# Draining ear infections

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draining-ear-infections/477565>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [December 17, 2008, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draining-ear-infections/477565 "2008-12-17T15:16:43Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\
**Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draining-ear-infections/477565/1 "2008-12-17T15:16:43Z")

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When you’ve got an ear infection and it drains out the ear, what’s happening? Is the eardrum actually rupturing or does the warm liquid goo seep through some other secret opening?

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**Author:** ![cckerberos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@cckerberos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cckerberos)\
**Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draining-ear-infections/477565/2 "2008-12-17T15:50:17Z")

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When this happened to me I was told by my doctor that my eardrum had ruptured.

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**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\
**Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draining-ear-infections/477565/3 "2008-12-17T16:15:35Z")

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eardrum rupture is a possibility, but most infections that drain from the outer ear, are simply outer ear infections

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**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\
**Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draining-ear-infections/477565/4 "2008-12-17T16:26:52Z")

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If you’ve got goo draining from your middle ear to your outer ear then it has to go through the eardrum because there is no “secret passage”.

But, as mention, you could also have a draining infection located in the ear canal, in which case you’d get goo without eardrum rupture.