(18th Review Event) - Tympanic Membrane Damage Treatment Review - Tympanic Membrane Patch Surgery

 

The eardrum is a thin, transparent membrane about 0.1mm thick located at the boundary between the outer ear and middle ear inside the ear canal. It vibrates in response to sound stimuli and transmits sound to the cochlea of the inner ear through the ossicles.

 

There are cases where the eardrum is directly damaged, but when there is a sudden change in pressure, it can cause a hole to form in the eardrum, which is called traumatic eardrum perforation. Traumatic eardrum perforation mainly occurs when there is a sudden change in pressure in the external ear. Commonly, damage to the eardrum can happen accidentally when using a cotton swab or ear pick, and in addition, blowing the nose forcefully can also cause damage to the eardrum through the Eustachian tube.

I was in the case of the former, but I didn't realize my eardrum was torn at first, and I only noticed when I heard a sound in my ear every time I breathed. When I block my nose, I feel air escaping through my ear ㅠ Anyway, I visited the ENT clinic for treatment~!

1. Normal eardrum. 2. My eardrum is torn.

This is my damaged eardrum. I enlarged the image to show it in more detail.

 

When most people think of eardrum damage, they imagine hearing loud noises or experiencing a strong blow to the ear. However, there are surprisingly many everyday situations where the eardrum can tear. Additionally, once the eardrum is torn, it usually cannot recover to its original state.

Many people think that hearing impairment occurs, but that is a misconception.

The eardrum has a strong regenerative ability, and if there is no accompanying inflammation, it can naturally heal within 3 to 4 weeks. Interestingly, even when affected in this way, the eardrum has the ability to regenerate (about 0.05mm per day), so most of the time, the eardrum naturally heals and closes within a month, according to the doctor's explanation!

During this period, you should be careful to prevent inflammation of the eardrum and bacterial infections in the external auditory canal.

The treatment method was very simple~! As shown in the picture, the external auditory canal and eardrum were cleaned thoroughly, then after observing the progress, a tympanic membrane patch was applied on the eardrum using materials such as thin paper, silicone, or silk. This type of procedure allows for natural healing of the eardrum. Since the patch simply dissolves on its own after wound healing, there was no need to remove it separately, making post-treatment care easy.

This is a photo taken three weeks after treatment~ It healed beautifully! The natural regeneration treatment, myringoplasty, was excellent with little pain or difficulty!