Everything You Need to Know About Tears in the Eardrum

The eardrum is a membrane that divides and separates the middle and inner ear from the outside. Among its main functions is to amplify the sound that comes through the auditory canopy, through a vibration of the membrane that is transmitted to the ossicles of the middle ear and these to the intentional ear. Also to act as a barrier with the outside, preventing the passage of germs and foreign bodies.

What pathologies can the eardrum suffer?

The eardrum can be damaged in various ways, either by direct or indirect trauma, either by the action of foreign bodies punctures or traumatisms and that give rise to tears of said membrane. It can also be injured through infectious processes of middle ear repetition , such as suppurative otitis , originating as sequelae tympanic perforations.

Symptoms of tear in the eardrum

Symptoms of tearing or damage to the eardrum are primarily manifested by a sudden loss of hearing when the cause is traumatic or insidious and slow when the cause is a chronic inflammatory process of the middle ear. Sometimes episodes of pain or bleeding occur, as well as expulsion of mucous or purulent material. The latter occurs mainly in chronic processes and with the entry of water into the affected ear.

Treatment for a tear in the eardrum

The repair of the eardrum is necessary whenever there is a subjective hearing loss, and it serves both for the functional recovery of the hearing and to restore the anatomical barrier of the ear with the outside.

In order for the Otorhinolaryngologist to be able to proceed without problem, it is necessary that the perforation be dry, that there is no infectious inflammatory activity.

Postoperative after an operation for a tear in the eardrum

Recovery from tympanic surgery is usually accompanied by a feeling of clogging in the ear, until the graft attaches to the new tympanum. As well as avoid contact with the water until it shows the normality of the new tympanic membrane.