What should I do if my child’s eardrum is perforated?

What people usually call eardrum perforation is what is clinically called tympanic membrane perforation. The ears are mainly responsible for the human body's sense of hearing. The ear is an important structure of the human body, and its anatomical structure is extremely complex. The inner side of the ear is adjacent to the brain. Once damage is done to either of them, it will cause damage to the adjacent structures, so it needs to be taken seriously. Next, we will mainly learn about eardrum perforation in children.

Once the eardrum is perforated, there are two harms: first, the protective function of the middle ear is damaged. The eardrum is the gateway to the middle ear, which separates the outer ear from the middle ear and protects the middle ear cavity. After perforation, external bacteria, sewage and foreign objects can enter the middle ear through the perforation and induce middle ear infection, causing infection and pus discharge, and there is also the risk of forming cholesteatoma. The second is that perforation causes hearing loss: sound first vibrates the eardrum, then is transmitted to the cochlea through the middle ear ossicular chain, and then causes nerve reflex to form hearing. After the eardrum is perforated, the effective vibration area of ​​the eardrum is reduced, and the energy of external sound waves transmitted to the inner ear is weakened, resulting in hearing loss.

Suggestions: As long as there is no infection, the perforation of the eardrum caused by trauma will usually heal on its own in about a month and no additional treatment is required. If it does not heal, 50% trichloroacetic acid can be used to cauterize the edge of the perforation. If the eardrum does not heal for more than three months, eardrum repair surgery can be performed. In addition to causing ear leakage and hearing impairment, perforation of the eardrum in chronic otitis media also poses a risk of forming cholesteatoma, so it is necessary to repair it. In addition, if the eardrum is perforated due to severe brain trauma, blood may flow out of the perforation. At this time, do not use the method of blocking the external auditory canal to stop the bleeding, otherwise the bleeding may stop, but the brain symptoms will worsen.

Children are a special group of people and the harm of eardrum perforation is extremely serious. For the healthy growth of children, once this happens, relevant examinations should be done in time to clarify the cause of the disease and whether there is any damage to the surrounding structures. The main causes of perforation are otitis media and trauma.