Ear Discharge - When Should You Visit The Doctor For It?

Also known as otorrhoea, ear discharge is a condition where fluid oozes from your ear. In most cases, this discharge is just your excess earwax coming out. Your body produces earwax to keep your ears protected and clean. Therefore, the emission of earwax is nothing to worry about. However, a different type of fluid such as pus is discharged sometimes, usually indicating a ruptured eardrum.

Read on to know when you should worry about your ear discharge.

Causes for ear discharge:

The three main causes of discharge from your ears that indicate a problem are-

1. Middle ear infection - Infection of the middle ear is common, which often causes ear discharge as a symptom. The middle ear is the area behind the eardrum and contains vital bones that make hearing possible. During an infection in this region, fluid builds up increases. Excessive fluid in the middle ear leads to perforation of the eardrums and spillage of this fluid.

2. Trauma - If excessive pressure as in a slap, causes trauma to your eardrum, it may lead to blood discharge from your ears as well. Using buds to clean ear may traumatize the skin and lead blood tinged discharge. Similarly, unequal pressure conditions while flying in a plane or scuba diving can also cause a tear in your eardrums, resulting in discharge. Excessively loud noises can also lead to ear trauma.

3. Swimmer’s ear - This condition occurs if you spend too much time underwater. Spending prolonged periods underwater leads to the breakdown of the skin in your ear canal. This leaves the region susceptible to bacterial infections. It is usually very painful ad may be associated with some discharge from the ear.

When should you visit the doctor for ear discharge?

In most cases, ear discharge is absolutely normal and does not warrant a visit to the doctor. However, you should seek medical help in the following instances -

• your discharge is white, yellow or bloody in colour
• the discharge continues for more than 5 days at a stretch
• you suffer from other symptoms, such as fever, along with the ear discharge
• you experience severe pain or notice redness or inflammation of the ear
• you experience loss of hearing
• the discharge occurs after an injury to your ears

Treating ear discharge:

Your doctor will shortlist the cause of your ear discharge before starting treatment. If it's an infection, you will be given antibiotics and ear drops to control it.  However, if the discharge is due to trauma, avoid putting any kind of drops or water in the ear before consulting a ENT specialist. In the case of eardrum perforation, a proper surgical intervention may be required to repair the ear drum. Decision about the same can be taken only after a thorough examination by an ENT specialist.