You had a procedure called tympanoplasty to fix a damaged eardrum, stop infection, and improve hearing. Here's what you need to do at home after this procedure.
Home care
- Don't do anything that makes your ears pop. Don't blow your nose or exhale with your nose held closed. Sneeze with your mouth open.
- For 2 to 4 weeks or until your doctor says it is okay, avoid lifting anything that would make you strain. This may include a child, heavy grocery bags, and milk containers.
- Do not get water in your ear for 1 to 3 months, or until your doctor says it is okay. You can take baths, but do not shower or get water near your ear until the packing is removed. When you bathe, plug your ear with a cotton ball lightly coated in petroleum jelly to keep water out. Do not use plastic earplugs that go into the ear canal while you have packing in your ear. Use only the earplugs that your doctor recommends.
- Don't fly in a plane, swim, or scuba dive until your doctor says it is okay to do so.
- You may have a cut (incision) with a dressing over it. A dressing helps the incision heal and protects it. Your doctor will tell you how to take care of this. You may have a small amount of drainage from the ear.
- Don't be alarmed if the skin of your outer ear is numb. This is a result of the surgery. The feeling should come back in a few months.
- Take your medicine exactly as your doctor says.
Follow-up care
- Make follow-up appointments as directed. Your ear has special packing material in it. Parts of this material may need to be removed at specific times.
- Ask your doctor when you may go back to work. There may be special restrictions, depending upon the kind of work you do.
When to contact your doctor
Contact your doctor now or seek immediate medical care if:
- You have pain that does not get better after you take pain medicine.
- You have foul-smelling drainage from the ear or the incision.
- You have increaded redness or swelling around the ear.
- You have a fever of 100.4°F (38°C) or higher, or as directed by your doctor.
- You have a persistent headache.
- You have double vision or blurred vision.
- You have facial droop.
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