06/10/2025
Another set of interesting before and after photos 👂
The pictures in the comments show the occluded ear canals before and after ear wax removal by microsuction.
What makes this another interesting case is the appearance of the tympanic membrane (ear drum) in the after photo.
You can see two circular areas on the tympanic membrane; at 5 o'clock and 7 o'clock. It is not clear from looking at these whether they are perforations or scar tissue. My personal opinion is that they may be scar tissue due to some of the light from the otoscope reflecting back. The location of these circles is a common location for grommet insertion, so a history of previous grommet insertion is the likely cause.
The only way to determine for sure if these areas are scar tissue or perforations is to examine under an ENT microscope or to perform tymapnometry, which is a pressure test carried out by an audiologist.
I suggested that this client may want to seek a GP opinion as to whether an ENT or Audiology referral would be beneficial.
