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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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Mayo Clinic Housecall
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Prevention
By Mayo Clinic staffFollow these tips to avoid a ruptured eardrum:
- Get treatment for middle ear infections. Be aware of the signs and symptoms of middle ear infection, including earache, fever, nasal congestion and reduced hearing. Children with a middle ear infection often rub or pull on their ears. Seek prompt treatment to prevent potential damage to the eardrum.
- Protect your ears during flight. If possible, don't fly if you have a cold or an active allergy that causes congestion. During takeoffs and landings, keep your ears clear with pressure-equalizing earplugs, yawning or chewing gum. Or use the Valsalva maneuver — gently blowing, as if blowing your nose, while pinching your nostrils and keeping your mouth closed. Don't sleep during ascents and descents.
- Keep your ears free of foreign objects. Never attempt to dig out excess or hardened earwax with items such as a cotton swab, paper clip or hairpin. These items can easily tear or puncture your eardrum. Teach your children about the damage that can be done by putting foreign objects in their ears.
- Guard against excessive noise. Protect your ears from unnecessary damage by wearing protective earplugs or earmuffs in your workplace or during recreational activities if loud noise is present.
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.
