Preparing for Tympanoplasty: Treating Active Infection, Pausing Medicines and Fasting

The pre-op phone call comes on a Tuesday. A nurse runs through a list: has the ear been draining, what do you take each morning, when did you last have a sore throat, what time will you stop eating. The person on the other end, who has lived with a perforated eardrum for a year and simply wants to swim again, realizes the operation is the easy part to picture. The run-up is where the questions live.

That is a fair instinct. Preparing for tympanoplasty, the operation that patches a hole in the eardrum with a small graft of the body’s own tissue, is less about the two hours in theatre and more about the condition the ear arrives in. A wet, infected ear behaves differently under a graft than a dry, quiet one. A medicine that thins the blood changes how a surgeon sees a space the size of a fingernail.

This explainer walks through what is asked of you and why, what actually happens on the day, and what the weeks afterward usually feel like, with the honest caveat that your treating team’s instructions always override anything written here.

What actually happens during a tympanoplasty?

The eardrum, or tympanic membrane, is a thin sheet of tissue about the size of a pencil eraser that separates the ear canal from the middle ear and vibrates when sound hits it. When a hole in it fails to close on its own, tympanoplasty repairs it with a graft.

The graft is usually harvested from the patient during the same operation. Surgeons commonly use a sliver of fascia (the fibrous covering over the temporalis muscle above the ear), a piece of perichondrium or cartilage from the tragus (the small bump in front of the ear canal), or occasionally fat from the earlobe. Because it is the patient’s own tissue, rejection is not a concern in the way it would be with a donor organ.

Access depends on the size and position of the hole. Some repairs are done entirely through the ear canal with an endoscope or microscope. Others need a small incision behind the ear or at the front of the canal. Once the edges of the perforation are freshened, the graft is laid across or beneath the hole and supported with dissolvable packing material so it stays in place while new skin grows over it. If the tiny hearing bones behind the drum are damaged, the surgeon may repair or rebuild them in the same session; this is why tympanoplasty is often described in numbered types, with type I meaning the eardrum alone.

Most operations are done under general anesthesia and take roughly one to two hours, according to MedlinePlus, and many patients go home the same day. What the surgeon finds inside, particularly the state of the middle ear lining, is one reason the condition of the ear beforehand matters so much.

Who is tympanoplasty usually for, and who is asked to wait?

Many eardrum perforations close by themselves. The NHS notes that most heal within a few weeks and nearly all within about two months without any operation, provided the ear is kept dry and free of infection. Surgery is therefore generally reserved for holes that have persisted well beyond that window, for perforations causing repeated infections or discharge, or for hearing loss that the surgeon believes the hole is contributing to.

People commonly considered for the operation include those with a chronic perforation after a childhood infection, after a grommet (ventilation tube) has fallen out and left a hole, after trauma such as a slap or a cotton bud injury that did not heal, or after barotrauma from diving or flying. Children are often assessed carefully for age and for how well the other ear and the Eustachian tube (the pressure-equalizing passage from the middle ear to the back of the nose) are working, because a poorly ventilated ear can undermine a graft.

Who is asked to wait? Anyone with an actively discharging or infected ear, anyone with a cold, flu or chest infection close to the date, and sometimes children who are still having frequent ear infections in the opposite ear. Poorly controlled diabetes, uncontrolled blood pressure and recent cardiac events are the sort of general surgical concerns that lead an anesthesia team to defer a non-urgent operation. Smokers may be advised to stop well beforehand, since smoking impairs the small-vessel blood supply that a graft depends on.

Waiting is not a rejection. The operation is elective, and the goal is to perform it when the odds are best, a judgment that rests entirely with the treating team.

Why an active ear infection usually postpones surgery

Ask a surgeon what they want to see when they look into the ear on the morning of a tympanoplasty and the answer is dull: a dry canal, a clean perforation edge and pale middle ear lining. A wet ear changes the biology.

Active infection means bacteria, inflamed mucosa and pus. Laying a graft onto inflamed tissue is like trying to fit a patch onto a damp inner tube. The graft needs to adhere to the edges of the hole and pick up a blood supply from them within days. Inflamed, swollen edges bleed more, obscure the surgeon’s view and are more likely to break down. Infection also raises the chance that the packing, which is designed to hold the graft in position, becomes a nidus for bacteria rather than a scaffold.

For that reason, a discharging ear is typically treated first. The usual approach involves the treating clinician cleaning the canal (a procedure called aural toilet or microsuction), prescribing antibiotic ear drops or, less often, oral antibiotics, and asking the patient to keep water out of the ear for several weeks. Some surgeons will only book a date once the ear has been dry for a stated period, though that period varies between teams and is not a fixed rule in any guideline.

Two practical points follow. First, an ear that starts leaking in the week before surgery is worth reporting, not hiding, because rescheduling is usually preferable to operating into infection. Second, this is one of the few pre-op instructions that can stretch the timeline by weeks. If your date moves, it is usually because the ear needs more time to settle rather than because anything went wrong.

Preparing for tympanoplasty in the weeks beforehand

The month before the operation is about arriving with the healthiest possible ear and body, and most of it involves ordinary habits rather than anything medical.

Keeping the ear dry is the single most repeated instruction. That means a cotton ball coated in petroleum jelly or a fitted earplug when showering, no swimming, and no submerging the head in the bath. Water carries bacteria into a middle ear that has no drum to protect it, and the NHS lists infection as the main complication of a perforation left open to water.

Avoiding colds sounds impossible, but it is worth trying. Upper respiratory infections inflame the Eustachian tube and the middle ear lining, and a blocked nose on the day can lead the anesthesia team to postpone. Handwashing, steering clear of obviously unwell contacts and keeping up with routine vaccinations are reasonable measures. If you develop a cold, tell the team rather than assume it will be fine.

Smoking and nicotine deserve their own mention. Nicotine constricts small blood vessels, and a graft the thickness of tissue paper survives on exactly those vessels. Stopping several weeks before is commonly advised; your clinician can point you to support, and the decision on timing sits with them.

Practical arrangements matter too. You will need an adult to drive you home and ideally stay with you the first night after a general anesthetic. MedlinePlus suggests planning to be off work or school for around a week or two, longer for physically heavy jobs. If you wear glasses and the incision is behind the ear, ask how the arm will sit over the dressing. Small logistics, sorted early, make the day itself calmer.

Which medicines are commonly paused before tympanoplasty, and why

The middle ear is a space roughly the volume of a chickpea, viewed through a microscope. Even modest bleeding fills that view, so anything that affects clotting draws the surgeon’s attention. This section explains the reasoning; it is not an instruction to change anything.

Anticoagulants (medicines that slow the clotting cascade, such as warfarin or the newer direct oral anticoagulants) and antiplatelet agents (which stop platelets sticking together, including aspirin and clopidogrel) are the classes most often discussed. Whether they are paused, bridged with a different agent or continued depends on why the person takes them. Someone with a recent stent or a mechanical heart valve faces real risk from stopping, and that trade-off is made jointly between the surgeon, the anesthesiologist and the prescribing physician. Never stop these on your own initiative.

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (over-the-counter painkillers such as ibuprofen and naproxen) also reduce platelet function and are frequently paused for a period beforehand, with acetaminophen often suggested as the alternative for aches in the meantime. Herbal and dietary supplements including fish oil, vitamin E, ginkgo, garlic extract and ginseng have antiplatelet effects and are commonly asked about; the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements advises telling your surgical team about all supplements.

A newer conversation involves the GLP-1 receptor agonists used for diabetes and weight management, which slow stomach emptying. Anesthesia societies have issued guidance on holding certain formulations before surgery because a fuller stomach raises aspiration risk under anesthesia. Diabetes medicines and insulin are usually adjusted rather than stopped, given fasting. Inhalers, blood pressure tablets and thyroid medicines are commonly continued.

The rule is simple: bring a complete list, including anything bought without a prescription, and follow the written plan your team gives you.

Fasting before tympanoplasty: what nothing by mouth really means

Fasting before a general anesthetic is not a formality. When you are anesthetized, the reflexes that normally keep stomach contents out of the lungs are switched off. If the stomach is full, acidic contents can travel up the esophagus and down the windpipe, an event called aspiration that can cause a serious pneumonia. An empty stomach makes this far less likely.

Typical instructions, as described by the NHS, are to stop eating solid food about six hours before the scheduled time and to stop drinking clear fluids about two hours before. Clear fluids means water, diluted squash without pulp, black tea or coffee without milk, and clear apple juice. Milk counts as food because its fat and protein slow digestion. Chewing gum and boiled sweets are also usually off-limits because they stimulate gastric secretions. Alcohol should be avoided the night before.

Some centers now encourage drinking clear fluids up to the two-hour point rather than stopping the night before, since arriving dehydrated makes cannulation harder and adds to grogginess afterward. Follow your own unit’s written times; they may differ slightly.

Children have their own schedule. Breast milk is commonly allowed until around four hours before, formula and cow’s milk around six, and clear fluids until about one or two hours before, but pediatric anesthesia teams give parents exact clock times and those take precedence.

A frequent worry is regular medicines. Most tablets that the team has asked you to continue can be taken with a small sip of water even inside the fasting window; the team will say which. If you eat or drink by mistake, tell the staff on arrival. The operation may be delayed rather than cancelled, and honesty here is a safety issue, not an embarrassment.

Tympanoplasty before surgery instructions: a timeline at a glance

Individual units word their leaflets differently, but the shape of preparation is consistent. The table below gathers the common threads discussed above into one place. Treat it as a map of what to expect, not a substitute for the written instructions your own team provides.

When	What usually happens	Why it matters
Several weeks before	Ear cleaned and any infection treated; ear kept strictly dry; smoking cessation advised; full medicine and supplement list reviewed	A dry, quiet middle ear and good small-vessel blood flow help the graft take
Around one to two weeks before	Pre-assessment appointment; anesthesia review; instructions on which medicines to pause, adjust or continue; hearing test often repeated	Blood-thinning agents affect visibility in a very small operative field; baseline hearing is documented
Day before	Report any cold, cough or ear discharge; arrange an adult escort; avoid alcohol; wash hair (it may be awkward afterward)	Respiratory infection or a wet ear are the commonest reasons for postponement
Night before and morning of	Stop solid food about six hours before; clear fluids until about two hours before; take only the medicines you were told to, with a sip of water; no makeup, jewelry or hair products near the ear	Fasting lowers aspiration risk under anesthesia; a clean surgical field lowers infection risk
On arrival	Consent confirmed, side marked, allergies checked, last meal and drink times recorded	Standard safety checklist before any operation

Two details often surprise people. The side of the operation is physically marked on the skin with a pen while you are awake, which is deliberate rather than casual. And the surgeon may look in the ear again in the anesthetic room; if the ear has started discharging overnight, this is the last checkpoint at which a postponement can be made.

Is tympanoplasty a big surgery?

It depends what you measure. In terms of anesthesia, it is a moderate procedure: a general anesthetic lasting one to two hours, with most adults and children going home the same day or after one night, according to MedlinePlus and Johns Hopkins Medicine. There is no large wound, no organ is removed, and blood loss is small.

In terms of precision, it is delicate work. The surgeon operates under magnification in a space a few millimeters across, near the facial nerve (which runs through the middle ear and controls the muscles of the face), the chorda tympani (a small nerve branch carrying taste from the front of the tongue) and the inner ear. Those neighbors are why the consent form lists risks that sound alarming for a small hole: temporary taste disturbance on one side of the tongue, dizziness, tinnitus, a change in hearing, and rarely facial weakness. Mainstream sources describe these as uncommon, and the surgeon’s job is to discuss the likelihood in your specific ear.

The graft does not always take. Some perforations reopen, particularly if infection recurs or the Eustachian tube works poorly, and a second procedure is sometimes needed. Reputable patient sources describe the operation as successful in most cases without quoting a single universal figure, and this article follows that caution; your surgeon can discuss what their own audit shows.

Alternatives are worth naming. Continued observation with a dry-ear routine is legitimate for a small, quiet hole. A hearing aid can address the hearing component without surgery. Some clinicians use a small office-based patch or a fat plug for tiny perforations. None of these is right for everyone, and weighing them is the conversation to have before signing anything.

How painful is tympanoplasty recovery?

Most people are surprised by how little pain there is, and how much oddness. The ear itself has relatively few pain fibers compared with, say, the throat after a tonsillectomy. What patients describe more often is a full, blocked sensation, as though the ear is underwater, caused by the packing sitting in the canal and any fluid in the middle ear. That fullness, rather than pain, dominates the first weeks.

Discomfort is usually greatest in the first two to three days and is commonly managed with simple, non-opioid pain relief that the team recommends at discharge. If an incision was made behind the ear, the skin there can feel tight, numb or bruised, and the jaw may ache when chewing because the incision lies close to the joint. Sleeping propped up on the opposite side for the first few nights is usually suggested, both for comfort and to reduce swelling.

Other sensations are normal and worth knowing about in advance so they do not alarm you. Clicking or popping as the packing dissolves. Muffled hearing on the operated side, sometimes worse than before surgery, until the packing clears. Brief unsteadiness on standing in the first day or two. A metallic or altered taste on one side of the tongue if the chorda tympani was stretched, which typically settles over weeks to months. Light blood-tinged or yellowish ooze onto the cotton ball in the outer ear for a few days.

What is not normal is escalating pain after the first days, pain accompanied by fever, or pain with new facial weakness. Those belong in the red-flag section below and warrant a call rather than a wait.

Tympanoplasty recovery time: what the days and weeks usually look like

Healing runs on two clocks: the skin and incision, which recover quickly, and the graft and hearing, which take longer.

In the first 24 to 48 hours the main tasks are rest, fluids and keeping the outer dressing or cotton ball in place. Grogginess from anesthesia usually clears within a day. Many people feel well enough for gentle activity around the house by day two or three but tire easily.

The first week is about protecting the ear. The outer dressing, if there is one, is typically removed after a day or two, and stitches behind the ear, if not dissolvable, are taken out at roughly a week. MedlinePlus suggests most people take about a week off work or school, longer for jobs involving lifting or straining. Any ear drops are started only when the surgeon says so.

Weeks two to four bring the first follow-up, when the surgeon looks at the graft under the microscope and may suction out dissolving packing. Hearing often starts to change as the canal clears. Cleveland Clinic and MedlinePlus both describe full recovery, including the graft becoming stable and hearing settling, as taking several weeks to a few months.

Around six to twelve weeks, the surgeon usually confirms whether the graft has taken and repeats the hearing test. Water precautions are frequently continued until then. Children follow a similar arc, often bouncing back faster in energy but needing closer supervision to avoid nose-blowing and pool water.

Every one of these timeframes is a typical range drawn from patient-information sources, not a schedule your ear has agreed to. Slower healing is not necessarily failure, and the follow-up visits exist precisely to check.

What not to do after tympanoplasty

The restrictions after eardrum repair exist for one reason: the graft is held in place by packing and surface tension for the first weeks, and anything that raises pressure in the middle ear or introduces water can lift it. Most of the list is about pressure and water.

• Do not blow your nose. If you must clear it, sniff gently or dab. A hard blow forces air up the Eustachian tube and against the graft from behind.
• Sneeze with your mouth open, which lets the pressure escape forward rather than into the ears.
• Do not get water in the ear until the surgeon clears you. That means no swimming, no submerging the head, and a protected ear in the shower. MedlinePlus advises keeping the ear dry for several weeks.
• Avoid heavy lifting, straining on the toilet, bending with the head below the heart and vigorous exercise for the period your team specifies, commonly two to several weeks. Straining spikes venous pressure in the head.
• Do not fly until the surgeon agrees. Cabin pressure changes stress a healing drum, and many surgeons ask patients to wait until the graft has been checked at follow-up.
• Do not put anything into the ear canal: no cotton buds, no earbuds, no drops other than those prescribed.
• Avoid smoking and smoky environments, for the same blood-supply reason that applies before surgery.
• Avoid crowded, noisy places early on if sound feels unpleasantly loud or distorted; this usually settles.

Driving is generally fine once you are off any sedating medicine and feel steady, though some people find their balance is briefly off and wait a few extra days. Ask your team about return to contact sports, diving and school swimming lessons specifically, because the answer differs by graft type and by how the ear looks at review.

How long does it take for hearing to recover after tympanoplasty?

Expect hearing to get worse before it gets better, and know that this is by design. The ear canal is filled with dissolvable packing and the middle ear may contain a small amount of fluid or absorbable sponge supporting the graft. Sound cannot reach the drum through a plugged canal any more than it can through a hand cupped over the ear. For the first two to four weeks, most people hear noticeably less on the operated side.

As the packing dissolves or is removed at follow-up, hearing usually begins to open up. Johns Hopkins Medicine and MedlinePlus describe hearing improvement as something that emerges over weeks rather than days, with the final result assessed by a hearing test several weeks to a few months after surgery, once the graft has healed and any middle ear fluid has cleared.

How much hearing returns depends on what was causing the loss. If the hole itself was the problem, closing it can restore the drum’s ability to collect sound and improve the conductive component of hearing. If the tiny bones were eroded, the hearing result depends on whether they were repaired and how well that repair functions. If part of the loss is sensorineural (from the inner ear or nerve), the operation does not address that component; the pre-operative hearing test is what tells the surgeon which type of loss you have, and it is worth asking what they expect the surgery to change and what it cannot.

Mainstream sources deliberately avoid promising a specific hearing gain, and so does this article. Some people hear better than before, some the same, and a small number worse. Occasionally a graft heals beautifully and the hearing improves less than hoped, because the drum was only part of the story.

What people often get wrong about preparing for tympanoplasty

Ear operations attract a surprising amount of folklore, some of it harmful. A few corrections, grounded in what patient-information sources actually say.

“Using ear drops before surgery is the same as being infection-free.” Drops are a tool to get the ear dry, not proof that it is. The surgeon’s examination on the day decides. Finishing a course of drops and then sneaking a swim undoes the work.

“I should stop all my medicines to be safe.” The opposite can be dangerous. Stopping a blood thinner prescribed for a heart valve or a recent clot without medical direction carries real risk of stroke or embolism. Stopping blood pressure or seizure medicines abruptly can cause rebound problems. The correct move is to list everything and follow the individual plan.

“Fasting means nothing after midnight, including water.” Many units now ask for clear fluids until about two hours before, and arriving parched makes recovery worse. Follow the times you were given, which may be more generous than you expect.

“A cold does not matter for an ear operation.” It matters twice: for the anesthetic, because inflamed airways are more reactive, and for the ear, because a congested Eustachian tube undermines the graft.

“The hole is small, so recovery is instant.” The graft takes weeks to establish a blood supply, and hearing is dampened by packing for most of that time. Expecting a quick fix leads to needless worry in week two.

“If the graft fails, the surgery was botched.” Grafts fail for biological reasons, most often infection or poor Eustachian tube function, even in expert hands. A repeat procedure is a recognized part of the pathway, not evidence of error.

Questions to ask your care team before tympanoplasty

A pre-assessment appointment is short, and it is easy to leave with the important questions unasked. These are the ones patients most often wish they had raised, grouped roughly by the stage they belong to.

About the ear and the plan: What is causing my hearing loss, and how much of it do you expect the repair to address? Which graft material do you plan to use, and where will the incision be? Will the hearing bones need attention? How many weeks do you want the ear dry before you will operate, and what should I do if it starts discharging the week before?

About medicines and fasting: Here is my full list, including supplements; which of these do you want paused, adjusted or continued, and from what date? Who do I contact if my cardiologist or family physician disagrees? What are my exact fasting times, and which morning tablets should I still take with water?

About the day: Will I go home the same day? Who removes the dressing and when? Should I expect drops afterward, and when do I start them?

About recovery: When can I return to work, school, the gym and the pool? When is it safe to fly? What should hearing feel like at one week, one month and three months? What are your specific red-flag signs, and which number do I call out of hours?

About the bigger picture: What happens if the graft does not take? What are the alternatives if I decide not to proceed, and is watchful waiting reasonable in my case?

Writing the answers down, or bringing someone to listen, is worth more than any leaflet. A good team welcomes the list; the decisions remain theirs to make with you.

When to call your doctor after tympanoplasty

Most of what you will notice in the first weeks, fullness, clicking, muffled hearing, a little ooze, mild dizziness, is expected and covered above. A shorter list of signs means the ear should be looked at promptly rather than at the next scheduled visit.

Call the surgical team or seek urgent care if you notice any of the following:

• Fever, or increasing pain and redness around the ear or incision after the first two to three days, which can signal infection.
• Heavy or persistent bleeding from the ear, or bleeding that soaks through the dressing rather than lightly tinging the cotton.
• Foul-smelling or copious discharge from the ear canal.
• New weakness or drooping on one side of the face, difficulty closing the eye or a lopsided smile. This is uncommon but needs same-day assessment because of the facial nerve’s course through the middle ear.
• Severe or worsening vertigo (a spinning sensation), especially with vomiting or a sudden marked drop in hearing, which can indicate inner ear irritation.
• Signs of a wound problem behind the ear: gaping edges, spreading redness or pus.
• Any breathing difficulty, chest pain, or a persistent high temperature in the days after anesthesia.

Before surgery, the same principle applies in reverse. Report a new cold, cough, fever or ear discharge in the days leading up to your date rather than hoping it will pass, and tell the team if you have taken a medicine you were asked to pause or eaten inside the fasting window. None of these will get you in trouble; all of them can prevent a problem.

Every decision about postponing, proceeding, adjusting medicines or bringing you back early rests with your treating team. This article exists to help you understand their reasoning, not to replace it.

Frequently asked questions

How painful is tympanoplasty recovery, honestly?

Most people describe more fullness than pain. The ear feels blocked and underwater because of packing in the canal, and discomfort is usually greatest in the first two to three days, typically managed with simple non-opioid pain relief recommended at discharge. A behind-the-ear incision can feel tight or numb, and the jaw may ache when chewing. Escalating pain after the first days, especially with fever, is not expected and should be reported.

Is tympanoplasty a big surgery or a minor one?

It sits in the middle. The anesthetic is moderate, lasting about one to two hours, and most people go home the same day. The surgery itself is delicate microsurgery near the facial nerve, the taste nerve and the inner ear, which is why the consent form lists risks such as taste change, dizziness and rarely facial weakness. Mainstream patient sources describe these as uncommon; your surgeon can discuss the likelihood for your ear.

How long does it take for hearing to recover after tympanoplasty?

Hearing usually gets worse before it improves. Packing in the canal muffles sound for roughly two to four weeks, and as it dissolves or is removed at follow-up, hearing begins to open up. The final result is assessed by a hearing test several weeks to a few months after surgery. How much improves depends on whether the hole alone caused the loss or the hearing bones and inner ear were also involved.

What can you not do after tympanoplasty?

The main restrictions are no nose-blowing, sneezing with the mouth open, no water in the ear until cleared, no heavy lifting or straining, no flying until the graft has been checked, and nothing inserted into the ear canal other than prescribed drops. Each rule protects a graft held in place mainly by packing. Timeframes vary by surgeon and graft type, so ask for specific dates for swimming, sport and travel.

What is the typical tympanoplasty recovery time?

Anesthetic grogginess clears within a day or so, most people take about a week off work or school, and the first follow-up to check the graft and clear packing is usually around two to four weeks. Full recovery, with the graft stable and hearing settled, is commonly described as several weeks to a few months. These are typical ranges from patient-information sources, not a fixed schedule, and slower healing is not necessarily a problem.

Why did my surgeon postpone my tympanoplasty because of an ear infection?

Because grafts placed onto infected, inflamed tissue are more likely to bleed, obscure the view and break down. The usual approach is to clean the canal, treat the infection with prescribed drops or tablets, keep the ear strictly dry and rebook once the ear has been quiet for a period the surgeon specifies. Postponement reflects an attempt to operate when conditions are best, not a sign that something went wrong.

Do I have to stop blood thinners before tympanoplasty?

Not necessarily, and never on your own decision. Anticoagulants and antiplatelet medicines affect visibility in a very small operative field, so they are always reviewed, but whether they are paused, bridged or continued depends on why you take them. Someone with a mechanical heart valve or recent stent faces real risk from stopping. The surgeon, anesthesiologist and prescribing physician agree a written plan, and that plan is what you follow.

What are the standard tympanoplasty before surgery instructions for fasting?

Typical guidance is no solid food for about six hours before the scheduled time and clear fluids, such as water or black tea, until about two hours before. Milk, chewing gum and sweets count as food. Children have their own shorter windows for breast milk and formula. Your unit will give exact clock times, which override any general rule, and any tablets you were told to continue can usually be taken with a sip of water.

Can a child have a tympanoplasty, and how is preparation different?

Yes, children are commonly treated once the surgeon is satisfied the hole will not close on its own and the other ear and Eustachian tube are working reasonably well. Preparation follows the same principles: a dry, uninfected ear, no cold on the day, and age-specific fasting times given by the pediatric anesthesia team. Afterward, the challenge is supervision, particularly stopping nose-blowing and keeping pool water out until the graft has been checked.

What happens if the graft does not take?

Some perforations reopen, most often because of recurrent infection or a poorly ventilated middle ear, and a second procedure is a recognized part of the pathway rather than evidence of error. The surgeon will usually watch the ear for a period, treat any infection and discuss whether to repeat the repair, try a different graft material or approach, or manage the hole with dry-ear precautions and hearing support instead.

References

• MedlinePlus: Eardrum repair
• MedlinePlus: General anesthesia
• NHS: Perforated eardrum
• NHS: Having an operation (surgery)

This article is for general information only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult a qualified doctor about your individual situation.