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How do I know if I ruptured my eardrum or broke any of my ear bones? Will my ear heal on its own if something is wrong with it?

By Anonymous June 1, 2010 - 10:57am
 
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While in bed last night, a bug climed into my ear. I immediately poured peroxide in my ear and then water. I tried to get it out with a cue tip. I flet th bug on my eardrum and everytime it moved it brought me to my knees. After trying to flush it out, they took a vacuum hose to my ear. It was only held on my ear for a few seconds, and was done twice. It brought the bug to just the inside of my ear where we were able to pull it out with tweezers. This morning, my ear doesnt really hurt but feels like it is clogged. I can hear fine out of it and have no problems with my balance.

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EmpowHER Guest
Anonymous

I was cleaning my ear with q tips yesterday and I think u went to far and it started to hurt. Then the hurting stop and I was fine , but last night I kept waking up in the night and it would hurt . I don't know to do can someone help me

February 4, 2015 - 5:31am
HERWriter

I am not a medical professional, but I have had ear infections that ruptured my eardrum several times and had other problems that made my hearing sound muffled. If your hearing continues to be muffled for several days, I would suggest going to the doctor to see if you ruptured your eardrum trying to remove the bug. As Pat said above, the doctor will be able to see the hole by looking into your ear if the eardrum is ruptured. It is a totally painless checkup.
If you did, you will need to be careful not to get water in it that could cause an infection until it heals. When my eardrum was ruptured, I sometimes heard what sounded like the ocean. I also lost some of my ability to tell which side a sound was on because my hearing was lessened in the ruptured ear.

The good news is that if your eardrum ruptured, it should heal on its own over time. But I would still suggest seeing a doctor to make sure everything is okay.

June 2, 2010 - 1:33am
EmpowHER Guest
Anonymous (reply to Denise DeWitt)

I ruptured my ear drum. And its throbbing and it hurts so bad ive been taking advil for pain but its not helping the pain i need something stronger any suggestions? It hurts so bad .

October 14, 2016 - 6:29am
EmpowHER Guest
Anonymous (reply to Denise DeWitt)

Hi! I had the exact same problem. I think I took a Q tip and went to far into my ear, I felt like I broke something and could go further into my ear then ever before. I haven't been to the doctor but lately I've been hearing swishing noises. Do you know if when the ear drum heals the swooshing goes away or is that a separate problem I need to check up? Thanks
If you reply I'll respond

February 9, 2016 - 8:45pm
(reply to Denise DeWitt)

Hi Denise,
Me and my dad was play fighting in a public pool and whilst I was under water, he raised his knee and it hit me in the ear and ever since, my ear is slightly hurting, it feels weird and its sounds like a muffled sound or a bowl is placed around it... I'm begging please, can you help me.

Thanks

August 4, 2015 - 9:58am
Expert HERWriter Guide Blogger

Anon - That sounds like a frightening experience! Thanks for coming to the site and following up.

Doctors see a lot of people with what they call "foreign objects" in the ear. Most are harmless but some (including bugs) can be very uncomfortable and some can produce an infection that requires medical treatment.

Generally the way people can tell they have an ear infection or ear problem is by symptoms such as ear pain, a fever, or trouble hearing. If you start having problems such as inflammation (swelling), fever, discharge, bleeding or pain then you will need to see a doctor right away.

If the clogged sensation continues to bother you then you should get your ear checked out. The doctor will look directly into the ear with an instrument called an otoscope. This is a magnifying light with a plastic cone tip, which is slid into the canal to look at the structures inside.

If there are parts of the bug that are deeper in your ear than you can see, then you need to have a professional remove them. Don't stick anything into the ear to remove these yourself because you could push the parts in further and cause damage or rupture of the eardrum or scratch the skin of the ear canal.

Insects in the ear canal are often killed with either lidocaine (an anesthetic) or mineral oil. They are then flushed out with gentle warm water irrigation.You may want to get some mineral oil and put a few drops in your ear and flush it well with warm water just to follow up on what you're already done, and to get additional peace of mind.

Good luck to you, and I hope that you're not dealing with pesky bugs in the future!
Take care, Pat

June 1, 2010 - 5:53pm
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