{"id":270,"date":"2020-01-11T22:56:58","date_gmt":"2020-01-11T14:56:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.drannabelle.com\/blog\/?p=270"},"modified":"2026-03-04T12:37:31","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T04:37:31","slug":"ear-discharge-just-an-ear-infection-or-something-more-serious","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.drannabelle.com\/blog\/ear-discharge-just-an-ear-infection-or-something-more-serious\/","title":{"rendered":"Ear Discharge: How to Get Better"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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\"Ear<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

If you have been having ear discharge, your ear should be checked out early by an ENT specialist in Singapore. Do you know that ear discharge leaking out of your ear is abnormal? It is usually a sign of ear infection<\/a>. Sometimes, ear discharge may be related to more serious ear problems like a cholesteatoma<\/em><\/strong> <\/a>. In summary, a cholesteatoma is a destructive sac of skin growing inside the ear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WHAT ARE THE RISK FACTORS FOR EAR DISCHARGE AND EAR INFECTION?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you swim regularly, there is a higher risk of ear infections. So during swimming, water may enter the ear to cause inflammation of the ear canal skin. Specifically, it may be a direct result of chlorine causing chemical irritation of your ear canal, what we call “Swimmer’s Ear”. Do you know how to reduce swimming-related ear infections? Consequently, it is helpful to try wearing swim plugs to prevent water from entering your ears!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you know that our humid weather in Singapore leads to a higher risk of suffering ear infections, especially fungal ones? Fungal ear infections usually present with severe ear itching, blocked ear and ear pain. If you suffer a fungal ear infection, don’t leave it too long! Therefore you need to get your ear cleaned out early by an ENT specialist. Fungal ear infections can get very itchy too but you should never dig your ears!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes, after a bad flu, the nose or sinus infection may spread to the Eustachian pressure tube. This important structure links the back of the nose with the space behind the eardrum. Infection of the eardrum may cause the space behind the eardrum to fill up with infected fluid. Too much pressure may lead to fluid bursting through the inflamed eardrum to leak out from your ear. This will be the reason for your smelly ear discharge!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As an ENT specialist in Singapore who sees many patients with ear problems, I have managed many patients with serious ear conditions. One important cause of a wet ear is cholesteatoma<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/a>(see picture above). The picture shows a large hole in the right eardrum with a whitish growth seen behind the eardrum: Cholesteatoma<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WHAT IS CHOLESTEATOMA?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Cholesteatoma<\/em><\/strong> is a benign but extremely destructive skin cyst which grows behind the eardrum. If left untreated, it will grow and destroy the surrounding important ear structures. For example, if cholesteatoma destroys the ear bones (ossicles), then hearing loss will result. This hearing loss will continue to worsen. However, if the cholesteatoma<\/em><\/strong> destroys the inner ear with delicate nerve endings, permanent complete hearing loss and dizziness will result. This means that you risk losing your hearing completely and nothing will bring it back! Persistent ringing sounds in the ear called tinnitus may be due to cholesteatoma<\/em><\/strong> damaging the inner ear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WHY CAN’T WE LEAVE CHOLESTEATOMA UNTREATED?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

So what is the problem with having a cholesteatoma<\/em><\/strong> in your ear? It won’t go away by itself and will only continue to grow larger with time. This will cause more problems like persistent ear discharge and ear infections. Rarely, the cholesteatoma<\/em><\/strong> destroys the bony area which normally separates the brain above from the ear itself. In such cases, there is a real risk of the ear infection spreading to the brain to cause serious life-threatening complications. Such complications include meningitis (infection of the brain lining) and brain abscesses (pools of infected pus in the brain).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do you do if you have a cholesteatoma<\/strong><\/em> in your ear? Unfortunately, the only way to treat is to undergo ear surgery to remove it. The surgery is called a mastoidectomy<\/strong> as it involves entering the mastoid bone behind your ear to completely remove the cholesteatoma. <\/em><\/strong> You shouldn’t delay surgery to remove the cholesteatoma. <\/strong><\/em>It is much easier to remove when small. When the cholesteatoma grows bigger, it will spread into all the different corners of the ear, making it more challenging to ensure complete removal of the ear disease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In conclusion, the take home message of my article is to get your ear discharge<\/a> checked out early. Early diagnosis means early treatment! You never know what might be growing inside your ear until it presents with ear discharge or blocked ear symptoms!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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If you have been having ear discharge, your ear should be checked out early by an ENT specialist in Singapore. Do you know that ear discharge leaking out of your ear is abnormal? It is usually a sign of ear infection. Sometimes, ear discharge may be related to more serious ear problems like a cholesteatoma . In summary, a cholesteatoma is a…
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