Q&A

Subject: Gun blast
From: YLA

I was exposed to a gun blast about 4 days ago. Since then, my ears have not stopped ringing. However, I was only exposed to one shot. Could this be a perforated ear drum, or tinnitus. Please write back. Thank you.

Well, it could be either. Strictly speaking, the ringing IS tinnitus, a term referring to head noises of many different types. The cause of the ringing could conceivably be a perforated eardrum but you would have needed to be quite close. Most likely it is your ear telling you that it has had trauma in the form of excessively loud noise. If it is still there by the time you get this reply, call your ear doctor. They sometimes prescribe steroids to reduce swelling and inflammation from the noise trauma (though not always.) You will probably be given a hearing test to determine whether you sustained any loss. If so, you may expect some improvement over 4 to 6 weeks. Certainly you should not expose yourself to such loud sounds without adequate ear protection. As with all injuries, the sooner you get expert attention, the better.

Good Luck
Solveig