Often when ear discharge consists of blood, it can be taken for physical injury caused by earbuds or foreign bodies inside the ear. However, this should not be taken lightly. In an interview with HT Lifestyle, Dr. Satish Nair, academic head and consultant - Skull Base Surgeon and ENT - Head and Neck Surgeon, Manipal Hospital Old Airport Road, Bengaluru, said, “Blood-stained ear discharge in children as well as adults can be an alarming sign. The most common causes of it are outer ear infections, foreign bodies in the ear (in children), and injury due to earbuds. However, unsafe ear disease (cholesteatoma) or tumors and cancers of the ear also can lead to blood-stained ear discharge.”

Unsafe ear disease: What is it?

Blood-stained ear discharge can indicate unsafe ear disease. “Unsafe ear disease, otherwise termed cholesteatoma, is an ear infection that has the propensity to destroy bones and spread to critical structures including the brain if left untreated. The problem usually starts in childhood as repetitive ear infections due to improper ventilation of the ear structures. If neglected, this can lead to the development of cholesteatoma that affects the hearing of the individual and also rarely results in complications, such as brain infection,” added Dr Satish Nair.

Unsafe ear disease: Diagnosis

Diagnosis of unsafe ear disease is done in three steps – endoscopic evaluation, a hearing evaluation and a CT scan. The CT scan is the most important part of the diagnosis, as it shows the site of the disease and the involvement of critical structures or the presence of complications.

How to treat unsafe ear disease?

“Ear infections, ear trauma, and foreign body of the ear can be treated by antibiotic ear drops and office-based foreign body removal or ear cleaning. However, in the case of cholesteatoma or tumor/cancer of the ear, surgery is the mainstay of treatment. Surgery plays a cardinal role in removing the disease as well as restoring normal ear function. Traditionally, ear surgeries were performed by open technique with the use of a microscope,” explained Dr Satish Nair.

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