Ever Had A Hole In Your Ear?

Factual Questions
1
      • Not for decoration, silly!
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  • What I am referring to is a perforated eardrum. A recent article in the newspaper questioned the benefits of ear tubes for toddlers. An ear tube is a tiny tube (open on both ends) implanted through the eardrum to allow fluid buildup [caused by infection] to drain. The past assumption was that not being able to hear had dire consequences for tots’ learning of speaking abilities and so forth.
  • Anyways, aside from having somebody else looking at it (and maybe a really bad headache), how can you tell if yer eardrum has a hole in it? Obviously you can still hear – something. What does it sound like? Does anything sound different? - MC
2

A perforated eardrum is not a Good Thing. A toddler’s ear with a tube in it is technically not perforated in the sense of having a big empty hole in his eardrum–the perforation is filled by the tube. This prevents bacteria from entering the middle ear and causing a middle ear infection.

I actually had a perforated eardrum once, as an adult. I had a screaming middle ear infection as the backlash from a severe cold, had an incredible earache for hours and hours, and while I sat there in the Emergency Room waiting cubicle, it was like something popped and then “stuff” started coming out of my ear. Eww. And the pain didn’t get any better. And I didn’t notice any difference in my hearing. It’s not really a huge hole, that would make a difference. It’s not like having a hole in your earlobe. It’s just a tiny puncture.

You can tell if your eardrum has a hole in it because you’ll have chronic middle ear infections (earaches, fever). But it isn’t normal, and your body keeps trying to close it up, the same way it’ll close up your pierced ears if you leave the earrings out.

3

Yes I have…the major drawback was that I couldn’t go swimming or get my ear wet…and if I put something like hydrogen peroxide in the ear it hurt like hell when it worked down to the ear drum. I didn’t notice any difference in hearing but my hearing isn’t the greatest in the world so YMMV. The other drawback was there was a bit of buildup of wax etc from the fluid that drained from the ear so they had to be cleaned often.

Keith

4

I went over the handlebars of a bike in the fourth grade and, in addition to a fractured skull, I had a ruptured eardrum. I lost a lot of blood and fluid through that ear for a couple of hours. My hearing was affected, but I remember thinking that it was because my ear felt clogged with all that fluid. I don’t remember my ear hurting per se but I had a lot of things hurting just then.

I wasn’t allowed to take a shower or wash my hair for close to two weeks.

Long-term, my hearing in that ear is not quite as good as it is in the other ear, although I doubt it is a significant loss.

5

I have a tube in one eardrum and a permanent hole in the other. Whenever those holes close, I get a horrible ear infection where my middle ear fills with fluid that has nowhere to go except, you guessed it, to create a hole in my eardrum. My eustacian tubes dead-end for some reason, and are thus useless. So I’ve had a few roaring ear infections, but the pain always stopped when my eardrum ruptured. My hearing really isn’t affected, but I do have to wear solid earplugs when I get my head wet (as in a shower). On the plus side, I can go in reduced pressure environments (like over high passes) without discomfort.

6

My daughter had the tubes put in her ear at first grade. She had gone from smart to failing in a couple of months, and the doctors had determined that poor drainage of the inner ear had made all sounds confusing to her. In a week she was back to smart. If they hadn’t realized it was medical, we might never have realized, since her regular physical had missed it.

7

My son has had problems all his life. After 4 sets of tubes,(the last ones at age 8)he had holes that would not close. Patches and grafts both failed to close them. He is now almost 21.
After about 10 years one side closed itself, the other side is about 50% missing. He hears well enough to pass a military physical (and they didn’t notice the hole!) He never takes any special measures and only gets about one infection a year.
However, I’m still glad I had the tubes done. He got infections that would go for months at a time, changing antibiotics every 10 days, and his hearing was affected by the fluid build up. He never got an infection while the tubes were in, but within a month of them coming out, he’d be infected again.