A perforated ear drum pertains to the rupture or hole that occurs in the eardrum, specifically the thin membrane responsible for separating the middle ear and the ear canal. The middle ear and the nose are connected to each other through the Eustachian tube. This tube is responsible for equalizing the pressure in your middle ear. When you have a perforated ear, you will not experience persistent pain, though there might be occasional discharge and definitely some hearing loss.
There are many causes to a perforated eardrum. The usual causes for this hearing condition are infection or trauma. If the ear is stricken squarely with the use of an open hand, the eardrum could become perforated. If a person suffers from skull fracture, the ear could also suffer from perforation. Other causes for perforation of the ears are exposure to sudden explosion, sharp objects being pushed deep into the ear canal, acid entering the ear canal, and a hot slag result (from welding).
Infections in the middle ear can also lead to loss of hearing, pain, sudden tear or rupture in the eardrum, eventually leading to perforation. With this, temporary hearing loss, or not so temporary hearing loss could be the result. There may also be pain and bloody drainage coming out of the ear. If this happens, the condition is known as ‘otitis media with perforation'.
A perforated eardrum can have mild to severe effects on a person's hearing. The larger the eardrum perforation, the greater the chance you have of losing your hearing. Aside from that, where the hole or perforation actually is in your eardrum can be a factor as to the level of your hearing loss. If skull fracture is involves, the hearing loss could be very severe. Mild perforations can be treated and while healing must of course be protected. Severe cases though may require surgery.
In any case, if you suffer from a perforated eardrum and is experiencing some hearing loss, you might want to look into the various hearing aid types available out there. Hearing aids have been known to help a lot of people. With it, you can live as much a normal life as you want. You would not be having communication problems and the people around you will not have a hard time either. So do not be disheartened by a hearing impairment. There are many ways you can deal with it, so best thing to do is to deal with it!
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