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Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
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Lifestyle and home remedies
By Mayo Clinic staffTry these steps to protect your eardrum while it's healing.
- Keep your ear dry while it's healing. Place a cotton ball with petroleum jelly in your ear when showering or bathing.
- Refrain from cleaning your ears. Give your eardrum time to heal completely.
- Avoid blowing your nose. The pressure created when blowing your nose can damage your healing eardrum.
References
- Perforated eardrum. American Academy of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery. http://www.entnet.org/HealthInformation/perforatedEardrum.cfm. Accessed Jan. 3, 2009.
- O'Handley J, et al. Otorhinolaryngology. In: Rakel R, ed. Textbook of Family Medicine. 7th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders/Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/115405234-5/0/1481/281.html?tocnode=53392988&fromURL=281.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-2467-5..50027-0--cesec49_1202. Accessed Jan. 3, 2009.
- Mirza S, et al. Otic barotrauma from air travel. Journal of Laryngology and Otology. 2005;119:366-370.
- Ramakrishnan K, et al. Diagnosis and treatment of otitis media. American Family Physician. 2007;76:1650-1658.
- Staffel JG, et al. Hearing loss. In: Wax M, ed. Primary Care Otolaryngology. 2nd ed. Alexandria, Va.: American Academy of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery; 2005. http://www.entnet.org/EducationAndResearch/updload/Chapter-6-Hearing-Loss.pdf. Accessed Jan. 4, 2009.
