Ear trauma.

Ear trauma, a common problem in emergency medicine is discussed in this review. Although injuries of the ear are not life threatening, they may account for significant morbidity. Patients may experience severe pain, hearing loss, tinnitus, or vertigo. Poor healing of injuries to the external ear may result in a cosmetic deformity as well. Ear trauma may occur secondary to a number of mechanisms, including loud noises, penetrating or blunt trauma, blast injury, chemical exposure, and thermal injury.