What is a ruptured eardrum?

Your eardrum is a thin, flexible membrane that divides your outer ear from your middle ear. You can burst your eardrum if you get a bad middle ear infection or if you hurt or damage your eardrum. A burst eardrum can interfere with your hearing and balance. Burst eardrums usually heal on their own. Occasionally, though, you might have to have surgery to fix your damaged eardrum. Keeping your ears safe is the best way to avoid burst eardrums.

What are the common symptoms of a ruptured eardrum?

Unless you were hit in the ear, you might not know that you have a ruptured eardrum until you experience symptoms such as hearing changes or blood and pus running from your ear. Common ruptured eardrum symptoms are:

Sudden loss of hearing.
Sudden stinging pain in your ear.
Discharge from your ear that can appear like pus or blood.
Tinnitus is a ringing or buzzing sound in your ear that originates from within your ears.

What causes eardrum rupture?

Middle ear infections are the leading cause of ruptured eardrums. Other causes by which you can acquire a ruptured eardrum include:

Foreign bodies: By scratching an ear itch or inserting cotton swabs or other small, pointed objects into your ears to clean them, you run the risk of puncturing your eardrum. Even an inadvertent eardrum puncture can occur when you are hit with a low-hanging branch or are struck in the ear by a pencil that has been thrown.
Trauma: Your ear is slapped open-handed or hit on your ear or side of your head very forcefully.
Barotrauma: You can get ear barotrauma if your Eustachian tube is plugged or inflamed. When that occurs, the air gets stuck between your eardrum and middle ear, making it more likely your eardrum will burst when there's a change in air pressure.
Sudden explosive sounds: If you're nearby and there's an explosion or gunfire, your eardrums could burst.

How do doctors diagnose ruptured eardrums?

An otoscope is usually used by doctors to inspect your inner ear. A lighted device called an otoscope aids medical professionals in viewing your eardrum. Hearing specialists or audiologists may also do hearing tests to evaluate your hearing and eardrum mobility. Tests could include:

Audiometry/audiogram: These are terms or hearing tests. Audiometry tests your hearing of quiet sounds and various pitches. Audi grams are graphs that show audiometry results.
Tympanometry: This test measures eardrum movement.

Will a ruptured eardrum heal by itself?

Ruptured eardrums usually heal without treatment. hen they don't, individuals should speak with an ear, nose, and the at specialist (ENT) about further treatment. Treatments can include:

Myringoplasty: Your ENT covers the tear or hole in your eardrum with a medicated paper patch. Later on, your eardrum regenerates and covers up the tear or hole.
Tympanoplasty: During this surgery, skin, cartilage or substance from anoth r part of your body is taken and used to close up the tear or hole in your eardrum.

How can I avoid bursting my eardrum?

Ear protection goes a long way in avoiding a ruptured eardrum. How to protect your ears and eardrum includes:

Treatment of middle ear infections: Symptoms of middle ear infection are earache, nasal stuffiness, fever and difficulty hearing. See a healthcare provider if your symptoms persist for more than a few days.
Cleans ng carefully: Don't clean your ears using cotton swabs or any other item — an eardrum can be burst too easily with even a cotton swab. Rather, wash the outside of your ear ligh ly with a finger or the tip of a piece of clean cloth.
Preventing airplane ear: Airplane ear is barotrauma. Barotrauma is like somebody putting cotton in your head. You can get airplane ear when you fly on an airplane. Rapid changes in altitude when planes land and take off can happen to your ears. You might be able to prevent airplane ear if you yawn, chew gum or u e special earplugs which cancel out air pressure variati ns.
Ear protection from explosive sound: You can burs your eardrum if you are near explosive sounds such as shooting guns or explosiv s detonating. Use earplugs or other protection for your ears whenever you feel you might be exposed to explosive sound.

How long does a ruptured eardrum take to heal?

Your burst eardrum might require a few months of recovery time. See your healthcare provider if you continue to experience symptoms such as pain, drainage or hearing. You might need further treatment.

How do I take care of myself as my burst eardrum heals?

The most crucial action is to guard your burst eardrum. You can do that by:

Drying your eardrum: Plug your ears with waterproof earplugs or petroleum jelly-coated cotton balls while you shower or bathe. If you swim for fitness, please use an alternative way to stay active. Water in your ear from swimming can harm your eardrum.
Don't clean your ears: Gentle cleaning can prevent your eardrum from healing.
Avoid blowing your nose: If possible, don’t blow your no e while your eardrum is healing. If you have allergies, ask your healt care provider about ways to prevent a stuffy nose.

When should I see a doctor for a ruptured eardrum?

If you know you have a ruptured eardrum, contact a healthcare provider if your symptoms don’t go away within a few weeks.

When should I visit the emergency room if I have a ruptured eardrum?

You should visit the emergency room if you suspect you have hurt your eardrum from an object in your ear.

What questions should I ask a doctor?

If you suspect that you have a ruptured eardrum, below are some of the questions that you can ask a doctor:

Do I have a ruptured eardrum?
If I have a ruptured eardrum, what can you do to treat it?
What should I do to take care of my eardrum while it heals?
At what point do we need to look at other treatments?

Why Tender Palm Super-Speciality Hospital for ruptured eardrum treatment in Lucknow, India?

Tender Palm Super-Speciality Hospital has the most trusted team of ENT Specialist and surgeons with advanced diagnostic equipment care for Ruptured Eardrum treatment in Lucknow, India. Our ENT department follows international safety standards and has years of experience in successfully managing ear related disease and conditions like Perforated Ear Drum / Ruptured Eardrum.