My audiometry test shows good result after 3 months of an ear injury. Can I assure my ear's health?

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I understand your concern.

There is absolutely nothing that you need to worry about regarding the hearing or the after-effects of the fall. If the doctor who has examined you confirmed that there had been no rupture in the eardrum, there is a very little or rare possibility that the middle ear ossicles would have got damaged. Furthermore, the audiometric assessment has been perfectly normal. If there was any disturbance in the ossicles, there would have definitely been some associated hearing loss. The fall has nothing to do with hearing loss due to neurological involvement. Even if it happens, the fall has no connection to it, and the reason might be something totally different. Delayed onset dislocation of the ossicle is not possible unless there has been a very severe trauma that has ruptured the eardrum. In most cases, even after sustaining a severe injury, we find the ossicles are intact as they have multiple ligaments and muscles and mucosal fold supports, which makes them sturdy in spite of their tiny appearance. There is absolutely nothing that you need to worry about as of now.

I hope this helps.

Kind regards.

Hi,

Welcome back to icliniq.com.

I understand your concern.

In such a scenario, there is a possibility that your eardrum would have got ruptured due to the impact. That would have been the cause of the muffled noises, ringing sensation, or even decreased hearing for a brief period. In my experience, almost 98 % of patients who presented with a traumatic perforation had recovered on their own, and I did not have to give an antibiotic either. The healing time varies from four to six weeks usually. Unless and until there has been some factor like an infection which usually does not let the perforation close within this time frame, all traumatic perforations have excellent healing rates. Yes, all patients did have their hearing evaluated, and 98 % had perfectly normal hearing following two months of the injury. I am certain that there is nothing that you need to worry about or get tensed about as you are out of danger. Delayed onset ossicle dislocation is something we do not usually see as the structures supporting it are usually sturdy and do not allow them to dislocate. Your hearing is perfectly normal, and that is why I do not think there should be anything that you need to worry about.

I hope this helps.

Regards.

Hi,

Welcome back to icliniq.com.

I understand your concern.

In your case, there is no possibility of developing an ossicular discontinuity as your hearing is normal and the eardrum is normal. In an entity where the eardrum perforation remains, there is something that we call cholesteatoma, which can develop over time and cause destruction or discontinuity of the ossicles, and in such a case, the hearing is grossly impaired due to a loss in the conduction the sound to the inner ear structures. This entity is completely another chapter altogether and has no relevance to fall or any connection to your case. I have just mentioned it since you wanted to know what could cause delayed onset of ossicular dislocation or discontinuity.

I hope this helps.

Warm regards.

Hi,

Welcome back to icliniq.com.

I understand your concern.

Perilymph fistula is usually seen as a complication of cholesteatoma since it causes bone erosion or as a complication of its surgery while drilling the bone. It is never seen as a result of trauma unless there has been a crush injury associated with multiple comminuted fractures involving the temporal bone and its associated structures. A trivial nonpenetrative injury with no fracture has no chance of perilymph fistula. In an event where there is a perilymph fistula, there will be sensorineural hearing loss, and there is a possibility of having meningitis as well, as perilymph is indirectly connected to the cerebrospinal fluid. Both these are not seen commonly as their possibility to occur is very very rare. If there is evidence of fluid in the middle ear, the only possibility is due to eustachian tube catarrh where there is development of negative pressure and exudation of fluid from the mucosa of the middle ear. With fluid, you will have the feeling of its presence, tympanometry will show B-curve, and you will have conductive hearing loss. The possibility of it occurring ages after the fall is not an entity described to date, and it is considered that it will not happen in the future as well as there could be no possible scientific explanation behind it. I suggest you not worry too much about an entity that is not scientifically possible, and hence the possibility of it happening is rare.

I hope this answers your query.

If there is anything more that you need to enquire about, do let me know, and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

Warm regards.