One hundred and forty-four consecutive patients who had suftered a recent blow to the ear resulting in tympanic membrane perforation, were treated from May 1990 to April 1996. Twenty-four were excluded due to a history of previous hearing loss, middle-ear disease or a delay of more than five days after the trauma in carrying out the otological and audiometric assessments. Consequently, 120 patients (89 men and 31 women) aged nine to forty-nine years (mean age 20.8) were found suitable for the study. At the initial examination, gender, age, side, cause of injury, and associated symptoms were obtained in a structured interview. The eardrum was inspected with an operating microscope, and the location and size of the perforation were sketched by hand. Pure tone and speech audiometry were then performed. An associated sensorineural hearing loss was defined when bone conduction was ≥ 20 dB at any frequency, and the hearing in the contralateral ear was normal.

A conservative management approach was adopted, and follow-up visits were scheduled after 7, 30, 60and 90 days, during which the eardrums were examined microscopically, and repeated audiometric tests were carried out at the end of the aforementioned period.

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