Learn more Each of us has a tympanic membrane, or eardrum, inside our ears. The tympanic membrane serves as a divider between our middle ear and the outer ear canal in the form of a thin tissue. When we talk about eardrum rupture, what we refer to is a tear or a hole in that tympanic membrane. Did you know the term refers to the condition of a ruptured eardrum? Although it is rare, this condition can also possibly lead to a permanent loss of hearing.
When sound waves enter your ears, the first activity is a vibration in the tympanic membrane, which continues through the bones of your middle ear. This vibration amplifies sound, so if the eardrum suffers any damage, you can see how it may affect your ability to hear.
When it is not too severe, the ruptured eardrum generally heals within a couple of weeks without needing any treatment. However, if the rupture is more severe, then it may require surgical treatment to heal. To verify if you are suffering from a ruptured eardrum, you must take note of the following ruptured eardrum symptoms. When you consult a doctor for help with your ruptured eardrum, they may diagnose it in any of the following ways:.
In case you require more extensive treatment options or specialized examinations, you may have to consult an ENT doctor i. Ear, Nose and Throat specialist. If you are suffering from a ruptured eardrum, you may want to know how to treat it.
Most treatment options generally aim to relieve the pain and keep infections from occurring. The treatment options for ruptured eardrum are:. To understand what complications can arise in case your eardrum ruptures, you need to understand the primary roles of your tympanic membrane. The tympanic membrane does the following:. Possible complications may arise in the event your ruptured eardrum fails to heal within three to six months:. Ruptured eardrums are not necessarily the result of human error, but sometimes we can take certain measures to prevent our eardrums from suffering damage.
Here is what you can do to prevent eardrum rupturing:. A ruptured eardrum is an easily treatable condition and you can expect a full recovery within a short time, provided you seek treatment promptly.
Many people have been able to avoid potential damage to their ears by seeking a consultation in the earliest stage and availing the right treatment. Loud noises acoustic trauma. Really loud noises, like an explosion or listening to loud music, can make sound waves that are strong enough to damage the eardrum. Loud noise also can cause temporary or permanent damage to the cochlea. Head trauma. A direct blow to the ear or a severe head injury from something like a car accident can fracture break the skull bone and tear the eardrum.
Direct trauma to the pinna and outer ear canal. A slap on the ear with an open hand or other things that put pressure on the ear can tear the eardrum. Ear infections. An infection of the middle ear or inner ear can cause pus or fluid to build up behind the eardrum. This can make the eardrum burst.
Someone also might notice: drainage from the ear that can be clear, pus-like, or bloody hearing loss ringing or buzzing in the ear tinnitus dizziness or vertigo a feeling that the room is spinning that can cause nausea weakness in the muscles of the face Talk to a parent or call a doctor right away if you have any symptoms of a perforated eardrum.
Go to the emergency room right away if you have severe symptoms, such as: bloody discharge from your ear extreme pain total hearing loss in one ear dizziness that causes vomiting How Are Perforated Eardrums Diagnosed? A doctor will most likely: examine your ear canal with a lighted instrument called an otoscope do an audiology exam to see how well you hear at difference pitches and volumes take a sample of fluid from the ear to test for infection.
How Are Perforated Eardrums Treated? While the eardrum is healing, your doctor might suggest: taking over-the-counter pain relievers using antibiotics to prevent infections or treat any existing infections these could be given as a pill or as ear drops While your eardrum heals: Don't use over-the-counter ear drops unless your doctor tells you to. If there is a hole in the eardrum, some kinds of ear drops can get into the middle ear or cochlea and cause problems.
Avoid getting water inside the ear canal. Apart from the risks of cutting your canal or forcing wax back into your inner ear, sticking a finger in your ear is a mistake because your nails tend to conceal lots of microscopic bacteria that could cause an infection, Comer says. Especially if you're diabetic or pre-diabetic, you're at greater risk for infection. You have fond memories of your mother piercing your ears when you were a kid. But set your nostalgia aside and put down the needle.
In at least one way, hearing loss is like hair loss : whatever you lose is probably gone forever. Another reason to see a doc: You have ear pain. But its not necessarily because your ears are in trouble.
Your jaw, teeth, and throat share common nerves with your ears. And so problems with any of them, including throat cancer , can manifest as ear pain, he explains. So if you're having persistent pain—the kind that lasts more than a day or two—see someone about it, he advises. Like nose-pickers, some people are fond of scratching or digging in their ears, Rosenfeld says. Paperclips, pen caps, and other right-sized desk sundries are the most common tools of the trade.
It's also a natural antibiotic. If you put a Q-tip in your ear so the entire cotton has gone in, you're probably touching your ear drum. People always say they didn't go in that far, and they always do. The other reason is that if you touch the ear drum you press on the little bones of hearing underneath — the hammer, the anvil and the stirrup. And if you press on those, it sends shock waves into the inner ear, and the inner ear is responsible for hearing and balance. So if you tap on the eardrum, you're sending shock waves into the inner ear and you can cause problems with your hearing and balance.
If you put a Q-tip into your ear you could puncture your eardrum and that may require surgery to fix it. It can even make you lose your hearing in your ear forever. The more common thing that happens is that the Q-tip is exactly the size of your ear canal, so when you put it in your ear, you push the wax in deeper and it gets stuck, and then you have to have some help to get it out. If you get water stuck in your ear, these are the best ways to take care of it: One is to take a hair dryer and blow it on a cool setting into your ear until the water evaporates.
The other way is to put a couple of drops of rubbing alcohol in your ear. The alcohol will displace the water and then evaporate.
And what exactly was it, that weirdness that I felt? A form of vertigo?
0コメント