Ear Procedures
Ear surgery covers two very different situations: children with glue ear needing grommets, and adults with a perforated eardrum or chronic discharge needing repair. Both aim at the same two things, hearing and a dry ear.
- Operating microscope for ear surgery
- Hearing tested before and after
- Grommets as a short day-care procedure
- Eardrum repair with good success rates
Stay
Day care to 2 days
Duration
20 minutes to 2 hours
Anaesthesia
Local or general
About Ear Procedures
Grommets are tiny tubes placed through the eardrum to drain fluid in glue ear, and they usually fall out on their own within a year. Tympanoplasty repairs a perforated eardrum using a graft, improving hearing and stopping recurrent infection. Chronic discharge often needs the underlying disease dealt with before any repair will hold.
- Grommets fall out on their own, usually within a year
- Eardrum repair uses the patient's own tissue as a graft
- A dry ear matters as much as improved hearing
- Hearing is tested before and after to measure the result
Before you read on
Everything here is general information about ear procedures. Whether it suits you, and how it would be done in your case, is a decision for your doctor after examining you.
Your consultant's instructions always take precedence over anything written on this page.
When is it recommended?
Situations in which a doctor may suggest ear procedures.
- Glue ear affecting hearing and speech in children
- Recurrent ear infections
- Perforated eardrum
- Chronic ear discharge
- Hearing loss from middle ear disease
- Cholesteatoma requiring surgery
Procedure details
The usual sequence, from first consultation through to follow-up.
Assessment
Examination under the microscope, a hearing test and tympanometry, with a CT scan for chronic disease.
Surgery
Grommets take about twenty minutes. Eardrum repair takes longer, using a graft of the patient's own tissue.
Early recovery
Keeping the ear dry is the main instruction. Some discharge in the first days after grommets is common.
Follow-up
Hearing is retested after healing, and grommets are checked periodically until they extrude naturally.
How to prepare
What to sort out before you come in.
- Bring previous hearing test results and any CT scans
- Postpone if there is an active cold or ear infection where possible
- Arrange dry ear precautions at home, including ear plugs for washing
- Fasting as instructed for general anaesthesia
- For children, bring a comfort item for induction
Recovery
What to expect afterwards, and roughly when.
- Keep the ear completely dry until told otherwise, which is the single most important instruction
- After grommets, most children return to normal activity the next day
- After eardrum repair, avoid nose blowing, flying and straining for several weeks
- Hearing often improves gradually as swelling and packing settle
- A hearing test is repeated once healing is complete
Why choose Humayun for ear surgery
Ear surgery is measured by whether hearing improved and the ear stayed dry, and both are tested rather than assumed.
- Operating microscope and dedicated ear instruments
- Hearing tested before and after, so the result is measured rather than assumed
- Chronic disease treated before attempting repair, since a graft over active disease fails
- Grommets and adenoidectomy combined in one anaesthetic where both are needed
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