Will this heal, or should I see a doctor? And how soon?

Question

I stuck a Q-tip in my ear after I showered this morning, and it looked like it had a little blood spot on it when I pulled it out (scared me). I guess I did kind of jam it in there, but I've applied the same pressure before, which hurt a little, but it wasn't a big deal; just me being in a hurry.
Anyway, that was about an hour ago, and now there's a dull ache, so I'm concerned about the possibility of irreparable damage. Did I hit the drum? Will it heal by itself?

Answer 1

If you hit the eardrum, which it sounds like you might have, it shouldn't be a huge deal. I've done it a million times as a kid. Once in a watergun fight, my friend shot the watergun directly into my ear and I ruptured it that way. I still hear fine. It will normally heal on it's own. The problem however, is infection. Because your ears are naturally bacteria ridden (no matter who you are) and there is only one usual way out, everything will kind of sit next to your eardrum, which is fine, unless your ear drum is ruptured. If it is punctured everything will flow behind your ear drum and gunk it up back there. If the pain gets any worse, or if you get dizzy (any kind of inner ear disturbance will throw off your equilibrium) you should see a doctor immediately. Also, if the pain continues, go see a doctor anyways. Peace of mind is never a bad thing.

Answer 2

Sounds like you hit the drum. Same thing happened to me once, mine healed on it's own, the ache persisted for a day or two. If your ear hurts longer than 3 days, go see your doctor just to make sure an infection hasn't set in.

Answer 3

Chances are you did not hit the ear drum because it's farther back in there than you might think. And usually it would be a little more painful than you described. If you are a chronic ear cleaner, you probably have an irritated ear canal. I see this often in my office as people clean their ears too much to rid themselves of earwax, which is important to protect your ear canal. When your ear canal is irritated it can bleed and become raw, which can give you a dull pain. Give the ear cleanings a rest for a while. If it gets worse, you might see a doctor to check for infection.

Answer 4

Ear wax can look reddish if it's concentrated enough, which is common in the deeper parts of the ear canal before the eardrum. It could be that you'd hit a wax buildup, and I've also had dull aches in my ears for a while after swabbing them out with Q-tips.

If you're really concerned about this though, you should definitely see a doctor about it.

Answer 5

Well you shouldn't "jam" it in it is a possibility that you could have hit the ear drum because i had the exact same thing and the doctor said that i did hit the ear drum but i didnt have dull pain i think you should see a doctor

Answer 6

I strongly urge you to call your doctor right away before having to go to the hospital. That could save you a lot of headaches and high hospital bills in the process, that's _only_ if the emergency room visit is deemed unnecessary.

Answer 7

Maybe. But since the actual sound is usually an important element in incantations, how do doctors who speak languages other than English perform this miracle?

Answer 8

Never hurts to call the doctors office. Just remember the only thing that is safe to stick in your ear is your elbow.

Answer 9

You may have just irritated the inner ear. give thew ear a day to recover . if the problem peersisst you might what to have it checked
next time use a ball of cotton instead beacause a q tip can damage the ear drum

Answer 10

I've done the same thing but yeah it should heal by itself. but if it doesn't in the next 24to48 hours see a doc.