Have you ever torn your eardrum? This is known as a perforated eardrum, or a ruptured eardrum. As the eardrum is an instrumental part of our ability to hear, it follows that a perforated eardrum can affect your hearing; let’s discuss how that works.
What Is the Eardrum?
The eardrum (officially known as the tympanic membrane) is a thin membrane stretched tautly across the ear canal. It separates the outer ear from the middle ear. When sound waves travel down the ear canal, they strike the eardrum, which vibrates and amplifies the sound through the middle ear into the cochlea. All that to say, the eardrum is critical to our ability to hear.
It also serves as a barrier to the middle ear. It keeps out water, earwax, debris and germs, all of which can increase your chance of infection should they infiltrate the middle ear.
What Can Cause an Eardrum Perforation?
Because it’s so thin and stretched tightly, it’s actually not that hard to puncture the eardrum. Here are some of the most common reasons:
- Middle ear infection (otitis media). When fluid builds up behind the eardrum and becomes infected, it can infect and burst through the eardrum.
- Loud noise exposure. Sound waves from loud noises, such as an explosion, are forceful, ripping a hole in the eardrum instead of striking it and bouncing off.
- Ear barotrauma. The middle ear, which is normally filled with air, is sensitive to sudden changes in air pressure, as often happens when taking off in an airplane or scuba diving. If the air pressure in the middle ear is different than the pressure outside and the Eustachian tubes don’t open, the eardrum can burst.
- Punctured by a foreign object. If an object gets stuck in your ear or if you insert something into your ear, it can puncture the eardrum. Put the cotton swab down!
The discomfort and/or pain caused by the eardrum rupturing can vary depending on the cause and how large the tear is.
What Does Hearing Loss Caused by a Perforated Eardrum Feel/Sound Like?
A perforated eardrum won’t vibrate properly when hit by sound waves and therefore won’t amplify the sound deeper into the ear. So, hearing loss caused by a perforated eardrum will most often sound muffled, like sounds are quieter. It may also be accompanied by a feeling of fullness or stuffiness in the ear, which could also contribute to the perception of muffled hearing. High pitches, which have the smallest sound waves, may be especially hard to hear or sound “robotic.” Sometimes, it also causes tinnitus, or ringing in the ears.
This most often happens in one ear, unless you perforate both eardrums in the same incident (e.g., exposure to loud noise).
How Long Does Hearing Loss Last?
This can vary wildly. Sometimes, if the tear is small, the patient may not notice any hearing changes at all. In some other cases, hearing loss can be permanent.
Most of the time, a perforated eardrum will heal on its own over the next couple of weeks, while the underlying cause may require its own treatment, such as antibiotics for an ear infection. Other times, complications may occur that prevent the eardrum from healing or cause it to heal improperly, leading to lasting hearing damage.
If you notice changes in your hearing, especially sudden changes, treat it as a medical emergency and seek help as soon as possible. And if you have any questions about ongoing hearing complications following an eardrum perforation, call us at San Diego ENT.