5 Possible Causes Of Ear Bleeding

There are a few possible explanations for unusual bleeding from one or both ears. Some of these can be the reason for serious concern. To help figure out what exactly is happening and to get you the help you need, make an appointment with your doctor or audiologist as soon as possible.

Here are a few of the more common causes for ear-bleeding to help you understand what’s going on!

Why is my ear bleeding?

1.Ear Trauma: A Ruptured Or Torn Ear Drum

One of the more likely causes for bleeding is trauma, caused by head injuries, objects in your ear or very loud noises. It may seem silly, but many people will puncture their eardrum by placing a cotton-tip applicator, to deep into the ear canal. This doesn’t necessarily cause your eardrum to rupture, but a small injury of the eardrum can result in bleeding, especially if you are taking blood thinners.

With a ruptured eardrum, you may have other fluids draining from the ear, which can be clear or filled with pus. You may also experience hearing loss, ear pain that comes suddenly and goes away quickly, ringing in the ear or a feeling like you're spinning, also called vertigo, which can result in nausea and even vomiting.

The good news: Most eardrum tears heal on their own within a few weeks. All you’ll have to do is to be patient. Either way, you should see a doctor who can determine the root cause of the problem.

2.Ear Infection

Ear infections caused by bacteria or viruses can make the middle ear swell up, causing fluid to build up behind your eardrum. When the pressure from the buildup reaches a critical point, it may rupture the eardrum, resulting in ear bleeding. You might also experience other symptoms such as pain in your ear, a stuffy nose, hearing loss and fever.

Ear infections normally don’t last longer than a week and clear up on their own. If you want to play safe, you can rely on the help of over-the-counter pain relievers to help with pain management and relieve your fever symptoms. It is not uncommon that doctors prescribe antibiotics to fight infections.

3.An object in the Ear

We mentioned the infamous cotton swab before, but there is a number of unusual things that have been found in peoples ears, none of which belong there: Cockroaches, teeth, toys, spiders, matchsticks and other curiosities are some of the odd things doctors have to pull out off their patient’s ears on a regular base. Children are most likely to put something into their ear.

If you find that this is the source of your issue, you can try to get hold of the object and remove it with tweezers. If it doesn't want to budge, seek medical help.

4.Changes in Air or Water Pressure

It may seem like nothing, but a sudden change in air pressure can pull your eardrum in and cause feelings of stuffiness and uncomfortable pain. It can lead to serious injuries also called barotrauma. This may occur during the landing of an aeroplane or when scuba diving. Symptoms of barotrauma include ear pain, feeling like your ears are stuffed, dizziness and hearing loss. If the problem persists, your doctor may need to make a small cut in the eardrum to even out the pressure and drain fluid.

5.Head Injury

Have you been hit in the head or were involved in an accident? If you are experiencing ear-bleeding paired with the loss of consciousness, feeling dazed, confused, or disoriented, nausea and vomiting, and a difficulty to speak, you may be bleeding in the brain. This is an urgent medical emergency with an increased risk of brain damage. Do not waste time and immediately go to an emergency room or call 911!

Should I go and see a doctor?

YES! Whatever your situation, remember that for many conditions early detection can lead to better outcomes.

You’re experiencing hearing loss, now what? Here is a  step-by-step guide to looking after your hearing health!

Disclaimer: This blog is for informational purposes only. For specific medical questions, please consult your doctor. To make an appointment with any of Attune’s audiologists, call 1300 736 702. You can also request an appointment online.

How to manage swimmers’ ears?

Ears are a delicate and sensitive part of our sensory system that analyze and detect sound. They are incredible as they have natural defences such as cerumen (earwax) or cartilage that regulate, clean and prevent foreign bodies from entering our ear canal. Due to the delicate nature of our ears, however, our hearing can easily be affected by diseases, lifestyle factors and injuries when our natural defences have been overwhelmed. Otitis Externa also is known as swimmer’s ear is an inflammation or infection which runs from your eardrum all the way to your outer ear. It can occur suddenly and can be triggered when water remains in your ear after swimming or accidental cuts are made inside the ear. As the ear canal is dark and warm, it can moisten with retained water or abrasions, allowing for bacteria or fungus to grow. Although Swimmer’s ear is most commonly found in children, it can still affect all ages.

If treated promptly, swimmer’s ear is not serious, however, if left untreated, complications can occur such as temporary hearing loss, deep tissue infection, chronic otitis externa or more-widespread infections. In serious cases, swimmer’s ear can spread to other areas of the ear such as the skull bone which can pose a serious threat to the elderly. That is why it is important to contact your GP when symptoms such as itchiness, redness or swelling in the ear start appearing.

How do I protect myself from getting an infection?

Whether you’re an avid swimmer or love playing in the water once in a blue moon, it is always important to keep your ears safe from foreign waters. To reduce the risk of getting swimmer’s ear, you should not put your fingers, sprays or any objects such as cotton buds or hairpins in your ear in an attempt to dig out earwax or scratch an itch as it can irritate and damage the skin lining of your ear canal causing an infection. You should also keep your outer ears dry after showering or swimming as water stuck in your ear canal can increase the chance of fungus growth. If you are experiencing a blockage in your ear due to retained water, tug your earlobe and tilt your head to the side to help drain the water out of your ear canal. Find yourself struggling often with blocked ears after swimming or showering? The best solution is to wear earplugs to protect your ears, particularly when entering lakes, oceans or swimming pools as the water may be polluted.

At Attune Hearing, we provide the best earplugs, tailored specifically to your lifestyle. Moulded to the shape of your ears, our earplugs are extremely comfortable to wear, easy to insert, hypoallergenic and effective in preventing dirty water from entering your ear canal and middle ear system. In addition, our earplugs are durable and can be upsized, perfect for avid swimmers. A protective case for your earplugs are provided for safekeeping when unused. Looking for custom-made earplugs? Contact your nearest Attune clinic today to speak with one of our highly-qualified Audiologist to discuss options.

How Do You Measure Sound Frequency?

Sound waves are waves of pressure that oscillate between stretching or compressing the medium they move through, which is in our case air, at a certain frequency.  The higher the frequency these waves oscillate at, the higher in pitch the sound is heard when the wave reaches the eardrum. Our brain’s perception of these pitches relies on how many of the compressions our ears can sense in a second. High-frequency sounds, such as a whistle being blown, oscillate at a high frequency and are heard as high pitch sounds by our ears. On the other hand, low-frequency sounds, such as plane taking off, oscillate at a low frequency and emit low-pitched sounds. The human hearing range is an impressive thing—we can hear both in intensity (loudness) and frequency (pitch). The ear is capable of hearing a lot, but surprisingly, it can’t hear everything. Sounds that are on the higher end of the frequency spectrum quickly fade from our hearing range. For example, dog whistles emit a sound at such a high frequency that human ears cannot hear it. Unfortunately, unlike a dog’s ears, our ears haven’t evolved to hear at such a high frequency. Although these sounds are often unthought-of, they are crucial to many processes and professions. Understanding pitch is a necessity to those in music, music engineering, acoustics, and psychoacoustics. So, how do you measure something that might not even be heard? Firstly, let’s understand the unit of measurement used: the Hertz.

The Unit of Measurement

The unit used to measure pitch is Hertz (Hz). Hertz is a measure of cycles per second. When sound waves oscillate, they change in pressure. A sound wave cycle consists of a sound wave reaching high pressure, dropping to low pressure, and then reaching high pressure again. The amount of time a sound wave does this in one second is measured, and this number is called the Hertz. Everyone knows the annoying high pitch sound of a mosquito, but did you know that mosquito is emitting a 400 Hz to create its flight tone? That’s 400 sound wave cycles in one second. Going back to the dog whistle, this emits between 16,000 and 22,000 Hz, which is just out of range for humans.

How are Hertz measured?

Scientists and engineers typically use oscilloscopes to measure frequency. An oscilloscope creates a graphical representation of a waveform. To measure the pitch of a sound, the sound is transmitted by audio cables or a microphone to the device. The oscillator then displays the sound on the screen in moving waves that are a visual representation of the sound. The user then adjusts the setting until the waveform is stationary. The adjustments they make indicate the Hertz of the sound.

Understanding frequency, pitch, and Hertz is critical to understanding how sound and our hearing works. With age, our hearing abilities often diminish, and this includes our sense of sound frequency. If you think your ears might not be picking up all of your surrounding sounds and frequencies, it’s a good idea to consult a professional.

Attune is an independent provider of hearing healthcare in Australia. Established with a formidable medical alliance, Attune provides high-quality services and shows a great understanding of hearing-related conditions. If you’re worried about your hearing, call today on 1300 736 702 to schedule an appointment with an expert.

What are the types of measures I can take to protect my hearing at work?

When you think of severe injuries that happen in the workplace, most people’s first thoughts would be cuts, bruises, broken bones, but have you thought about the importance of protecting your hearing at work? According to Safe Work Australia, industrial deafness accounts for 3.6% of work-related injuries and 1 in 5 people are likely to work in an environment where they are exposed to hazardous noise levels every day. While there are general guidelines on what noise thresholds are above safety levels for an individual worker, it is important to note that long-term exposure to loud noises will result in noise-induced hearing loss. Symptoms include not being able to hear others at arms’ length or ringing in the ears which can reduce a persons’ quality of life leading to isolation from society and mental illness. That is why it is important to take measures to reduce workplace noise and improving strategies for protecting noise-exposed workers.

In order to reduce noise in the workplace, a business must work through the hierarchy of controls to help protect workers from long term noise exposure. The hierarchy of controls includes the following with the top being the most effective to the bottom being the least.

The first two control measures to implement in the workplace are eliminating and substituting the noise source. While these two measures tend to be the most difficult to implement in an existing process, they are the most effective at reducing harmful noise levels. Eliminating involves removing the cause of noise completely whether it is avoiding the use of certain machinery, eliminating the impact between hard objects or surfaces, outsourcing the noisy work process or moving the noise source away from other work activities. This stage is the easiest to implement when a business is in its introduction phase. Substituting involves replacing noisy machinery with alternatives, for instance, swapping old machinery for new that produce less noise.

If noise is still unsafe for the ears, then it’s time to implement some engineering controls. This may include using plastic bumpers to prevent metals clashing, installing sound walls/curtains and adding noise barriers with silencers.

The last two control stages are the lowest stages in the hierarchy of controls and should not be used exclusively to control risk. These lower stages assist in the control of risk but are rarely enough if used alone. You may apply administrative controls to limit your exposure to harmful noise levels at work such as organising a schedule for employees so that noise is produced only at a particular time, keeping workers as far away as possible from the noise source, notifying employees that noise will be produced at a certain time frame and properly maintaining equipment to reduce noise.

The final step to controlling noise levels at your workplace is to wear personal protective equipment (PPE). This involves everyone at the workplace, as well as visitors, wearing hearing protection. There are several types of hearing protectors to choose from and each hearing protector is selected based on personal preference and workplace environment. For more information on PPE please read: “Different Types of Hearing Protection”.

Need some help with controlling workplace noise, contact Attune Hearing today to discuss possibilities in protecting your hearing at your workplace: https://www.attune.com.au/workplace-services/education-and-training/

How Do You Clean Hearing Aids?

Ears are an important organ of our body and hearing aids can be a significant investment. They are delicate tools. Which is why when we make the decision of wearing hearing aids, it is important to know the proper way to maintain them so they do not affect your ears in an adverse way.

Here is how to clean and maintain your hearing aids so they work at its full capacity:

1. Having the right cleaning tools - First and foremost, it is essential to have the right set of tools to clean your hearing aids - a wax pick, small brush and dry cloth.

The process for cleaning in the ear (ITE)  hearing aids are different from behind the ear (BTE) hearing aids.

● Cleaning ITE hearing aids: Remove your hearing aids and using the brush provided by your audiologist, gently scrub the opening of the microphone ports of the hearing aids to clear accumulated wax. Next, face the opening of the hearing aids downward to allow any loose particles to fall out. Once this is done, use a wax pick to clear the tiny blockages that could not be cleaned using the brush. Finish by wiping all around the hearing aid ensuring that all dust and dirt has been removed.

● Cleaning BTE hearing aids: Use a small brush or bristle toothbrush to clean your hearing aids of any debris around it. BTE hearing aids consist of earmolds that can potentially stain. In this case, carefully remove the earmold from the hook and soak it in warm, soapy water. If you have a bulb blower, use it to clear water from inside the tube or leave it to dry overnight.

2. Set a cleaning routine - With any device that helps enhance your lifestyle, it is essential to be consistent in ensuring the device is in good working condition. This especially applies to hearing aids. Whether you’re using ITE or BTE hearing aids, it is important to clean them at least once a week to ensure you can keep using it at full capacity. If you delay cleaning your ITE hearing aid, the built-up wax could lead to muffled sounds and if left uncleaned for too long, can damage the receiver. As with BTE hearing aids, if you do not clean them and allow them to stain and develop an odour, it could lead to an ear infection.

3. Keep away from extreme temperatures - to make the most of your hearing aids, be sure to keep it away from environmental factors that may affect them. For example, always remove your hearing aids before a shower and avoid leaving them exposed to hot temperatures.

Attune is Australia’s largest independent hearing healthcare service provider. We are committed to ensuring you receive the best treatment to improve the quality of lives of those who put trust in us. We offer an extensive range of hearing-related services. Give us a call today to see how we can be of service to you.

Hearing Loss Treatment

Once one has identified a problem in hearing and has received a diagnosis, receiving treatment right away is essential in order to maintain a healthy and productive lifestyle. Depending on the type of hearing loss you are diagnosed with, treatments can vary.

Hearing loss can generally be classified under three categories: 

Conducive - This is when the outer/ middle ear is unable to deliver sound to the inner ear. 

Sensorineural - This type of hearing loss occurs due to damage/ obstruction in the auditory nerve or when the brain is not able to detect sound waves normally. 

Mixed hearing loss - This could be a result of a combination of different conditions, sensory and conducive, resulting in hearing loss. 

Once your audiologist has determined the root cause of hearing loss, they will be able to provide treatments to help improve your quality of life so you can resume your daily activities.

Treatments include:

Digital Hearing Aids: These are small but effective devices that can easily fit around your ear. It converts sounds into an analogue code. This code is then converted to amplify the frequency of the sounds, allowing you to hear. Behind the ear (BTE) hearing aids, in the ear (ITE) hearing aids and open fit hearing aids are just some types of digital hearing aids used by people suffering from hearing loss.

Cochlear implants: This involves a small surgical procedure where a small transmitter is implanted inside the cochlear. This is connected to an external speech processor in order to transmit sounds. 

Surgical implants: While cochlear implants are the most common, sometimes it isn’t the best fit for some cases. Similar to cochlear implants, however, one can get middle ear/ bone-anchored implants through surgical procedures where the surgeon attaches a small device to the bone of either the middle ear (middle ear implants) or to the bone behind the ear (bone-anchored implants).

Earplugs: Sometimes treatment for those suffering from mild hearing loss could be as simple as using earplugs. These are generally used by people who are exposed to loud sounds often, affecting their ability to hear sounds at a normal decibel during other times.

Attune is Australia's largest independent and only accredited hearing healthcare provider. Not to mention if you are booking in for a general hearing test appointment, we conduct a free 15-minute hearing test to help you determine the type of hearing loss you may have and the type of treatment that would best suit your lifestyle. Contact us today to find out how we can be of service to you.

Hearing Loss Symptoms

Hearing loss depends on the severity of ear damage and is treated according to its severity. However, the symptoms for identifying hearing loss are generally the same. These include:

• Having to listen to the sound from television and radio at a much higher level than others.

• Difficulty keeping up with a conversation

• Difficulty hearing people over the phone

• Often asking people to repeat themselves

• The ringing of the ears

• Hearing muffled speech and sounds 

• Social isolation from fear of being judged for poor listening skills

• Constant pain in one side of the ear 

• The feeling of pressure build-up in the ear

• Not able to hear female and young children’s voices.

• Unable to differentiate certain consonants.

• Inability to hear songbirds and timers on devices. 

People with high-frequency hearing loss may also develop these symptoms:

Permanent hearing loss can occur due to several reasons including:

Old age - causing the degeneration of the ear structure.

Genetics - you are more likely to suffer ear damage due to genetic ear sensitivity

Result of an illness - severe meningitis can damage the cochlea (inner ear)

Being around loud noises - exposure to loud sounds, such as concerts, can damage the inner ear cells. People working in loud workplaces such as construction or factory sites are also more likely to suffer from ear damage.

Temporary hearing loss can also occur, however these generally only last from a few hours up to a few days. These are usually defined as a Temporary Threshold Shift (TTS). Common reasons for temporary hearing loss include:

A buildup of earwax - blocks the ear canal from receiving sound waves. Earwax removal can restore hearing.

Ear infection or abnormal bone growth - obstruct sound waves. Infections can generally be cured of medications while abnormal bone growths or tumours near the ear may require a small operation.

Exposure to loud noise - Frequent exposure to loud noises make it harder for the ears to recover from TTS. If constant exposure continues, the ear may not be able to recover from TTS and suffer from permanent damage.

If you fear you are suffering from hearing loss, it is best to get your ears tested straight away. Take this short quiz to determine if you need a hearing test. Attune takes a holistic medical approach and conducts a range of comprehensive tests to determine the cause, type and level of hearing loss. As a patient, if you fall into any of these categories, Attune will be able to provide you with a range of free services to diagnose your hearing. Visit our website or call on 1300 736 702 to book an appointment!