We conducted retrospective study of 181 traumatic perforations of the eardrum and 174 traumas of the external canal that had occurred between January 1987 and December 1992.
1) Almost all traumas of the external canal were due to direct injury during earwax removal.
2) In patients under ten years of age, almost all ear traumas were due to direct injury during earwax removal. In patients over ten and under twenty years of age, numerous traumatic perforations of the eardrum were due to indirect injury from slapping or striking.
3) Traumatic perforations of the eardrum doused spontaneously within 26.5 days on average.
4) Spontaneous healing was sometimes delayed by infection.
5) The period needed for closure of perforation did not differ in Grades I b, I c, II and III.