Perforated/Torn Eardrum From Being Struck

[Nebulus1986]

Hello all.  3 days ago I was struck, open palm, directly on my ear, very hard.  I immediately had a seeming loss of hearing with consistent ringing/muffled hearing and tones.  No blood or fluid discharge from the ear at any time.  I slept on it for the next two days, until yesterday, when it had not gotten any better, I went immediately to an ENT.  He could not see anything with the normal scope so he ordered a hearing test from an audiologist.  They could not form a seal on the first part of the test with the earplugs (where they test pressure to the eardrum) on the struck ear, so he assumed microscopic tears.  The remainder of the test was fairly normal (with the hurt ear performing a little less than the other).  He checked me with a microscope and still could not conclusively determine if there were holes or not, but still assumed there were afterwards and said there is nothing he can do, just to let it heal on its own and see him again in a month.  

The last day or two since I saw him have been unbearable.  I've noticed the same muffled sound in the hurt ear, while the OTHER ear has become EXTREMELY sensitive to any sort of rumbling, bass, or low tones.  I could not even drive or get through the gym because the workout machines bothered me so much....what should I do?  Go back to the doctor now?  Keep trying to wait for it to heal itself?  What could explain the other ear now bothering me so much?  Thank you all so much.  I'm terrified at this point.

[setzer]

After having my left ear seringend at my gp's  I now experience problems with low frequency (deep bass music notes)  will this issue go or do i seak help from a ENT specialist?

[Phill115]

Thank you for the help an ex friend punched me behind the ear and I felt scares but reading your post about blunt trauma to ear gave me peace of mind so thank you and god bless

[Greg7]

I got hit with a soccer ball 3 weeks ago flush on my left ear and since then my left ear has been ringing and I have worse hearing through that ear.
My ENT suggested I go to an audiologist who confirmed my hearing has deteriorated in the past 18 months (I had previously been to the same audiologist for bad tinnitus which turned out to be fine and go away).
My left ear has much worse hearing especially at higher frequencies.

The audiologist will send the report to my ENT, I'll see what he says and let everyone know. This is definitely scary, but good to see that others have similar experiences so I know it's normal. Here's hoping for a full recovery!

[jw773]

Indeed, thank you for taking the time to write such a thoughtful response - it helps calm nerves of people who are going through this...such as myself!  I found this thread when searching the internet after an incident very similar to what the original poster described.  Mine happened 4 nights ago.  I saw an ENT 2 days after the incident and his attitude was calm, not worried, and he said many of the same things you mentioned in your post.  Still, when one has lost something you've always taken for granted, you become impatient to regain it and concerned that you may have lost it forever.  4 days after, I have no ringing, nor pain, but my hearing is still affected: I can hear my own voice rumbling in my own head too much, low bass sounds don't sound right, etc.  I'm due to see the ENT doctor again in two weeks, and I'm trying to refrain from calling him in the interim (and trying to trust that the healing process is happening and my hearing will return to normal).  In the meantime, curious if the original poster ever regained his hearing to pre-incident levels?  Thanks again.

[Aps20]

I understand how that feels because my ear drum is perforated 1/4th of its size two days back. I am terrified about what if it does not heal, am I going to become deaf, I have my life ahead of me etc.
But what beachcomber13 has written is wonderful 'Its not fun its temporary and it will get better. My body has the amazing capacity to heal itself. If my body can heal broken bones and dissolve bruises surely it can heal a small skin tear'.
Everytime I despair about what happened I have been repeating this statement like a mantra to myself. Honestly the fear is not gone but there is atleast a ray of hope. Fear is opposite of faith my friend the choice is yours and yours alone.  

[Nebulus1986]

One week + 1 day and no noticeable improvement.  Daily life is extremely difficult.  Only an increase in the tinnitus (which is extremely high) from the damaged ear with absolutely no ability to hear low (and some mid) frequencies.  Doing my best to try and put it out of my mind but it's tough when I can't carry out a conversation effectively.  Maybe after this coming week I should call my ENT again for further testing?  I'm sorry, I'm just terrified at this point...