Perforated eardrums is the term used for a hole or tear in the eardrum. It will usually heal by itself, but it can sometimes require a surgery called myringoplasty, where a tissue graft is used to seal up the hole. Perforated eardrums are also called ruptured eardrums. It occurs instantly, you suddenly feel a sharp pain. But also you can have a slight pain which is present for a longer period of time. It usually heals on it own, especially of you protect the ear. However, in some cases an operation is required to repair the ruptured eardrum because it can lead to infections of the inner ear.
The eardrum is very important because it protects the middle ear from infections and also senses vibrating sound waves and coverts the vibration into nerve impulses which sends sound to our brain. There are several causes of this condition. One of the reasons is that one may have an inner ear infection. When this happens pressure pushes against the eardrum and eventually breaks it. Another reason which is quite common is pushing the eardrum with a foreign object such as cotton-tipped swab. Children can do this with sticks or something similar, while playing.
The symptoms for this conditions are: ear pain, bloddy drainage coming out of your ear, the loss of hearing, ringing in the ear, vertigo or spinning, and vomiting.
