Tag Archives: Sound

Straight, No Chaser: Ruptured Eardrums

Head/Eyes/Ears/Nose/Throat, , , , , , , , , , , ,

tmperf_c_dTMPerforation-2ndAOM

The manufacturers of Q-Tips used to run a commercial in which they said “Never place anything in your ear smaller than your elbow.”  I wonder why they stopped the commercial, because it pretty much summarizes how your physicians feel about the practice.
Perforated tympanic membranes (aka ruptured eardrums) are holes in the sheet-like tissue that separates the ear canal from the middle ear. They are not a lot of fun. Because the ear is responsible for both hearing and balance, rupture can cause decreases of both. Common symptoms include pain, decreased hearing and bleeding.
Several different things can causes this, including the following:

  • infections (otitis media)
  • a pressure imbalance between the two sides of the eardrum (if it becomes too severe, you’ll suffer what’s known as barotrauma), as seen in diving and air travel
  • direct trauma from placing objects in your ear (Put those cotton swabs and down!) or from a severe blow to the head/face
  • blast injuries (called acoustic trauma), caused by sudden, loud noises (e.g. explosions and gun shots; what’s actually happening here is a sound wave is damaging the ear drum)

Most tympanic membrane perforations heal spontaneously.  If the injury causing this was penetrating, your physician may refer you to an ear, nose, and throat specialist within 24 hours.  If this ever occurs, you must be careful to avoid getting water in the ear. Finally, you won’t typically receive antibiotics for a ruptured eardrum unless the rupture is due to infection or forceful water injury, such as is seen in water skiing.
Just remember: the ears have been cleaning themselves for at least thousands of years prior to cotton swabs. Chasing that itch isn’t worth the consequences of the pain of a ruptured eardrum.
Feel free to ask your SMA expert consultant any questions you may have on this topic.
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Thanks for liking and following Straight, No Chaser! This public service provides a sample of what http://www.SterlingMedicalAdvice.com (SMA) and 844-SMA-TALK offers. Please share our page with your friends on WordPress, like us on Facebook @ SterlingMedicalAdvice.com and follow us on Twitter at @asksterlingmd.
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Straight, No Chaser: Ruptured Eardrums

Head/Eyes/Ears/Nose/Throat, , , , , , , , , , ,

tmperf_c_dTMPerforation-2ndAOM

The manufacturers of Q-Tips used to run a commercial in which they said “Never place anything in your ear smaller than your elbow.”  I wonder why they stopped the commercial, because it pretty much summarizes how your physicians feel about the practice.
Perforated tympanic membranes (aka ruptured eardrums) are holes in the sheet-like tissue that separates the ear canal from the middle ear. They are not a lot of fun. Because the ear is responsible for both hearing and balance, rupture can cause decreases of both. Common symptoms include pain, decreased hearing and bleeding.
Several different things can causes this, including the following:

  • infections (otitis media)
  • a pressure imbalance between the two sides of the eardrum (if it becomes too severe, you’ll suffer what’s known as barotrauma), as seen in diving and air travel
  • direct trauma from placing objects in your ear (Put those cotton swabs and down!) or from a severe blow to the head/face
  • blast injuries (called acoustic trauma), caused by sudden, loud noises (e.g. explosions and gun shots; what’s actually happening here is a sound wave is damaging the ear drum)

Most tympanic membrane perforations heal spontaneously.  If the injury causing this was penetrating, your physician may refer you to an ear, nose, and throat specialist within 24 hours.  If this ever occurs, you must be careful to avoid getting water in the ear. Finally, you won’t typically receive antibiotics for a ruptured eardrum unless the rupture is due to infection or forceful water injury, such as is seen in water skiing.
Just remember: the ears have been cleaning themselves for at least thousands of years prior to cotton swabs. Chasing that itch isn’t worth the consequences of the pain of a ruptured eardrum.
Feel free to ask your SMA expert consultant any questions you may have on this topic.
Order your copy of Dr. Sterling’s new book Behind The Curtain: A Peek at Life from within the ER at jeffreysterlingbooks.com, iTunes, Amazon, Barnes and Nobles and wherever books are sold.
Thanks for liking and following Straight, No Chaser! This public service provides a sample of what http://www.SterlingMedicalAdvice.com (SMA) and 844-SMA-TALK offers. Please share our page with your friends on WordPress, like us on Facebook @ SterlingMedicalAdvice.com and follow us on Twitter at @asksterlingmd.
Copyright © 2016 · Sterling Initiatives, LLC · Powered by WordPress

Straight, No Chaser: Ruptured Eardrums

Head/Eyes/Ears/Nose/Throat, , , , , , , , , ,

tmperf_c_dTMPerforation-2ndAOM

The manufacturers of Q-Tips used to run a commercial in which they said “Never place anything in your ear smaller than your elbow.”  I wonder why they stopped the commercial, because it pretty much summarizes how I feel about the situation.
Perforated tympanic membranes (aka ruptured eardrums) are holes in the sheet-like tissue that separates the ear canal from the middle ear. They are not a lot of fun. Because the ear is responsible for both hearing and balance, rupture can cause decreases of both. Common symptoms include pain, decreased hearing and bleeding.
Several different things can causes this, including the following:

  • infections (otitis media)
  • an imbalance between the two sides of the eardrum (if it becomes too severe, you’ll suffer what’s known as barotrauma), as seen in diving and air travel
  • direct trauma from placing objects in your ear (Put those cotton swabs and down!) or from a severe blow to the head/face
  • blast injuries (called acoustic trauma), caused by sudden, loud noises (e.g. explosions and gun shots; what’s actually happening here is a sound wave is damaging the ear drum)

Most tympanic membrane perforations heal spontaneously.  If the injury causing this was penetrating, your physician may refer you to an ear, nose, and throat specialist within 24 hours.  You must be careful to avoid getting water in the ear. You won’t typically receive antibiotics for a ruptured eardrum unless the rupture is due to infection or forceful water injury, such as is seen in water skiing.
Thanks for liking and following Straight, No Chaser! This public service provides a sample of what http://www.SterlingMedicalAdvice.com (SMA) offers. Please share our page with your Friends on WordPress, and we can be found on Facebook at SterlingMedicalAdvice.com and on Twitter at @asksterlingmd.

Straight, No Chaser: Can You Hear Me Now? Checking Hearing Loss

Health Prevention, Head/Eyes/Ears/Nose/Throat, , , , , , ,

noise_thermometer
We live in a loud world. Take a listen around. You’re likely in the midst of multiple simultaneous noises, many of which (if you actually think about it) sound harsh and annoying. However, we’re pretty good at consciously ignoring background noise, even though the sounds are affecting our hearing apparatus. After years of traffic, screaming, loud music and other assorted sounds, our hearing invariably starts to suffer.
I’ll discuss the causes, mechanisms and prevention of hearing loss another day, but for now, I want to point you toward getting your hearing checked before you find yourself needing a hearing aid. Being cognizant of where your hearing stands may prompt you to make some early alterations that can save your hearing over the longer term.
Signs and symptoms of hearing loss may include the following:

  • Previously normal sounds, including speech, become muffled.
  • The ability to distinguish sounds in the midst of background noise becomes harder.
  • You need others to speak more slowly, clearly and loudly
  • You need to turn up the volume of the television, radio and other devices to which you’re listening.
  • You avoid socializing and find yourself withdrawing from conversations.

Our hearing anatomy is actually quite fascinating and complex, and there’s a lot that could be going on. It’s time to get an evaluation if you’re suffering from the above, or your daily activities are being interfered with by hearing difficulties. While you’re at it, check out the noise thermometer, and see how easy it is for a few common sounds to cause some real damage.