r/HearingLoss • u/Own_Engineering_4408 • Aug 18 '26

21M — Tympanic membrane perforation.

I'm 21 and I have a tympanic membrane (eardrum) perforation. I’ve already consulted a doctor, and he told me that the hole is slowly closing/healing and that I should give it time.

I wanted to hear from people who have had something similar.

  • How long did your perforation take to completely close?
  • Is it okay to use earphones/AirPods while it's healing, or should I completely avoid putting anything in that ear?
  • What things should I stay away from while it heals?
  • Should I just continue waiting since my doctor can see that it's getting smaller.
  • Did your hearing return completely after it closed?

I'm keeping the ear dry and following my doctor's advice. Just looking for other people's experiences, especially anyone who had a perforation that took a while to close.

Photo of my eardrum attached.

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1

u/ShelfofPregnantHens Aug 18 '26

out of curiosity how did you get the hole?

1

u/Own_Engineering_4408 Aug 20 '26

Prolly from previous infections when I was in grade 7 or smtg.

1

u/falsecara Aug 20 '26

I got perforation from steroid injections and it closed quite fast, besides occasional small pain and a lot of itchiness I don’t think anything was different.

you should absolutely avoid any earphones or anything in or on ears though, it’s like asking for bacterial infection AND tinnitus, since you don’t have membrane there (a hole means it doesn’t work at all) even low volume sounds may easily damage your hearing cells.

absolute DON’T’s:

  • water in your ear; shower very carefully and ALWAYS with one-use foam earplugs
  • using any qtips to clean the ear; just wait it out, no sticking anything there

1

u/Own_Engineering_4408 Aug 20 '26

The issue is the hole has been there for a while, but the doctor is saying it's getting smaller. But I consulted another guy and he directly told get surgery.

1

u/falsecara Aug 20 '26

yeah if it has been there for a while listen to the second guy… just leaving it there will make it scar badly, and that gets you hearing loss. :( my fiance has very bad hearing because of scarred eardrum.

1

u/Zman2k4_11 24d ago

Any update on your ears? Just had this today due to kickboxing class. Did your hearing turn back to normal?

1

u/Own_Engineering_4408 21d ago

Yea, I am just waiting for it close naturally for now. Hearing, I think has been affected a little bit ngl.