"5·20" is a love festival in the information age. One kiss can seal your love, and one kiss can also make you deaf! Friends who like to kiss each other's ears when the love is strong should take it easy. Medical experts warn that if you kiss your ears carelessly, it may cause the eardrum to rupture, leading to hearing loss! Recently, the Department of Otolaryngology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, received a case of a patient with tympanic membrane rupture and deafness caused by kissing the ear. After standard treatment, the patient has been completely cured.
Female white-collar worker Xiaoqin (pseudonym) has been troubled by an embarrassing incident recently. It turned out that when she met her boyfriend on the weekend of March, she was kissed and sucked on her ear. With a "pop" sound, Xiaoqin developed tingling in her left ear and hearing loss. It went down, and I thought it would get better after a while. Unexpectedly, I kept having a dull pain in my left ear and a ringing tinnitus. I thought my ear was inflamed, so I bought antibiotic drops for ear drops. Unexpectedly, the ear pain worsened after the ear drops, and it was also accompanied by ear tightness. Feeling blocked, Xiaoqin then went to a hospital near her work. The doctor found that the tympanic membrane had been perforated and recommended immediate surgery to repair it. When Xiaoqin heard that the tympanic membrane perforation would require surgery, her hands and feet became weak with fright. She felt that the situation was serious and hurried to Zhongshan No. 1 Hospital. Visit the otolaryngology department of the hospital. It was diagnosed that Xiaoqin had a traumatic perforation of the tympanic membrane. The attending doctor told her to undergo anti-inflammatory treatment first, avoid water in the ear, and observe for a period of time. If the eardrum could not heal on its own, surgery would be performed.
For more than a month, Xiaoqin has not dared to go out to avoid catching a cold and otitis media. When washing her hair, she has to plug her ears carefully to prevent water from entering. She is also worried that the perforation will not heal and requires surgery. A lot of inconvenience. Fortunately, after a recent follow-up visit, it was found that the perforated eardrum had finally healed (see the picture below), and Xiaoqin finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The tympanic membrane is an important part of the ear. It is located deep in the external auditory canal, about 2.5-3.5cm away from the opening of the external auditory canal. It is about 0.1mm thick and very thin. The tympanic membrane is composed of three layers of tissue: epithelial layer, fibrous layer, and mucosal layer. An intact eardrum can effectively prevent foreign matter, bacteria, and viruses from entering the middle and inner ears. It is an important protective barrier for the middle and inner ears. It also conducts sound and improves hearing, and is crucial to human hearing health.
Professor Wu Xuan from the Department of Otolaryngology, Sun Yat-sen Hospital No. 1 Hospital, said that in daily life, the tympanic membrane is susceptible to direct damage or indirect impact and rupture. Direct damage is more common when picking the ear too hard or slapping the ear; indirect impact is more common when blasting, diving, etc.
Generally speaking, kissing the ear will not cause the eardrum to rupture. However, if you kiss the ear too hard or use inappropriate methods such as sucking back forcefully or blowing air into the ear canal, it can lead to an imbalance of pressure between the inside and outside of the eardrum, which may lead to traumatic rupture of the eardrum. Traumatic rupture of the tympanic membrane will cause earache, tinnitus, and deafness. After acute infection, symptoms of acute suppurative otitis media such as ear discharge and dizziness may occur. Traumatic rupture of the tympanic membrane can be diagnosed clearly through otoendoscopy.
Wu Xuan explained that after the tympanic membrane is ruptured and perforated due to trauma, the tympanic membrane has rich blood vessels and strong self-repair ability. It is recommended that immediate surgical repair is not required. If there is no acute middle ear infection, most traumatic tympanic membrane perforations can heal on their own in about 1 to 2 months, and hearing will recover accordingly. However, during the observation period, the following points must be paid attention to:
1. Keep the external auditory canal clean and dry. There is no need to clean the blood scab attached to the tympanic membrane. You can use sterilized cotton to gently stuff the opening of the external auditory canal to prevent foreign matter and dirty water from entering the ear and causing infection.
2. If water enters the ear while swimming or washing hair, it is forbidden to clean the external auditory canal with water, and do not use any medicine (including hydrogen peroxide, antibiotics) to drop ear drops, because this can encourage bacteria to enter the middle ear through the ear canal and cause infection.
3. Avoid blowing your nose forcefully to prevent the mucus from entering the middle ear through the Eustachian tube and causing infection.
4. Take appropriate oral antibiotics to prevent infection. If ear discharge occurs, seek medical treatment in time.
5. If the tympanic membrane does not heal for more than three months, you can try endoscopic tympanic membrane repair.
Finally, Wu Xuan reminded that 520 is coming soon. When couples express love, such as kissing on the ears, they should pay attention to moderation and gentleness to avoid unnecessary damage to the ears, especially the tympanic membrane. At the same time, if symptoms such as earache, discomfort or hearing loss occur, you should seek medical treatment in time to receive professional diagnosis and treatment.
text｜Reporter Chen Hui
picture｜provided by the interviewee
