Does it hurts when the eardrum ruptures?
NOt always. There are painless traumatic ruptures (or almost painless) and all you see is a little blood trickling out. If the eardrum ruptures because of infection behind it; often the pain gets BETTER when it ruptures & the pus can drain out (much along the theory of ear tubes in kids). Most people report the pain (if there is any), goes away fairly quickly. For a ruptured ear drum, we often put you on specific antibiotic ear drops; refer to an ear doc & wait for it to heal. You would not need to go emergently to an ER, but urgently is OK to the clinic, fast care, etc.
