The short explanation
Yes, it would be worth seeing an ENT specialist. Ear discharge that keeps returning over many years, especially with reduced hearing, can be due to chronic otitis media, a long-standing infection of the middle ear often with a hole in the eardrum. Repeated drops can settle each episode, but they may not treat the underlying problem. An ENT specialist can examine your ear with a microscope, check your hearing, and look for complications. Sometimes a condition called cholesteatoma, a skin growth in the middle ear, develops and needs surgery. Surgery to repair the eardrum may also help reduce infections and sometimes improve hearing.
What depends on your situation
The parts of this that change from woman to woman. Uncertainty is stated, not hidden.
- Keeping water out of the affected ear, especially while bathing, helps reduce infections.
- Persistent foul-smelling discharge, pain, dizziness, or facial weakness need urgent attention.
- District hospitals and medical colleges have ENT departments with lower costs.
- Hearing tests can help decide whether a hearing aid or surgery may help.
What this answer cannot determine
The boundary of online education. These need a clinician who can see you.
- This cannot tell you the cause of your ear discharge or whether you need surgery. An ENT examination is needed.
Questions for your clinician
Take these with you. You can add any of them to an appointment card.
- Is there a hole in my eardrum?
- Is there any cholesteatoma?
- Would surgery help?
- How can I prevent more infections?
When to seek help
Clinician-approved guidance for this topic. When in doubt, being seen is never the wrong choice.
Emergency — call 112 now
- Call 112 if you have severe headache, stiff neck, confusion, facial weakness, or swelling behind the ear with high fever.
Get help the same day
- Get same-day care if you have dizziness, severe ear pain or sudden worsening of hearing.
Book an appointment soon
- See an ENT specialist within a few days if discharge persists.
Sources
The evidence this explanation is built on.
- Ear infections NHS
- Hearing loss NHS
- Deafness and hearing loss — fact sheet World Health Organization
Who wrote and reviewed this
Every AskHer answer names its author. A clinically reviewed answer also names the clinician who signed it off — if no clinician is named below, it has not been clinically reviewed.
- Author
- AskHer Editorial (AI-assisted draft) AskHer's editorial team — not an individual clinician Works in English, தமிழ், हिन्दी
- Clinical reviewer
- Nobody yet No clinician has signed this answer off, and no person on the editorial team has read it yet. That is what the “Written with AI assistance” label means. It is queued for an editor to read, and then for a clinician who works in this area. The sources it was drafted against are listed above.
- Review status
- Written with AI assistance — not yet reviewed by a person
- Last reviewed
- Not yet reviewed by a person
- Version
- 1
Correction history
Substantive changes are listed, not quietly edited away.
No corrections have been made since this answer was first published.
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