An overview of Ear Discharge

Ear discharge is drainage of blood, ear wax, pus, or fluid from the ear.

Ear discharge, also known as otorrhea, is any fluid that comes from the ear.

Most of the time, your ears discharge earwax. This is an oil that your body naturally produces. The job of earwax is to make sure that dust, bacteria, and other foreign bodies don’t get into your ear.

However, other conditions, such as a ruptured eardrum can cause blood or other fluids to drain from your ear. This kind of discharge is a sign that your ear has been injured or infected and requires medical attention.

1. You should call your doctor if the discharge from your ear is white, yellow, or bloody or if you’ve had discharge for more than five days. Sometimes ear discharge may occur with other symptoms, such as a fever. Tell your doctor if you have any accompanying symptoms.

2. If you experience serious pain, your ear is swollen or red, or you have a loss of hearing, you should see your doctor.

3. If you have an injury to the ear that causes discharge, that’s another good reason to consult a doctor.

1. Pus or Cloudy Fluid. This is the most common type of ear discharge. The main cause is an ear infection. The drainage is from a torn eardrum. The eardrum ruptures in about 10% of bacterial ear infections.

2. Ear Tube Fluid Release.Children with frequent ear infections may get ventilation tubes put in. These help the middle ear drain its fluids and become dry. Sometimes, the ear tube gets plugged up. Normal fluids build up in the middle ear until the ear tube opens up again. This can cause some clear fluid drainage from the ear canal for a day.

3. Earwax.Earwax is light brown, dark brown, or orange brown in color. If it gets wet, it can look like a discharge.

4. Blood.This follows an injury to the ear. Usually, it's just a minor scratch of the lining of the ear canal.

5. Water. Bath water or tears can get in the ear canal. Seeing a clear "discharge" that happens once is likely this.

6. Ear Drops. The person who sees the discharge may not know someone else put in drops.

7. Swimmer's Ear Discharge.Early symptoms are an itchy ear canal. Later symptoms include a whitish, watery discharge. Mainly occurs in swimmers and in the summer time.

8. Ear Canal Foreign Object.Young children may put small objects in their ear canal. It can cause a low grade infection and pus colored discharge. If the object was sharp, the discharge may have streaks of blood.

In most cases, discharge from your ear is simply ear wax making its way out of your body. This is natural. Other conditions that can cause discharge include infection or injury.

Middle ear infection

Middle ear infection (otitis media) is a common cause of discharge from the ear. Otitis media occurs when bacteria or viruses make their way into the middle ear. The middle ear is behind the eardrum. It contains three bones called ossicles. These are vital to hearing.

Ear infections in the middle ear can cause fluid to build up behind the eardrum. If there is too much fluid, there is a risk of perforation of the eardrum, which can lead to ear discharge.

Trauma

Trauma to the ear canal can also cause discharge. Such trauma can occur while cleaning your ear with a cotton swab if you push it in too deep.

An increase in pressure, such as when you’re flying in an airplane or scuba diving, can also result in trauma to your ear. These situations may also cause your eardrum to rupture or tear.

Acoustic trauma is damage to the ear due to extremely loud noises. Acoustic trauma can cause your eardrum to rupture as well. However, these cases aren’t as common as the others described.

Swimmer’s ear

Otitis externa, commonly known as swimmer’s ear, occurs when bacteria or fungus infects your ear canal. It usually occurs when you spend long periods of time in water.

Too much moisture inside your ear can break down the skin on the walls of your ear canal. This allows bacteria or fungus to enter and cause an infection.

However, swimmer’s ear isn’t exclusive to swimmers. It can result whenever there’s a break in the skin of the ear canal. This might occur if you have irritated skin as a result of eczema.

It can also occur if you insert a foreign object into the ear. Any damage to your ear canal makes it more susceptible to infection.

Less common causes

A less common cause for ear discharge ismalignant otitis externa, a complication of swimmer’s ear that causes damage to the cartilage and bones in the base of the skull.

Other rare causes include a skull fracture, which is a break in any of the bones in the skull, or mastoiditis, which is an infection of the mastoid bone behind your ear.

Ear discharge is a common symptom of various ear disorders and is usually caused by a buildup of fluid in the middle ear. It is important to be aware of the warning signs of ear discharge as it can indicate a more serious health condition that requires medical attention.

Common warning signs of ear discharge include a feeling of fullness or pressure in the ear, muffled hearing, ringing in the ear, drainage from the ear, pain or itchiness in the ear, and a foul smell from the ear. If you experience any of these symptoms, it is best to seek medical advice as soon as possible.

If you experience sudden hearing loss, it could be a sign of hearing loss due to ear discharge. In addition, if you experience a feeling of dizziness or vertigo, this could also be caused by a buildup of fluid in the ear.

If you experience any of the warning signs of ear discharge, it is best to seek medical advice. Early diagnosis and treatment can help to reduce the risk of long-term complications.

People can help prevent conditions that cause ear drainage by taking steps to care for their ears, such as:

1. using earplugs in the ear when swimming to help keep water out and prevent infection

2. blowing the nose gently, not forcefully

3. carefully drying the outside of the ears after getting them wet

4. avoiding inserting any objects into the ear

1. A doctor will use an otoscope, which is a lighted microscope, to examine the ear and try to identify the underlying cause of the drainage.

2. They may also use a pneumatic otoscope that produces a puff of air to show how the eardrum moves in response to pressure. Doing this can show whether there is a buildup of fluid behind the eardrum.

3. A test called tympanometry can help doctors examine the health of the middle ear. To do this test, a doctor will insert a probe into the ear and evaluate how the middle ear responds to different pressure levels.

4. During an ear examination, doctors may also carry out a hearing test or use a tuning fork to test hearing levels.

1. Doctors will often prescribe antibiotics for some types of infection, which people can take either by mouth or as ear drops depending on the location of the infection in the ear.

2. To help ease earache, people can use a warm compress on their ear or take over-the-counter pain relievers, such as ibuprofen.

3. A ruptured eardrum will often heal without treatment within a few weeks to 2 months. People can help the healing process and prevent infections by keeping their ear dry and protecting it from loud noises and physical knocks.

4. If an eardrum does not heal by itself, surgery may be necessary to patch new skin over the hole.

5. A doctor may prescribe antibiotics to treat ear fluid. The combination of a decongestant and an antihistamine can help reduce congestion.

6. If this treatment is not effective, the doctor can place an ear tube through the middle ear to allow fluids to drain as usual.

Most complications are the result of the infection spreading to another part of the ear or head, including:

1. the bones behind the ear (mastoiditis)

2. the inner ear (labyrinthitis)

3. the protective membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord (meningitis)