perforated eardrum, a doctor will most likely examine your ear canal with a lighted instrument called an otoscope. Often, a doctor can see the tear and may even be able to see the tiny bones of the middle ear. Other times it can be hard to see the eardrum at all because of fluid draining from the ear.
A doctor might order additional tests. Some of these are to check the eardrum for a rupture, others help doctors learn more about hearing loss.
The doctor may want you to get an audiology exam to measure how well you hear at different pitches and volumes. If there is fluid coming from the ear, a sample of the fluid might be tested in a lab. This can help doctors decide which antibiotic is best for treating the infection.
A ruptured eardrum can result in hearing loss. It can also make your middle ear vulnerable to infections. A ruptured eardrum usually heals within a few weeks without treatment. But sometimes it requires a patch or surgical repair to heal.
Call your doctor if you experience signs or symptoms of a ruptured eardrum. Your middle and inner ears are made up of delicate structures that are sensitive to injury or disease. It is important to try to figure out the cause of your ear symptoms and determine whether a ruptured eardrum has occurred. The middle ear includes three small bones — the hammer malleus , anvil incus and stirrup stapes.
The middle ear is separated from your external ear by the eardrum and connected to the back of your nose and throat by a narrow passageway called the eustachian tube.
The cochlea, a snail-shaped structure, is part of your inner ear. Barotrauma is stress exerted on your eardrum when the air pressure in your middle ear and the air pressure in the environment are out of balance. If the pressure is severe, your eardrum can rupture. Barotrauma is most often caused by air pressure changes associated with air travel. Other events that can cause sudden changes in pressure — and possibly a ruptured eardrum — include scuba diving and a direct blow to the ear, such as the impact of an automobile air bag.
If your eardrum ruptures, uncommon problems can occur, especially if it fails to self-heal after three to six months. This causes ear pain and sometimes trouble hearing. See a picture of the eustachian tube.
Swelling from a cold, allergies, or a sinus infection can keep the eustachian tubes from opening. This leads to pressure changes. Fluid may collect in the middle ear. The pressure and fluid can cause pain. You also can have ear pain from changes in pressure while you are flying in an airplane, driving up or down mountains, or scuba diving. Fluid in the ear can lead to an infection acute otitis media.
Young children have a high risk of ear infections, because their eustachian tubes are shorter and more easily blocked than the tubes in older children and adults.
Blocked eustachian tubes can cause several symptoms, including:. Your doctor will ask about your symptoms. He or she will look in your ears. The doctor also may check how well you hear. Blocked eustachian tubes often get better on their own. You may be able to open the blocked tubes with a simple exercise. Because this vibration allows you to hear, your hearing can suffer if your eardrum is damaged. A ruptured eardrum is also called a perforated eardrum. In rare cases, this condition can cause permanent hearing loss.
Ear infections are a common cause of eardrum rupture, especially in children. During an ear infection, fluids accumulate behind the eardrum. The pressure from the fluid buildup can cause the tympanic membrane to break or rupture.
Other activities can cause pressure changes in the ear and lead to a perforated eardrum. This is known as barotrauma , and it mainly occurs when the pressure outside the ear is drastically different from the pressure inside the ear.
Activities that can cause barotrauma include:. Injuries can also rupture your eardrum. Any trauma to the ear or side of the head can cause a rupture. The following have been known to cause eardrum ruptures:. Inserting any kind of object, such as a cotton swab, fingernail, or pen, too far into the ear can harm your eardrum as well. Acoustic trauma , or damage to the ear from extremely loud noises, can rupture your eardrum. However, these cases are not as common.
Pain is the main symptom of eardrum rupture. For some, the pain may be severe. It can remain steady throughout the day, or it can increase or decrease in intensity. Usually the ear begins to drain once pain goes away. At this point, the eardrum is ruptured. Watery, bloody, or pus-filled fluids may drain from the affected ear. A rupture that results from a middle ear infection usually causes bleeding. These ear infections are more likely to happen in young children, people with colds or the flu , or in areas with poor air quality.
You may have some temporary hearing loss or a reduction in hearing in the affected ear.
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