The eardrum heals around them, securing them in place.
It includes the eardrum, the three little bones (hammer, anvil, and stirrup) that transmit sound to the inner ear, and the eustachian tube, which connects the inner ear to the nasopharynx (the back of the nose).
Older children or adolescents who try to remove earwax themselves with hair pins or similar objects run the risk of perforating the eardrum or damaging the fragile skin covering the ear canal, causing bleeding and the risk of infection.
Another technique to keep the incision in the eardrum open without the need for tube insertion is application of a medication called mitomycin C, which was originally developed to treat bladder cancer.
Perforated eardrum occurs commonly in people of all ages; it is especially common in early childhood when children are exposed regularly to colds and upper respiratory infections in their contact with other children.
