Recovery time for most patients is about 4 months. During this time many people will experience nighttime pain, stiffness, popping, catching, and feelings of tightness. All of that is normal! In fact, most people continue to experience symptoms for up to a year from the time of surgery.
Normal appearance of the tympanic membrane. (Figures 1, 2, and 3 courtesy of Janet Griffin, MD, Children's Hospital Medical Center of Akron, Ohio.) Acute otitis media with effusion. The tympanic membrane is injected but landmarks are still clearly visualized. Acute otitis media. The tympanic membrane is bulging and hyperemic, and yellow purulent fluid is seen in the middle ear space.
The tympanic membrane, also called an eardrum, is a thin membrane that separates the external ear from the middle ear in humans and other animals. It moves sound from the air to the ossicles inside the middle ear. The malleus bone bridges the gap between the eardrum and the other ossicles.