Broken Ear Drum, Causes and How to Overcome It

If the ear feels uncomfortable, hurts, buzzes, and fluid comes out, it could be because your eardrum is ruptured. Infection and injury are some of the causes. But do not worry, there are some medical steps to overcome them. The eardrum is a thin membrane that separates the outside of the ear and the middle of the ear. Eardrum or also called the tympanic membrane, will vibrate when exposed to sound waves. The vibrations are then sent to the middle and inner ears and then transmitted to the brain. The eardrum also serves to protect the middle ear from bacteria, liquid, or foreign objects that are about to enter.

Things That Can Cause Ear Drums Rupture

Because it is thin, this very important part of the ear is vulnerable to damage, such as tearing or rupture. The reason could be due to the following things:

• Infection

A common cause of a ruptured eardrum, especially in children, is due to an ear infection. Middle ear infections cause fluid to accumulate behind the eardrum. As a result, the pressure inside the middle ear will increase and push the eardrum outwards, which can cause tearing.

• Injury

A ruptured eardrum can also occur if the side of the head is hit hard until there is a crack in the skull, not careful cleaning the ear with cotton buds, or because a small object enters the ear.

• Pressure change

When the air pressure in the middle ear and environment is out of balance, this will make the eardrum compress. This is called barotrauma. Barotrauma can cause the eardrum to burst, if the pressure generated is very large. Barotrauma can occur when someone is diving, driving in the highlands, or riding an airplane.

• Acoustic trauma

Hearing a very loud noise (explosion or gunfire) can also harm the eardrum and cause the eardrum to burst, although this is rarely the case.

Need medical assistance to treat it

A ruptured eardrum can heal on its own without treatment, within a few weeks. But if there is no improvement, the doctor will provide treatment in the form of:

• Antibiotics

Antibiotics in the form of pills (drugs taken) or ear drops work to clean the infection and protect the ear from new infections due to exposure to the middle ear from a tear in the eardrum. Antibiotics are given if the eardrum rupture is caused by an infection.

• Eardrum Patching

If not covered by itself, ENT specialists can patch the eardrum. You do this by applying chemicals on the edges of the tear to stimulate the growth of new membranes and covering the tear drum with patches. This procedure may need to be repeated more than once until the hole is completely closed.

• Operation

If the patch is not successful, the last solution is to perform tympanoplasty surgery. In this operation, the ENT specialist will graft a small amount of skin from the patient's body to close the hole in the eardrum. After the surgical procedure is finished, the patient can go home the same day, unless there are other reasons that make the patient have to undergo hospitalization.

When you experience a ruptured eardrum, there are several things that need to be considered to support the healing process, namely:

• Keep ears dry. When bathing, use silicone or cotton earplugs covered with petroleum jelly to prevent water from getting into the ear.
• Do not swim for some time until the eardrum recovers, or until allowed by the doctor.
• Avoid prying ears because of the risk of injuring the eardrum.
• Avoid exhaling by closing your mouth and nose, increasing the pressure inside the ear can cause the eardrum to re-wound.

If your ear aches due to a ruptured eardrum, or if there are other complaints such as hearing loss when you experience a ruptured eardrum, do not hesitate to consult an ENT specialist (ear, nose, throat) so that appropriate treatment can be given.