Getting Sick Can Pop an Eardrum Part. 4

This is a continuation to part 3 when I got sick and couldn’t figure out why. To note again: I am no a medical expert so please make sure you see a doctor!

As I decided to go with the surgery route, I was referred to another doctor in that department as my current ENT doctor didn’t do surgeries any more. He was a senior doctor but still very nice so it’s understandable.

To Be Less Sick

The next one I saw suggested continuing the nasal spray I was given when I was sick as that would help greatly with my sinus issues. Though it didn’t seem to do much then, I did notice a difference after I got better and was using it again. I could also continue Claritin as well. At this point I had avoided getting sick again so they must have been working! Next he talked to me about the surgery options after taking pictures inside both ears to help explain. *WARNING: NEXT PICTURE IS A BIT GRAPHIC*

Options to Repair Eardrum

There’s a pretty good difference and said about more than 25% of the eardrum was gone. *WARNING: Not for the squirmish.* One way, because my ear canal is narrow, is to cut behind the ear to reach the eardrum and make a cut to lift it up. Then by taking some tissue near the ear they would use that to make a graft and attach that under the eardrum. Then close everything up.

The second way wouldn’t require a cut behind the ear and instead uses a microscope to go in and do the eardrum cut. The cut above for the graft would still be made. Either way they would also check for any scaring and any other issues that may have occurred inside the ear. I didn’t quite like the cutting behind the ear part so I went with the second option.

For that he referred me to another doctor still in the same department who has a lot of experience doing that type of surgery. I think I had to wait almost a month before seeing the third doctor though as they were all busy with the first doctor I saw leaving for medical reasons and possibly retiring. I told him what happened and he looked at everything and explained again what would happen and a few risks. A major one being that the ear would loose gas and not close up fully, resulting in either a second surgery or a small patch done in the office. The chances of that: 10-20%.

Read more in Part 5 as the road to surgery is started with some pre-op appointments and surgery day arrives posted soon.