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The Curious Bag
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Although a serious condition, a punctured eardrum is fairly common, often resulting from an untreated ear infection. Doctors sometimes puncture a patient's eardrum to relieve pressure from an ear infection.
Symptoms
According to the New York Times, symptoms of a punctured eardrum include: drainage from the ear that is bloody, pussy or clear, noise and buzzing in the ear, earache or pain, hearing loss and in severe cases, facial dizziness or weakness.
Causes
Punctured ear drums can be caused by ear infections, extreme changes in air pressure, such as during air travel or scuba diving, loud sounds or blasts, such as from a gunshot, foreign objects entering the ear, such as cotton swabs, and severe injury to the head.
Treatment
Punctured eardrums usually heal themselves within two months. Antibiotics are sometimes prescribed to treat or prevent infection.
Prevention
To lessen the risk of puncturing your eardrum, don't scuba dive with an upper respiratory tract infection, don't insert anything into the ear canal, including cotton swabs, and seek treatment for ear infections as soon as symptoms begin.
Other Names
A punctured ear drum can also be called ruptured, perforated or torn.
Source:
Discovery Health: Ruptured Eardrum
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