{"id":3390,"date":"2023-09-22T19:39:49","date_gmt":"2023-09-22T23:39:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/palmettoentallergy.com\/?p=3390"},"modified":"2023-09-22T19:39:50","modified_gmt":"2023-09-22T23:39:50","slug":"tips-for-protecting-against-a-perforated-eardrum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/palmettoentallergy.com\/tips-for-protecting-against-a-perforated-eardrum\/","title":{"rendered":"Tips for Protecting Against a Perforated Eardrum"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>A perforated or ruptured eardrum is a <a href=\"https:\/\/palmettoentallergy.com\/ear\/eardrum-perforation\/\">hole or tear in the tissue separating the ear canal from the middle ear<\/a>. Although a perforated eardrum usually heals within a few weeks, it can leave the middle ear vulnerable to infections. Symptoms of a perforated eardrum may include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Temporary or permanent hearing loss<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Tinnitus<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Vertigo<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/palmettoentallergy.com\/ear\/earache\/\">Ear pain<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Nausea or vomiting<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Fluid drainage from the ear<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s look at a couple of common causes of a perforated eardrum and what you can do to prevent them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2>Cotton Swabs<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/palmettoentallergy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Doctor-checking-a-mans-eardrum-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3394\" width=\"344\" height=\"229\" srcset=\"https:\/\/palmettoentallergy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Doctor-checking-a-mans-eardrum-1.jpg 1254w, https:\/\/palmettoentallergy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Doctor-checking-a-mans-eardrum-1-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 344px) 100vw, 344px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Cotton swabs are a common cause of damage to the ear canal. Although putting anything smaller than your elbow in your ear is not recommended, many people still use cotton swabs to clean their ears. One questionnaire from three primary care centers in England with 289 respondents found <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC3207072\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">that 68% of respondents used cotton swabs in their ears<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cotton swab use in the ear puts you at risk of perforating your eardrum and is an ineffective method of removing earwax. If you are experiencing issues due to an overproduction of wax, contact an ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialist to have your wax removed professionally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2>Ear Infections<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Ear infections occur when fluid accumulates in the middle ear and becomes infected. Pressure from the fluid can <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mayoclinic.org\/diseases-conditions\/ruptured-eardrum\/symptoms-causes\/syc-20351879\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">cause the eardrum to perforate<\/a>. If you are experiencing severe or prolonged symptoms of an ear infection, contact your ENT specialist to discuss antibiotic or ear tube treatment options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2>Loud Noise Exposure<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Similar to how loud noise exposure can damage the hair cells in your ear and lead to hearing loss, hazardous sounds can cause a physical tear or perforation in the eardrum. To avoid damaging your ear canal, limit your time exposed to loud noises and wear earplugs or earmuffs if loud noise is unavoidable, such as during construction or a concert at the Palmetto Citizens Amphitheater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2>Ear Barotrauma<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Ear barotrauma occurs when there is a dramatic change in the air pressure in the middle ear, and air pressure in the environment around you. Commonly occurring during take-off and landing on a flight, ear barotrauma usually goes away on its own, but severe cases can result in a perforated eardrum. A couple of tips for preventing barotrauma include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Swallowing or yawning<\/strong>. Swallowing or yawning helps engage the muscles that open the Eustachian tube, the tube responsible for equalizing pressure in the middle ear. Try sucking on hard candy or lozenge to promote swallowing during ascent or descent.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>The Valsalva maneuver<\/strong>. The Valsalva maneuver can help equalize pressure in the middle ear. To perform the maneuver, plug your nose and blow into it as if you\u2019re blowing into a tissue.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>For more information on preventing or treating a perforated eardrum, contact <span class=\"company-name \">Palmetto ENT &amp; Allergy<\/span> today to speak to one of our specialists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><ul class=\"related-posts\"><li><a href=\"https:\/\/palmettoentallergy.com\/how-dry-air-can-impact-your-nose-and-throat-health\/\" class=\"related-post\">How Dry Air Can Impact Your Nose and Throat Health<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/palmettoentallergy.com\/three-reasons-why-your-ears-hurt-when-you-swallow\/\" class=\"related-post\">Three Reasons Why Your Ears Hurt When You Swallow<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/palmettoentallergy.com\/what-is-the-link-between-allergies-and-ear-infections\/\" class=\"related-post\">What is The Link Between Allergies and Ear Infections<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A perforated or ruptured eardrum is a hole or tear in the tissue separating the ear canal from the middle ear. Although a perforated eardrum usually heals within a few weeks, it can leave the middle ear vulnerable to infections. Symptoms of a perforated eardrum may include: Let\u2019s look at a couple of common causes&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3393,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","schema":"","fname":"","lname":"","position":"","credentials":"","placeID":"","no_match":false,"name":"","company":"","review":"","address":"","city":"","state":"","zip":"","lat":"","lng":"","phone1":"","phone2":"","fax":"","mon1":"","mon2":"","tue1":"","tue2":"","wed1":"","wed2":"","thu1":"","thu2":"","fri1":"","fri2":"","sat1":"","sat2":"","sun1":"","sun2":"","hours-note":"","locid":"","rating":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/palmettoentallergy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3390"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/palmettoentallergy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/palmettoentallergy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/palmettoentallergy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/palmettoentallergy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3390"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/palmettoentallergy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3390\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3396,"href":"https:\/\/palmettoentallergy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3390\/revisions\/3396"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/palmettoentallergy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3393"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/palmettoentallergy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3390"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/palmettoentallergy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3390"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/palmettoentallergy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3390"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}