The bad news: A study by Henry Ford Hospital shows a direct association between cotton swab use and ruptured eardrums. The good news: The study also shows that, in most cases, the rupture heals on its own and surgery is only necessary for the most severe cases.

“In the past, many otolaryngologists have wondered if surgery is really necessary to treat a ruptured eardrum. The results of this study show that 97% of cases healed on their own within 2 months, proving that most cases do not require surgery,” says Ilaaf Darrat, MD, an otolaryngologist at Henry Ford Hospital and co-author of the study.

More than half of patients seen in otolaryngology clinics, regardless of their primary complaint, admit to using cotton swabs to clean their ears, and if the cotton swab is pushed too far in the ear canal, it can cause tympanic membrane perforations (TMP), which can lead to facial paralysis and vertigo.

Darrat and her colleagues concluded that proper follow-up with a doctor to test hearing after a case of ruptured eardrum is essential to ensure that no hearing loss was caused.

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