The False Blog

I get pain in my ears much often than before now. You should remember my old post at the MSN Spaces here. I quote myself here:

My ears don’t feel quite well today. Yesterday night I listened to music for hours by earphones. I know I was wrong. But it was late at night (2 AM) and I couldn’t turn on the speakers.

This morning during the assembly, Ms Pig spoke so loudly. No one was as loud as her. I stood right under the speaker, so I heard all the sounds. It was awful. I felt pain in my right ear (the speaker was at my right). I can feel it even now. But maybe it’s just my imagination.

This two things add up, and I’m going to be deaf someday. Really.

The latest news is, not only is my right ear feeling painful, but also my left ear. Though usually it’s still the right ear.

As the problem is so serious, I did a little research a few days ago. I found this website contains information about a disease "ruptured eardrum".

Let’s look at the symtoms from the website:

• Sharp, sudden ear pain or discomfort
• Clear, pus-filled or bloody drainage from your ear
• Sudden decrease in ear pain followed by drainage from that ear
• Hearing loss
• Ringing in your ear (tinnitus)

Number 1, I have that. Two and three, I don’t think so; nothing went out from my ears. Number 4 is not easy to notice if it’s a small loss. Number 5, I’m not sure what the ringing is like, but generally I don’t hear anything funny.

Next, we study the causes.

• Middle ear infection (otitis media)
• Airplane ear (barotrauma)
• Injury to your ear (acoustic trauma)
• Foreign objects in your ear
• Loud, sudden noise

Now I’m not sure what middle ear infection is. The secord one, airplane ear. I’ve never been on a plane. Third, this one is quite likely. Fourth, I think this one is quite similar to the third one, so yeah, this is llikely too. Number 5 – this is what I’m thinking – loud, sudden noise when I turned the volume of the computer too high accidentally. Not to mention Ms Pig, whose noise was continuous, which causes more harm, I imagine.

Next page, risk factors.

• Fluid buildup from middle ear infection
• Cleaning your ear with small objects to clear away earwax buildup or blockage
• Excessive scratching of your ear due to itchy ears

Actually I don’t understand what "risk factor" is. But look at point 2, I do that sometimes.

Then, when to seek medical advice?

Seek medical care if you have pain or swelling in your ear or drainage from your ear. Discharge of blood or pus may be a sign that your eardrum has ruptured. See your doctor immediately if you develop fever or headache, or if the pain in your ear becomes severe.

You know, on Thursday, I felt a little pain in my head. Next time, when I go to the doctor because of something else, I will probably ask him to check my ears too. Maybe there’s a hole in my eardrum. 

But then on another page it says "A ruptured eardrum usually isn’t serious and often heals on its own without complications." Indeed? This is all I can hope for now. Except there’s really nothing wrong with my ears.