Perforated eardrum (patient information)

Perforated eardrum
Overview
What are the symptoms?
What are the causes?
Diagnosis
When to seek urgent medical care?
Treatment options
Where to find medical care for Perforated eardrum?
Prevention
What to expect (Outlook/Prognosis)?
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Ogheneochuko Ajari, MB.BS, MS [2]

Overview

A ruptured eardrum is an opening or hole in the eardrum, which separates the outer and middle ear. When the eardrum is damaged, the hearing may be harmed.

What are the symptoms?

Ear pain may suddenly decrease right after your eardrum ruptures.

After the rupture, you may have:

• Drainage from the ear (drainage may be clear, pus, or bloody)
• Ear noise/ buzzing
• Earache or ear discomfort
• Hearing loss in the involved ear (hearing loss may not be total)
• Weakness of the face, or dizziness (in more severe cases)

What are the causes?

Ear infections may cause a ruptured eardrum, more often in children. The infection causes pus or fluid to build up behind the eardrum. As the pressure increases, the eardrum may break open (rupture).

Damage to the eardrum can also occur from:

• A very loud noise close to the ear, such as a gunshot
• A rapid change in ear pressure, which may occur when flying, scuba diving, or driving in the mountains
• Foreign objects in the ear
• Injury to the ear (such as a powerful slap or explosion)
• Inserting cotton-tipped swabs or small objects into the ear to clean them

Diagnosis

The doctor will look in your ear with an instrument called an otoscope or a microscope. If the eardrum is ruptured, the doctor will see an opening in it, and may even see the bones of the middle ear. Sometimes it is hard for the doctor to see the eardrum because of drainage (pus) from the ear.

Audiology testing can measure how much hearing has been lost.

When to seek urgent medical care?

If your pain and symptoms improve after your eardrum ruptures, you may wait until the next day to see your health care provider.

Call your health care provider right away after your eardrum ruptures if you:

• Are very dizzy
• Have a fever, general ill feeling, or hearing loss
• Have very bad pain or a loud ringing in your ear
• Have an object in your ear that does not come out
• Have any symptoms that last longer than 2 months after treatment