Ear Drum Problems

The eardrum is made of a thin oval shaped tissue placed deep in the ear canal. It helps protect the middle and inner ear from damage. It receives sound vibrations and transfers them to the middle ear where small hearing bones are waiting. But because it is so thin, it is easy to rupture or tear, which will result in altered hearing and exposure for the middle and inner ear to gain infection.

Significance

• Problems with the ear can be either temporary or permanent. It is important to identify and recognize the kind of problems that can occur with the ears and whether or not it is necessary to take further action in preventing hearing loss or pain. Ignored problems can result in permanent damage to the eardrum. Talking to a physician about reoccurring problems or any pain that is dominant is necessary before other problems arise. Identifying and fixing the problems is essential to ensure optimum health.

Outer Ear

• There are a variety of problems that can occur in the eardrum. Outer ear problems can often be self-treated and do not often result in any permanent damage. According to Inn Vista, frequent outer and middle ear issues include the build up of earwax, presence of foreign material, damage to the eardrum, or an infection that may lead to an excess amount of fluid in the ear canal.

Middle and Inner Ear

• Middle ear problems can include infection, cysts, tumors and abnormal bone growths. These often result in some sort of hearing loss but can often be fixed through medical treatments or surgeries. Hearing can be restored most often when the problem does not extend into the inner ear. Common inner ear problems include sensor neural hearing loss. These problems can be permanent because they involve damage to the inner ear, the auditory nerve or the brain.

Causes

• Some common causes for eardrum problems can include a sudden exposure to a loud noise, infections, or inserting objects into the ears. Most commonly, a tear in the eardrum will result in a humming or buzzing sound and although it may fix itself, more often, a medical procedure must be performed in order to reconstruct the damaged eardrum. There are a large variety of causes to eardrum problems. Placing foreign objects in the ears is dangerous to the eardrum. Even objects, such as Q-tips, can cause harmful damage.

Ear Drum Repair and Risks

• Livestrong explains how a common procedure to repair a ruptured or torn eardrum is called tympanoplasty. A skin graft is used to repair the tear in the eardrum if it does not heal on its own. Another procedure that repairs the small bones in the middle ear is called ossiculoplasty. As with almost any surgery there are risks involved. Bleeding, infection, reactions to medications, damage to facial nerves, damage to the small bones in the ear, dizziness or incomplete healing are just some of the risks involved with ear surgery. However, it will most often result in complete success.