Eardrum Repair
Our ENT experts use advanced methods to mend eardrum perforations, helping restore your hearing clarity and ensuring lasting ear health.
Our ENT experts use advanced methods to mend eardrum perforations, helping restore your hearing clarity and ensuring lasting ear health.
A perforated eardrum can be the result of infection, injury, or pressure changes. Damage to the ear drum can lead to hearing loss, repeated ear infections, and ongoing discomfort, often interfering with everyday activities. While some eardrum perforations may heal without treatment, in many cases, medical repair is needed to restore proper function and avoid further complications.
At the Southern California Center for Ear, Nose, Throat, and Allergy (SoCal ENT), our board-certified ENT physicians specialize in advanced, minimally invasive eardrum repair techniques that come with minimal recovery time.
We tailor each treatment plan to the individual, using cutting-edge surgical methods to deliver effective, long-lasting results. If you're dealing with hearing difficulties, ear pain, or frequent infections, our expert team is here to help restore both your hearing and overall ear health.
A tear or hole in the eardrum, also known as the tympanic membrane, can result from infections, trauma, or ongoing ear conditions, often causing hearing loss, repeated infections, and discomfort. While some small perforations may close on their own, larger or non-healing openings typically require medical treatment to support recovery and preserve long-term ear function.
At SoCal ENT, we provide a range of treatment options tailored to the size and cause of the perforation. These include minimally invasive, in-office procedures as well as more advanced tympanoplasty surgery. Each method is aimed at restoring hearing, preventing future infections, and supporting the overall health and function of the ear.
Our team will first assess the size and location of your eardrum perforation to determine the most appropriate treatment option. Based on the severity, we may recommend either a non-surgical paper patch repair or a more comprehensive tympanoplasty procedure. We will walk you through every step, ensuring you know what to expect, from treatment to recovery.
For smaller perforations, a paper patch myringoplasty may be performed right in the office. This quick procedure involves placing a thin, sterile medical paper over the tear in the eardrum. The patch helps stimulate natural tissue growth, allowing the membrane to repair itself over time. In some cases, a gel foam patch or a small sample of fat from behind the ear may be used to support healing.
When dealing with larger or long-standing perforations, surgical repair—known as tympanoplasty—is often the best course of action. Using minimally invasive techniques, our ENT surgeons either access the eardrum through the ear canal or make a small incision behind the ear. A graft, typically made from fascia (connective tissue) or the perichondrium (tissue covering cartilage), is placed over the hole to rebuild the eardrum. Dissolvable packing may be used in the middle ear to support healing. This is done as an outpatient procedure, allowing patients to return home the same day.
Repairing a damaged eardrum not only improves hearing but also helps protect the ear from future complications.
The eardrum supports proper sound transmission to the inner ear, helping maintain clear and balanced hearing. It also acts as a barrier, blocking moisture and bacteria from reaching the middle ear and significantly lowering the risk of repeated infections. Symptoms such as ear pain, chronic drainage, and pressure-related discomfort often resolve after treatment. Strengthening the eardrum through repair can also reduce the likelihood of future tears or perforations.
Eardrum repair is essential for treating perforations that do not heal on their own. Common conditions that benefit from tympanoplasty include:
Holes in the eardrum from infections, trauma, or pressure changes.
Repeated infections can weaken or damage the eardrum, resulting in non-healing perforations.
A ruptured eardrum interferes with sound conduction, leading to reduced hearing ability.
Openings in the eardrum can allow moisture and bacteria to enter the middle ear, causing irritation or infection.
A myringoplasty or tympanoplasty helps restore the eardrum's structure and function, leading to better hearing, fewer infections, and improved overall ear health.
Our ENT specialists will conduct a thorough ear examination to identify any eardrum perforation and determine the most appropriate treatment plan for your needs. You may be a good candidate for eardrum repair if you are experiencing:
Tympanoplasty is typically recommended for healthy adults and children who have chronic, large, or non-healing perforations that impact hearing or increase the risk of infection.
Most patients experience a fast and comfortable recovery following an in-office paper patch repair, with little to no discomfort. Recovery after tympanoplasty generally ranges from a few weeks to several months, depending on the size of the eardrum perforation and the surgical method used.
During the healing period, patients will need to keep the ear dry and avoid activities that may cause pressure shifts, such as air travel or underwater diving, for a few weeks. A scheduled follow-up with your ENT specialist will help monitor your progress and ensure the eardrum is healing correctly. Our team will provide detailed, personalized aftercare instructions to support a safe and successful recovery.
After eardrum repair, most patients report noticeable improvements in hearing sharpness and overall ear function. As the eardrum restores itself, the ability to transmit sound becomes more efficient, leading to clearer communication and a more natural hearing experience.
Patients also tend to experience fewer ear infections and less discomfort, since a repaired eardrum helps block bacteria and moisture from entering the middle ear. As healing progresses, the membrane becomes more durable, lowering the chance of future tears or perforations.
Recovery timelines may vary, but most people begin to notice consistent improvement within several weeks, with complete healing typically occurring over the course of a few months. With proper aftercare, patients can expect long-lasting symptom relief, better hearing, and enhanced daily comfort.
Most treatments cause minimal discomfort, and discomfort during recovery is well-managed with medication.
A paper patch procedure usually lasts 30 minutes or less. Tympanoplasty can range from half an hour to several hours, depending on how complex the eardrum repair is.
Yes, patients usually notice a marked improvement in their hearing after they have fully recovered.
The time needed to make a full recovery differs for each patient, typically taking from a few weeks to several months. However, patients resume their regular routines fairly quickly. Your specialist will provide comprehensive aftercare instructions, monitor your progress post-procedure, and remain available to address any questions or concerns during healing.
Yes, tympanoplasty is often performed in children who have ongoing eardrum perforations.
