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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.
That's why you should never have unprotected aural sex. You might contract hearing-AIDS.
I q-tip every day, for years, with no problems. But TWO INCHES IN?
I almost caught hearing-aids at work today. It was from listening to too many a—holes.
You put one in each ear. When they meet you stop.
What does it sound like when they meet?
Like cotton bawls.
Seems to me I recall that Zinc is good for Tinnitis.
Water picks can be dangerously forceful on something as thin and delicate as an eardrum.
He started the Leo Gerstenzang Infant Novelty Company to sell his new creation, which he dubbed Baby Gays. In 1926, he changed the swab's name to Q-tip Baby Gays, and eventually the product name was shortened to just Q-tips.
Kamaal Ibn John Fareed, better known by his stage name Q-Tip, is an American hip hop artist, producer, singer, and actor...According to Fareed, he was given his stage name by Afrika Baby Bam of Jungle Brothers who said his voice was soft like a Q-tip.
So even if your Q-tip has been in a rapper, you aren't safe.
bobby pins!
LOL....my dear mother used them on all 3 of her boys! We never had any ear troubles groing up!!
:^)
What scuba divers use for Swimmers Ear:
1 part white vinegar
1 part rubbing alcohol
Works nicely on my sensitive ear.
“I guess no democrat congressperson’s friend or supporter has figured out a way to make money on the idea..”
A very astute observation. Yes, the dirty little secret is that Dems love money. And they are good at devising countless ways to feed at the trough of government spending.
I used to put rubbing alcohol in my ear until I read a news story of a person that went blind from doing that. He didn’t realize he had a ruptured eardrum...
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