Micro Ear Surgery

What is an ear drum rupture or perforated ear drum?

An eardrum rupture is a small hole or tears in your eardrum. The eardrum or Tympanic Membrane is a thin membrane that divides your middle ear and outer ear canal and it vibrates when sound waves enter your ear leading to vibration of hearing bones which passes vibrations to the hearing nerve. If your eardrum is ruptured your hearing can be affected.

What are causes of ear drum rupture or holes?

Common causes for Tympanic Membrane perforations (eardrum holes) are:

Infection :- When you have an ear infection, fluids like pus accumulate behind the eardrum will cause pressure to build up then ruptures your eardrum.

Trauma like slapping over the ear with an open hand, ear bud can be used.

Barotrauma like sudden changes in air pressure per example scuba diving, flight journey, driving at high altitudes.

Acoustic trauma due to extremely loud noises.

Can a ruptured ear drum heal?

Ear drum holes usually heal spontaneously. This spontaneous healing largely depends upon two factors: the size of the hole and the presence of infection. Holes or perforations greater than 40 – 50% of the size if the ear drums rarely heal by themselves. Infected perforations rarely close spontaneously. Holes of eardrum from blunt trauma like that slapping over the ear is most likely will heal spontaneously. This is true only for eardrum holes from blunt trauma that does not become infected.

How long does it take for perforated eardrum to be heal?

Usually, eardrum holes which are due to injury heal in one two months period, if not healed that must be closed with operation.

Precautions to promote healing of ear drum holes

Keeps your ear dry to prevent further infection Preventing water from entering the ear canal by stuffing your ears with cotton with Vaseline helps to avoid infections in the ear and better healing Don’t blow the nose note several times absolutely. Blowing your nose will cause pressure to rise in the middle ears which can be painful and can also slow your eardrum’s healing.

What are treatments for ear drum holes or rupture?

Antibiotics and pain killers

The immediate problem that you may feel is the pain. To get relief from pain, you may be given anti-inflammatory medicines. And the next problem will be having a chance of infection of your middle ear in case of traumatic eardrum holes. To prevent this infection, you may be given an antibiotics which are also given in already infected cases.

Observation

Eardrum holes often can heal without any invasive treatment. You may be experience a temporary hearing loss, but you can expect a full recovery within eight weeks.

Surgery or ear drum hole operation

In these cases where your eardrum hole is not healed, surgery is required i.e patch the hole in the eardrum. A surgical repair of a perforated eardrum is called as tympanoplasty ,where your ENT micro surgeon takes grafts from another area of your body and places it onto the hole of your ear drum.

Ear Pus or Discharge

What is ear infection with discharge?

Ear discharge is the drainage of pus, blood, earwax or fluid from the ear. An infected ear can produce pus discharge continuously, sometimes intermittently it can damage your hearing. That means you are having a hole in the eardrum as the fluid builds up behind the eardrum and tear the eardrum. Doctors call this as chronic otitis media.

What are causes of Ear Pus or Discharge?

Frequent cold is a common cause. The cold could result in the blockage of the eustachian tube, the connection between the throat and middle ear that equalizes air pressure.

Living in overcrowded housing and eating a poor-quality diet.

A ruptured ear drum.

Skin irritations in the ear canal.

Allergies.

Enlarged adenoids.

What will happen to me?

It may lead to hearing loss, speech language problem in children. If it is untreated for long time, that leads to the infection for the large bone behind your ear (mastoiditis) and the extra skin growing in your ear (cholesteatoma) and also a very slight risk of infection spreading into your brain that can cause meningitis.

Is ear pus contagious?

No, it is not generally contagious.

What precautions help me from getting ear infection?

Do not use Cotton Buds to Clean Ears! These cotton buds tend to push earwax back into the canal causing wax to build up or can injure the ear drum. Ears are having self-cleaning mechanism to clean it selves. Allow the natural way to remove earwax by letting tiny hairs in the ear propel the wax outward as the canal moves with talking or chewing. Only you can use the cloth or let the nature follow its course otherwise need to contact your ENT specialist.

Take treatment at the first sign of cold and sore throat. Otherwise it may cause ear infection.

What treatments work for Ear Pus or Discharge?

Micro suction cleaning of your ears
Specialist ENT microsurgeon clean your ears with the help of micro suction. Cleaning your ears will clears out the pus and any debris in the canal so that the ear drops can reach the point of infection.

Ear drops

Antibiotic ear drops help to dry up your ear as antibiotics kill the bacteria that cause infection. Some of the antibiotics might damage your hearing if you have a hole in your eardrum only specialist doctors prescribe these types of antibiotics.

Surgery

This operation is called as myringoplasty or tympanoplasty that done to repair hole in your eardrum. The specialist ENT microsurgeon can put a small patch of graft onto your eardrum hole. The Surgery is more likely to work if your surgeon is experienced in this kind of micro surgeries.

Common myths

Going in cold weather causes ear infections: No, ear infections are not caused by going in cold weather without your ears covered. The middle ear most often becomes infected from bacteria that travel up the eustachian tube which is opened behind the nose from the throat.

Ear infections run in families: No, there is no evidence that ear infections are inherited and runs in families. Ear infections are common in infants and young children because they have immature immune system and a shorter, less angled eustachian tube. Those who had frequent ear infections as a child may or may not continue to get ear infections them as adults.

Earwax

Earwax is made up of a slightly different mixture of substances in each individuals depending upon their environment, age, race, and diet.