Ear Perforations
The ear drum is known to perforate. The ability for a perforation to heal spontaneously depends on various factors.
l. The size of the perforation: small ones especially those caused by acute colds and due to injuries like slaps or eat buds, usually have a good chance of self healing. If the size is within 25'/. of the size of the ear drum, the perforation almost invariably heals.
2. Their duration: If detected within 6 weeks, the chances of spontaneous closure are maximum.
3.when the discharge stops, only then nature's healing process starts
4. The treating doctor's skill, honesty and will to try and avoid anoperation.
Ear Pain During Flights
Many people suffer from pain in the ears during flights. Using cotton in the ear to prevent this is useless. The fundamental cause is that the ear drum has air behind it which is derived from a tiny tube which connects it to the nose, eustachian tube. This tube opens only when we swallow - the muscles of the palate which move during swallowing tug on this tube to open it. Cabin pressure changes during ascent & descent of flight need to be compensated by swallowing repeatedly to open this tube. For those who are prone to this problem, two pieces of advice,
1. Use nose drops like otrivin/nasivion half an hour before the flight to keep the tube open.
2. Chew a bar of chocolate which induces you to swallow repeatedly during ascent & descent of flight.
Resistant cases may require ventilation tube insertions.
Cleaning Ear Wax
How should we clean the ear wax?
Most people have self cleansing ears with no tendency to wax accumulation. They could do without bothering about the ear.
For others, it would be a good idea to do 2 things
1. Once in a week or in a fortnight, use oil to soften the formed wax and aid spontaneous migration. This could be any clean oil with no sediment. Refined Coconut oil is often used. Strictly avoid putting any sediment like garlic pieces which is a common traditional practice.
2. Avoid using ear buds. Buds can be used only very superficially and that too after coating the bud with an antisceptic ointment which will lubricate the dry bud. Ear buds can often push the wax inside and impact or jam it inside.
Wax once impacted needs to be cleaned by a qualified ENT Specialist who would disimpact it and syringe it with warm water.
2 special notes of caution:
1. AVOID Using Hydrogen peroxide in the ear. This is a common practise especially among quacks. The bubbles and froth it produces gives a "false" impression of the wax being cleaned. It can perforate through a thin ear-drum.
2. AVOID splashing water in the ear in an attempt to clean the wax. Nature is producing it's own oil. Trust it. Ear remaining wet can often promote fungus growth in the ear.
Ear Wax -basics
Ear wax is formed in everybody's ear.
The skin of which lines the passage leading to the ear-drum is multilayered (as is the skin all over the body). It is constantly being rejuvinated from within. The deeper layers are the newly formed young cells which push the"oldies" cells outwards which ultimately flake out and fall. Elsewhere in the body the fallen flakes are washed off.
But the ear passage being a closed tube (like a test -tube ) the dead flakes have to be specially taken care of - else they would accumulate and jam up the passage.
Nature produces a special oil called "sebum" which mixes in the dead flakes and the action of the jaw movement during the act of chewing causes the soft kneaded wax to "migrate" outwards . (Check it out for yourself - keep a finger in the ear and move your jaw by opening & shutting the mouth and feel the ear canal move).
So a small quantity of wax is being formed everyday which goes Unnoticed.
The problem of wax accumulation occurs due to:
1. Natural causes which could be
a. Less sebum or oil being produced which causes the formed wax to harden and become less capable of migrating outwards.
b. A naturally excessive curved passage leading to the drum casing a bump over which the wax cannot migrate easily.
2. Man made causes. Frequent use of ear buds especially pushing them deep in the ear in an attempt to clean the deep wax can often result in the migrating wax being pushed inside resulting in impaction
The itching ear
If you constantly feel the need to itch your ear, the 2 main causes are :
1. Repeated fungal infections.
Fungal debris unless cleaned meticulously from the lining skin tends to regrow. Only a qualified ENT Specialist can do this .
One must thereafter prevent water getting into the ear.
Dry ear-buds when used can injure the skin and cause it to bleed or weep causing a wet environment which induces fungus growth.
2. Neuro dermatitis or thinning of the lining skin. The most common cause of this again is constant use of ear buds. The buds being dry often cause a minor shave-off of the delicate skin lining.
Use of dry ear- buds therefore can be damaging to the ear and be the cause of ear itching.
Hence one must coat the ear-buds with an antiseptic ointment before use.
The ear drum is known to perforate. The ability for a perforation to heal spontaneously depends on various factors.
l. The size of the perforation: small ones especially those caused by acute colds and due to injuries like slaps or eat buds, usually have a good chance of self healing. If the size is within 25'/. of the size of the ear drum, the perforation almost invariably heals.
2. Their duration: If detected within 6 weeks, the chances of spontaneous closure are maximum.
3.when the discharge stops, only then nature's healing process starts
4. The treating doctor's skill, honesty and will to try and avoid anoperation.
Ear Pain During Flights
Many people suffer from pain in the ears during flights. Using cotton in the ear to prevent this is useless. The fundamental cause is that the ear drum has air behind it which is derived from a tiny tube which connects it to the nose, eustachian tube. This tube opens only when we swallow - the muscles of the palate which move during swallowing tug on this tube to open it. Cabin pressure changes during ascent & descent of flight need to be compensated by swallowing repeatedly to open this tube. For those who are prone to this problem, two pieces of advice,
1. Use nose drops like otrivin/nasivion half an hour before the flight to keep the tube open.
2. Chew a bar of chocolate which induces you to swallow repeatedly during ascent & descent of flight.
Resistant cases may require ventilation tube insertions.
Cleaning Ear Wax
How should we clean the ear wax?
Most people have self cleansing ears with no tendency to wax accumulation. They could do without bothering about the ear.
For others, it would be a good idea to do 2 things
1. Once in a week or in a fortnight, use oil to soften the formed wax and aid spontaneous migration. This could be any clean oil with no sediment. Refined Coconut oil is often used. Strictly avoid putting any sediment like garlic pieces which is a common traditional practice.
2. Avoid using ear buds. Buds can be used only very superficially and that too after coating the bud with an antisceptic ointment which will lubricate the dry bud. Ear buds can often push the wax inside and impact or jam it inside.
Wax once impacted needs to be cleaned by a qualified ENT Specialist who would disimpact it and syringe it with warm water.
2 special notes of caution:
1. AVOID Using Hydrogen peroxide in the ear. This is a common practise especially among quacks. The bubbles and froth it produces gives a "false" impression of the wax being cleaned. It can perforate through a thin ear-drum.
2. AVOID splashing water in the ear in an attempt to clean the wax. Nature is producing it's own oil. Trust it. Ear remaining wet can often promote fungus growth in the ear.
Ear Wax -basics
Ear wax is formed in everybody's ear.
The skin of which lines the passage leading to the ear-drum is multilayered (as is the skin all over the body). It is constantly being rejuvinated from within. The deeper layers are the newly formed young cells which push the"oldies" cells outwards which ultimately flake out and fall. Elsewhere in the body the fallen flakes are washed off.
But the ear passage being a closed tube (like a test -tube ) the dead flakes have to be specially taken care of - else they would accumulate and jam up the passage.
Nature produces a special oil called "sebum" which mixes in the dead flakes and the action of the jaw movement during the act of chewing causes the soft kneaded wax to "migrate" outwards . (Check it out for yourself - keep a finger in the ear and move your jaw by opening & shutting the mouth and feel the ear canal move).
So a small quantity of wax is being formed everyday which goes Unnoticed.
The problem of wax accumulation occurs due to:
1. Natural causes which could be
a. Less sebum or oil being produced which causes the formed wax to harden and become less capable of migrating outwards.
b. A naturally excessive curved passage leading to the drum casing a bump over which the wax cannot migrate easily.
2. Man made causes. Frequent use of ear buds especially pushing them deep in the ear in an attempt to clean the deep wax can often result in the migrating wax being pushed inside resulting in impaction
The itching ear
If you constantly feel the need to itch your ear, the 2 main causes are :
1. Repeated fungal infections.
Fungal debris unless cleaned meticulously from the lining skin tends to regrow. Only a qualified ENT Specialist can do this .
One must thereafter prevent water getting into the ear.
Dry ear-buds when used can injure the skin and cause it to bleed or weep causing a wet environment which induces fungus growth.
2. Neuro dermatitis or thinning of the lining skin. The most common cause of this again is constant use of ear buds. The buds being dry often cause a minor shave-off of the delicate skin lining.
Use of dry ear- buds therefore can be damaging to the ear and be the cause of ear itching.
Hence one must coat the ear-buds with an antiseptic ointment before use.
