Posted on 04/28/2011 3:07:30 PM PDT by decimon
DETROIT A study by Henry Ford Hospital shows a direct association between cotton swab use and ruptured eardrum.
The study also shows that in most cases the rupture heals on its own and surgery is only necessary for the most severe cases.
"In the past, many otolaryngologists have wondered if surgery is really necessary to treat a ruptured eardrum. The results of this study show that 97 percent of cases healed on their own within two months, proving that most cases do not require surgery," says Ilaaf Darrat, M.D., an otolaryngologist at Henry Ford Hospital and co-author of the study.
The study is being presented April 29 at the Combined Otolaryngology Spring Meeting in Chicago.
More than half of patients seen in otolaryngology (ear, nose and throat) clinics, regardless of their primary complaint, admit to using cotton swabs to clean their ears. But if the cotton swab is pushed too far in the ear canal, it can cause serious damage, including ruptured eardrum, also known as tympanic membrane perforations (TMP).
Severe TMP can cause facial paralysis and vertigo.
"If a patient is experiencing symptoms such as hearing loss, drainage, dizziness or abnormality in their facial movements they should see a doctor immediately to assess the possible ear damage," says Dr. Darrat.
Study co-author Michael Seidman, M.D., FACS, director of the division of otologic and neurotologic surgery at Henry Ford Hospital, recommends instead of cotton swabs, using these alternatives to clean the inner ear.
Take cool peroxide, hot tap water and mix equally. Be sure it is body temperature and gently irrigate the ear one or two times per month.
Take plain vinegar and water and use four or five drops in the ear once a week.
See a doctor, who can remove ear wax for you.
Try an over-the-counter treatment such as Debrox.
The Henry Ford study included 1,540 patients with a diagnosis of TMP from 2001-2010. Patients with a cotton swab injury were subdivided into two groups: observation and surgery. Successful outcomes were defined as healed TMP, resolution or improvement of vertigo, tinnitus or facial nerve paralysis, and/or closure of the air-bone gap.
A ruptured eardrum can be treated in one of two ways, depending on the severity of the symptoms. The most common method of treatment is observation of the perforation by an otolaryngologist because often times the eardrum will heal on its own within two months. More severe cases are treated with surgery.
While the study found that most cases or ruptured eardrum heal on their own, neurological deficits, such as facial nerve paralysis, require surgical intervention to repair the eardrum.
Surgical intervention proved very successful, with only one patient suffering mild, but improved vertigo.
Dr. Darrat and her colleagues concluded that proper follow-up with a doctor to test hearing after a case of ruptured eardrum is healed is essential to ensure that no hearing loss was caused from the injury.
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The study was funded by Henry Ford Hospital.
The use of a Q-Tip has waxed stronger over the last few years.
LOL. You are on a roll.
I expect a law against q-tips at any moment. It would be easier to make a law against idiots, but then the Democrats wouldn’t have a constituency...
Thank God I use an ice pick.
Many years ago, I had an ear infection/build up of ear wax and regardless of the medical stuff the ear specialist did on my ear, he still insisted that I still NOT use swabs. Ever. He never recommended it nor anyone who specializes in his field.
The use of Q-Tips should be drummed out of the practice of ear cleaning.
By doing that youre damaging your hearing in the long run by damaging the cilia in the ear canal.
If you have a need to clean your ears, use an ear syringe bulb once a week while in the shower. Then if the moisture is a factor use swim ear.........
The ear infections you are talking about are a byproduct of the very item you claim is preventing them. The bacteria is already there and compacted deep into the ear canal by the cotton swabs you are using.............
I used to have the same problem, thinking the swabs were the cure when in fact they were the cause...........
Once I switched to regularly flushing out the ear canal with the bulb syringes I never had a problem again.............
Those folks recomend that you never stick anything in your ear except your elbow
Why wouldn’t he recommend anyone who specializes in his field?
I was always told that if I swallowed watermelon seeds that they would sprout in my stomach and then grow vines out my ears.
That should push out the beans! :-)
Use the products marketed for this, such as Swim Ear. I also need to keep my ears dry and I love to swim. I use the silicon ear *plugs* (they actually just cover the ear opening) and also use a couple of drops of Swim ear after exposure to water. You could also use the ear covers in the shower.
I went from having a major fungal infection every summer to having none after using the ear covers, adding Swim Ear only whenever I had an inadvertent failure of the silicon, since the Swim Ear is drying and can be irritating if used regularly. I think shooters use them to prevent sound damage, as well.
Soap, glycerin, and a small squirt bottle or bulb are the only way to clean your ears.
Remember that he is of the same tribe as the ER folks who recommend never letting your children ride a bicycle.
If you are worried about shoving a Q-tip through your ear drum, use hydrogen peroxide or a nose syringe filled with warm water.
Ears or nose?
My wife is always digging around in her ears with those things. Gives me the heeby jeebes.
Yes.
For heaven’s sake..
It’s a cotton swap, not a drill bit. Don’t do it till it hurts.
Ssshhhhh, I have a secret. If you do get moist ears that lead to an itchy eczema in them, like in the summer if you swim, the doctor’s prescriptive antifungal drops will cure it, but you can spare yourself the costs and the need for the office visit and prescription by ordering the same drops off AMAZON - but they are made for dogs! IT’S THE SAME STUFF. Shhhh, just don’t tell anyone...
Have you ever seen the tool drs. use to remove ear wax? It’s a metal loop, similar to half a paper clip, the ototek loop. Did I mention that paper clips have other uses besides holding papers together?
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