“Symphony orchestra with a ruptured eardrum?”
Currently, I have a ruptured right eardrum and a bacterial infection of the middle ear. I have constant pain and usually, I am on painkillers, and I am using antibiotics at the moment. Would it be alright to play in my university's philharmonic orchestra while the eardrum heals?
Male | 18 years old
Complaint duration: 2 days
Medications: Antibiotics (amoxicillin and clavulanate potassium) + ibuprofen
Conditions: Ear Infection/Ruptured Eardrum
7 Answers
If you ear drum actually ruptured from your ear infection, you should be on ear drops NOT oral antibiotics. Otic drops provide higher concentration of medication directly to the ear, so once there is a hole, you need to get ofloxacin drops from your doctor.
Yes its fine to play in the orchestra.
Yes its fine to play in the orchestra.
If you are feeling well enough to participate in your university's philharmonic orchestra, it should not be a problem.
Should be on oral antibiotics and ear drops. e.g Ciprodex. Keep ear dry at all times otherwise. High dB levels.e >90dB are inadvisable while the TM is healing. Could get a musician's earplug from an audiologist to damp to sound a bit while healing.
No problems with your participation in the orchestra, I would suggest an antihistamine and caution you not to get water in your ear.
It shouldn't be a problem from an acoustic trauma standpoint, but you may have an altered perception of sound and music. That, combined with discomfort, may hinder your performance.
I would need more history from you, namely how you acquired a hole in your eardrum and how long you had it. I see patients almost on a daily basis. Have been told they have holes in their eardrum and/or infection when they have neither. Studies show that general doctors and nurse practitioners are wrong about ear diagnoses more than 60% of the time, a result of their limited equipment, knowledge, and training in this field. If you truly do have a hole in your eardrum and you have a bacterial middle ear infection, then you would have pus coming out of your ear. You would have no pain in that case since the pressure pain of middle ear infections is completely relieved by rupture of the eardrum. Lastly, a hole in the eardrum provides a path to use antibiotic ear drops instead of oral antibiotics, which delivers many times more antibiotics to the middle ear than a pill that is distributed all over your body. Bottom line: Don’t waste your time and money. See an ENT doctor. A correct diagnosis is the shortest path to understanding and recovery. In the meantime, there’s no reason you can’t play in the orchestra.
Hello, It all depends on how well you are able to tolerate pain with acoustic sounds. Thank you.
