Expert: Imran R. - 7/24/2006

Question
I am 12 years old and I have had bad ears all my life. I have also had 7 ear surgeries (all to get tubes in my ear). I have weird drainage out of my left ear. It is bloody, or tan. My ear also hurts really bad sometimes and and it makes little popping noises. My grandmother on my mother's side also used to have the same problem. So, I was wondering if this is an age thing, a genetic thing, an infection thing, or I just have weird ears.

Answer
Dear Taylor,

Thank you for your question. It could be that there was originally an infection in your ears. The tubes only make things worse, not better. They aggravate the problem in most cases. If there is drainage this could be sign of a rupture.

So something that began as an infection has led to a rupture.

It is odd that Doctors still do not know that using a few drops of warm olive oil generally solves these problems right in the beginning. Ear infections are not serious and do not need surgery. They are not serious because they can be easily reversed.

So it is not genetic or age related i believe.  

I hope this is helpful,

Best wishes

Imran