What are the consequences of a perforated eardrum?

A perforated eardrum is caused by inflammation or trauma. After the eardrum ruptures, dizziness, nausea, ear pain, and sometimes buzzing in the ears and hearing loss will occur. The impact on the human body is obvious and the consequences are not very good. It is recommended that everyone understand its symptoms, causes, consequences, and then actively seek treatment. So what are the consequences of a perforated eardrum? Let’s look down.

1: Perforation of the eardrum will damage the protective function of the middle ear. The eardrum is a portal on one side of the middle ear, which separates the outer ear from the middle ear and protects the middle ear cavity. After perforation, external bacteria, sewage and foreign objects can enter the middle ear through the perforation and induce middle ear infection, causing infection and pus discharge, and there is also the risk of forming cholesteatoma.

2: A perforated eardrum can cause hearing loss: sound first vibrates the eardrum, then is transmitted to the cochlea through the ossicular chain of the middle ear, which in turn causes a nerve reflex to form hearing. After a perforated eardrum, the effective vibration area of ​​the eardrum is reduced, and the energy of external sound waves transmitted to the inner ear is weakened, resulting in hearing loss.

It can be seen that if the eardrum is perforated, it must be treated promptly.

1. Tympanic membrane perforation caused by acute otitis media

① Systemic treatment should be carried out as early as possible with adequate antibiotics to control infection. Penicillin, cephalosporin and other drugs can be used.

② Local treatment: First clean the external auditory canal with 3% hydrogen peroxide, then use antibiotic ear drops. After the inflammation is controlled, surgical repair may be considered for perforations that cannot heal on their own.

③Etiological treatment: Actively treat chronic inflammation of adjacent organs.

2. Tympanic membrane perforation caused by trauma

① Clear foreign matter, blood clots, etc. remaining in the external auditory canal.

②To avoid catching a cold, do not blow your nose hard.

③ It is forbidden to flush or apply medicine to the external auditory canal. For large perforations or those that cannot heal on their own, surgical repair may be considered.

Of course, preventive measures are also essential.

Preventive measure 1: To prevent water from entering the ears, do not swim or wash your hair. When taking a bath, you can plug the ear canal opening with a sterilized cotton ball.

Preventive measure 2: Be careful when digging your ears. Using unclean instruments to dig your ears can easily bring in bacteria.

Preventive measure 3: Be careful against colds. Otitis media is usually caused by colds.

Preventive measure 4: Avoid improper nose blowing, such as pinching both nostrils to force out the mucus, which can easily squeeze the nasal secretions into the middle ear through the Eustachian tube and cause inflammation. You should block one nostril and gently blow out the mucus.

Preventive measure 5: Improve nutrition, exercise properly, pay attention to rest, and enhance immunity.

Preventive measure 6: Go to the hospital for regular check-ups and deal with problems as soon as they are discovered.

After seeing the above-mentioned eardrum perforation and its treatment and prevention methods, everyone has a basic understanding. Here, experts tell you that the eardrum is a thin membrane at the bottom of the external auditory canal. So when picking your ears, be sure to be careful not to use sharp ear picks and keep your ears clean on a daily basis.