Expert: Harriet B Jacobster, Au.D. - 7/3/2008

Question
Hello,

On May 17, 2008, I had a terrible accident that affected my right ear. I was on the roof of a friend's house and I fell, hitting my head and causing a skull fracture. The fracture made my ear bleed very bad and my hearing loss was so severe that I thought I would just go deaf, but fortunately I didn't.

About a week after the accident, I visited an Otolaryngologist and she said I had fractured my temporal bone, resulting in a perforated eardrum which in turn had caused blood to drain from my ear. She said that the perforated eardrum would heal on its own, and that my hearing would return to normal.

Though my doctor said the perforation in my eardrum has healed, I still have this ringing sound in my ear. The ringing becomes louder when I'm in a quiet place, and when there's noise around me, it decreases. My hearing is returning but it still isn't what it used to be. There's certain types of sounds that I no longer perceive with my right ear, for example when I rub my fingers near my right ear, I don't hear anything at all. I would like to point out though that I'm perfectly able to follow conversations perfectly, even with my damaged ear. When I listen to music using my headphones, there's certain sounds I do not perceive from my right ear, like the sound produced by the cymbals, you know, those disks that make a crashing sound when hit with a drumstick.

I'm very concerned about my hearing, because I'm blind and most of the contact I make with people, as well as many other dayly life activities I do, are accomplished with the help of my hearing.

do you think I might be suffering from damaged or dislocated ossicles? Will my hearing ever return to normal? Will the ringing ever go away? Is there anything I can do to correct my hearing? Why do I still have hearing problems even if my eardrum has healed? Sorry for such a long email, but I'm very worried. Your answer and opinion would be greatly apreciated.

Sincerely,
Joaquin Garza

Answer
Hi Joaquin,
Yes, after a head injury, it is very possible to have dislocated or broken the bones in the middle ear. It is also possible to have damaged the inner ear. Have you visited a neurologist?  With the tinnitus (noise in your ears) and history of head trauma, that may be the best next step.  Perforated eardrums usually do heal and hearing usually returns to normal if the eardrum was the cause of the loss.  But with a head trauma, there may be another reason that needs to be assessed by a neurologist as well.  Once that is done, if your hearing loss is not medically treatable, you should investigate a trial with a hearing aid.  A hearing aid will help you hear those sounds that you cannot hear now.  It also will help you "mask" the tinnitus, so your next step after a neurologist should be to see an audiologist who can discuss this with you.
Hope this helps.
Harriet B. Jacobster, AuD
Board Certified in Audiology