Last night my left ear ruptured. Last time it was my right ear, my bad one. I accidently got water in it in the shower and it felt like someone poured acid in my ears. I'm not going to the doctor again. He'll just tell me to wait a month to see if it will heal on its own. I'm not wasting a $40 copay for that. It is the same as the right. I can definitely tell the difference in my hearing on the left ear and there still some on my right ear as well. I googled it and can't find anything on both or the eardrums rupturing in a short time frame. Any one else heard of this issue? Typically, a ruptured eardrum should not be painful but this is. Throbbing. You know that feeling you get when you have a really bad tooth ache? That's kind of what feels like and of course it's bleeding My daughter looked in the left ear with our little otoscope and said it definitly is ruptured and looked like a big hole but couldn't see for sure because of all the blood. I'll give it 6 weeks and if it's not feeling any better I'll go to the doctor. Ugh.
Both times my ear drum ruptured, it was a relief from pain because the pressure released. The pain you have is concerning, and I hope you will see a doctor--hopefully one you trust. I am not an expert on your situation, but it seems to me there is a possibility of infection there, and I think that could lead to hearing loss, plus other issues. Clearly there's some important stuff near your ear. I'm so sorry you are going through this. Take good care. Excellent that you have an otoscope and a daughter who can use it!
Thank you both. I'm stubborn and get very frustrated when the doctors at this point. The past 8 months I've had my fill of doctors. I know I'm stubborn. I'll give it a bit of time and then if anything else happens or it doesn't improve soon I'll go to the doctor. I had my first good cry today about my hearing. I was on the phone for a while with a customer service person trying to get something figured with my account. I had to ask the guy repeatedly to please speak up, please talk slower and please talk clearer. I tried both ears and neither one was better than the other. That's the first time I've had my hearing be a real problem for my every day life. The right ear rupture has healed up and hearing only improved slightly so they think that at this point the loss on the right is Meniere's related. The left is from the rupture so it will take a few weeks but should go back to normal. I'm just really frustrated.
Thank you both. I'll be fine. Just going through a rough patch with this and my 15 year old daughter is having some serious problems right now. My 19 year old son has Asperger's and is still not ready mentally to be independent. It'll happen eventually, we hope, but it's slow going at this point. My husband is very supportive but gone for 48 hour shifts at work so I tend to get a little overwhelmed and things that are not such a big deal will overwhelm me sometimes. Thank you all for helping these past few months I've been here and answering questions I've had. I'm eternally grateful and it sure is relieving to know that someone else truly understands what it feels like.
Does anybody else agree with me that the Dr. Should have repaired the rupture instead of making her suffer through weeks of pain and having her hearing affected? Tympanoplasty. I've had it done when a hole from a tube falling out wouldn't heal and I had no pain. Nothing like moody is experiencing. I'm just wondering WHY a Dr. Wouldn't do that.
What he said at my initial appointment about it rupturing the first time is that it will usually heal on it's own. He told me to come back in 4 to 6 weeks and reevaluate then. So last week when I went back he said it looked like it was getting better and to keep waiting and it will eventually heal on it's own. No answers in the pain going from my ear down my neck and to my chin. He said my hearing should have gone back to normal at the point it is healing right now. Had hearing test at first appointment but not second. I had just had a hearing test not two weeks before the first and showed that hearing had improved since the one I had in April. So hearing worsened once the ear ruptured which is to be expected. Now it should be back to normal, or rather my normal but it's not. Now another rupture and I have the same hearing loss the second time. Now another four to week wait to see if it will heal on its own. So now both ears are screwed up. I did end up calling the doctors office this morning about it and the PA called me back. She said what I expected her to say. I had to make an appointment for September and go from there. Yes, I'm quite annoyed. I did ask her this morning if there was something they could do now about it to help it heal faster and to check and see if the loss on the left is actually Meniere's or if it's still not good because of the rupture. From what I understand, and correct me if I'm wrong but, the reason for hearing loss when you have a ruptured ear drum is because the sound bounces off of it and if there is a hole it will affect that. So why, if the left has closed up, am I still not hearing well out of that ear? My guess is that what I now have is from Meniere's. I don't know what to do. I'm on my third doctor. I do know a rupture should not be painful once it ruptures. I told the PA that it was painful. Still come in in September. This is why I'm fed up with doctors. I'll just go to my GP if the pain gets any worse. Thankfully it is not a constant pain, just occasional sharp jabs. Until then I'll tell everyone to talk louder and slower on the phone with me because if seems as if the loss is about the same in both ears now. Ok, I'm done with my novel. LOL
[Long single paragraph postings of hundreds of words are very hard to read. Hit the "enter" key every three or four sentences; break up the long post into small, multiple paragraphs. Thanks.] --John of Ohio
HI Moodymom, Nice Novel. Looking forward to the sequel with a happy ending! Keep Writing! Keep Fighting! Hi Bumblebea!
Have you considered Endolymphatic Hydrops? I have it and basically the inner ear pressure causes the dizziness and symptoms. I get a lot of relief from permanent ear tubes (actually now one tube and a permanent hole). Sometimes the body tries to repair itself and your ear drums repeatedly rupturing may be an indication of too high or low a pressure in your inner/middle ear.
I never thought about that. Thank you! I'll do some research and see what I can come up with. Thanks again!