ear problem

[swazo]

so yeah, i am an idiot. im in bed this morning and my ear is itching. see im lazy and i thought, hm, I don't need a q-tip i'll use good ol index finger. so i jam her in there (my right ear) and start wiggling around and then i feel a SHARP pain (not a pop)
and now my ear is in a bit of pain. I had to get up at this point and clean my ear out of blood (not a lot) with q-tips gently massaging my inner ear.

problem is it hurts a bit (i can still hear)

will the problem here fix itself over time or have I doomed myself for the rest of my life?

thanks

[Wear/a/Jimmy]

Most ear canals have a bend such that if you were to stick a finger nail into the ear, you would eventually hit the canal wall, rather than hit the ear drum.  

There operative word is most.

But honestly, it is rare to see anyone with an ear canal large enough and straigh enough to do any real damage to the ear drum by simply ramming their ear with a finger.

That said, I imagine your scratched your ear canal, and yes it can hurt for a while. The tissue in the ear is very tender.

[Nancy T]

P.S. re Q-tips--at least, they're not for putting INSIDE your ear--you can use them to clean the outside part only.

[Nancy T]

Q-tips in your ear is a HUGE no-no!!! (For that matter, so is using a key to clean out your ear... I would go ballistic when I'd see my husband do that--I'm sure he still does it, just not in my sight.)

I can't understand, however, why the human body would be so designed that sticking a finger in your ear canal to scratch it should be dangerous--it's the most natural action in the world. Still, the ear docs say don't put ANYTHING in your ear, including fingers, and apparently they know what they're talking about. That said, I always use my little finger (I mean, one HAS to scratch!) with no bad consequences, but then maybe your ear canal is big and straight and thus your finger got in far enough to do some damage.

Can't give you any advice on what to do about the pain and blood, but undoubtedly someone else will.

Q-tips are for craft projects and rolling snot out of the tips of babies' noses. They're not for ears--read the label! :)

Nancy T.