Can slap near the ear cause earache & hearing loss?-Dr. Satish Babu K

A slap near the ear or around the ear can actually increase the air pressure inside the ear canal. Ear canal is a tube that connect the outer ear to the ear drum. The canal is surrounded by bone and at the end of it you have paper thickness eardrum. So if the slap is too tight and the air pressure is increased tremendously, the only soft part of the ear canal, that is the ear drum can rupture. That is why the person may feel pain inside the ear, maybe some blood stained discharge and compromise in hearing capability. So it has to be investigated. first confirm the presence of rupture or hole in the ear drum by looking at this by having got it checked by an ENT specialist or by doing a hearing test to find out the amount of loss because if it is only a hole in the ear drum, the loss is about 20 to 40%, whereas if there is further hard blow, then there is a chance that the oscicles, the bones inside the ear can get dislodged and the hearing loss can be little more than 60 decibels. So if we suspect a higher loss, then the treatment differs, whereas if it is only a hole in the eardrum, we can just keep the ears dry and what it out over the next couple of months the hole should heal by itself in most cases. If the hole is too big that is leading to almost 40 – 50% of hearing loss, where the doctor feels that the healing cannot happen by itself, then surgery may be indicated or in other cases where the oscicles or the bones are dislocated, there has to be a surgery done to look at the damage and repair whatever the oscicular change or defect is there along with closing the hole in the ear drum, to get the hearing back. Otherwise if it is only a simple hole and the loss is only about 20 to 40%, then be rest assured that the haling will happen by itself. The only thing, the ear should never get wet during this period of healing. That means while taking bath, there should be a ear plug placed to prevent any kind of moisture going inside, please do not use any ear drops or oil in the ear. No need to clean the ear regularly even if there are blood clots or a bit of wax in the ear. It doesn’t matter. Just keep the ears dry and wait it out and have a periodic checkup with your ENT doctor, the hole will heal by itself.