What Is the Tympanic Membrane?

It is an oval, light gray, translucent film. It is located at the bottom of the external ear canal and serves as the boundary between the external ear and the middle ear. The tympanic membrane is mostly attached to the sulcus of the temporal bone drum, and the upper part is attached to the scales. The part attached to the drum groove is relatively solid, called the tension part; the part attached to the scale part is thin and loose, called the slack part. The tympanic membrane is recessed inward, and the tip of the recess is called the tympanic membrane umbilicus.

It is an oval, light gray, translucent film. It is located at the bottom of the external ear canal and serves as the boundary between the external ear and the middle ear. The tympanic membrane is mostly attached to the sulcus of the temporal bone drum, and the upper part is attached to the scales. The part attached to the drum groove is relatively solid, called the tension part; the part attached to the scale part is thin and loose, called the slack part. The tympanic membrane is recessed inward, and the tip of the recess is called the tympanic membrane umbilicus.

Chinese name

eardrum

Foreign name

Tympanic Membrane

Pinyin

g mó

nickname

Eardrum

Constitutive substance

Elastic off-white translucent film

your region

Between the external auditory meatus and the tympanum

Shape

Oval, like a funnel

Tympanic membrane overview

The tympanic membrane is inclined at an angle of 45 degrees to the sagittal plane and the horizontal plane of the head, so the outer surface is forward, downward, and outward. The tympanic membrane of a baby is particularly inclined, almost horizontal. The outer layer of the tympanic membrane is continuous with the skin of the outer ear canal, the inner layer is continuous with the mucosa of the tympanic cavity, and the fibrous tissue is sandwiched. There is no fibrous tissue in the slack part, which is the weak part of the tympanic membrane, so it is often perforated here due to otitis media or trauma.

Tympanic membrane

Otitis media

The common inflammatory disease of the middle ear, otitis media, is generally divided into two categories, acute and chronic, and the two are divided into non-purulent and suppurative.

Acute non-suppurative otitis media is more common in adults, and children are often chronically diagnosed without notice. The etiology is mostly eustachian tube obstruction or infection. Tinnitus, tinnitus, audible deafness are common in clinical practice, dizziness, mixed deafness, and tympanic invagination are common in patients with severe effusion. Should strengthen physical exercise, prevent colds, remove the cause in time, medication and go to the hospital for eustachian tube blowing method and treatment of effusion.

Acute suppurative otitis media is an acute infection caused by the invasion of purulent pathogens in the middle ear mucosa. If the disease occurs in children, the common pathogenic bacteria are streptococcus, staphylococcus and pneumococcus. Acute suppurative otitis media due to untimely, incomplete, or inflammatory lesions of other nearby organs. Suppurative otitis media is usually transmitted by the eustachian tube or tympanic membrane or blood. Clinically visible: systemic symptoms such as fever, earache, hearing loss, tympanic membrane congestion, perforation, etc., sometimes a large amount of pus flows from the tympanic membrane perforation. Principles of treatment include treatment of the cause, control of infection, and maintenance of drainage. Physical exercise should be strengthened to prevent respiratory infections and timely treatment of lesions in adjacent organs to prevent the occurrence of the disease.

All or part of the inflammation of the middle ear is mostly secondary to upper respiratory infection or other acute infectious diseases. Divided into non-purulent and suppurative. Non-purulent otitis media is mostly caused by the eustachian tube obstruction caused by various reasons, which causes the tympanic air to be absorbed and cannot be replenished. Negative pressure in the tympanic cavity causes the tympanic mucosal blood vessels to expand and stagnate, and the serum leaks out of the blood vessel, causing tympanic volume Fluid, and produce some clinical symptoms, such as ear occlusion, hearing loss, and tinnitus, etc., the diagnosis is no difficulty after ear examination, and antibiotics are used to control the upper respiratory tract infection. As well as puncture of the tympanic membrane and the removal of effusion. Suppurative otitis media is caused by the invasion of pyogenic bacteria. The acute symptoms are fever, ear pain, tinnitus, and hearing impairment. If the tympanic membrane is perforated, pus will flow from the external ear canal. Treatment should be applied antibiotics throughout the body, drops in the ears and nose. If the treatment is timely and appropriate, it usually heals in 2 to 3 weeks, and hearing can return to normal. If the treatment is delayed or not treated properly, the ear pus may not stop flowing and the disease may turn into chronic otitis media. Symptoms include pus in the ear canal, hearing loss, headache, and dizziness. Diagnosis can be made by ear examination, but X-rays of the mastoid should be taken at the same time to understand the invasion of the mastoid. Treatment is based on pus removal, local drug therapy, and surgical treatment. However, chronic otitis media can have intracranial and extracranial complications, such as deep neck abscesses, labyrinthitis, epidural abscesses, and brain abscesses, so it is important to pay attention to early diagnosis and early treatment. Normally, strengthening physical exercise and actively preventing and treating upper respiratory tract infections and adjacent organs are the main measures to prevent otitis media.