Question: I perforated my ear drum on sunday night with a qtip. I went to the ED, they told me there was nothing to be done. They did not give me antibiotics. Since the perforation I have had a steady 1-2/10 dull pain that worsened with hiccups, burps, and deep breaths. There has been a relatively steady seapage of pink/clear fluid. Today in the shower two things happened; first, the earplug I was using started letting water in and I took it out, then, by habit, I blew my nose. Now I have had an 8/10 pain in my ear that feels like someone is jamming their finger into it. It has lasted about an hour and a half and is radiating to my cheek and jaw. The fluid seems to be clearer now and seeping at a quicker rate. Positional changes of my neck occasionally alleviate the pain a little with a feeling of pressure relief, but the pain doesn't all the way away and gets worse fast. Ibuprofen is not helping.

there is no swelling or increased tenderness to palpation of the outer ear or behind the ear. no fever. no vomiting. pain is localized to the right inner ear with radiation along the zygomatic bone and the angle of the mandible.

pain began to decrease about 1 hour after taking the ibuprofen