Otitis media is a common condition in otolaryngology, and middle ear surgery is a routine procedure in otology. Patients may encounter some problems after surgery and need to communicate with their doctors to understand them in time. I. After the surgery: 1. Middle ear surgery usually requires filling the middle ear cavity and external ear canal with gelatin sponge and iodoform gauze for the purpose of fixing the repair of the fascia or cartilage pieces of the tympanic membrane, the auditory tuberosity, and the flap of the external ear canal. The duration of gauze filling in the external ear canal is about 2 weeks, during which there will be stuffiness in this side of the ear, or hearing the sound of one’s own breathing and heartbeat, sometimes it is a low-pitched tinnitus like running water or whirring, which is normal and need not be worried. 2. After the anesthesia subsides after the operation, there will be intermittent ear pain, which is usually obvious at night and will gradually reduce to disappear after 2-3 days. If the pain affects your sleep, you can take oral painkillers for symptomatic treatment. However, if the pain lasts for a long time and progressively worsens, be sure to tell the doctor so that timely examination and treatment can be carried out. 3. There may be a short period of vertigo after the surgery, so pay attention to bed rest. 4. Usually the doctor will place a sterilized dry cotton ball at the opening of the external ear canal to absorb these secretions. If the amount of discharge increases and becomes pus-like, the doctor should be informed promptly and sometimes antibiotic ear drops are required for treatment. The next few weeks are for the new tympanic membrane and the auditory bone to further heal and connect and for the epithelium of the middle ear cavity to grow back. During the post-operative recovery process, your surgeon will schedule follow-up appointments according to your condition. A total of three follow-up appointments at 2-3 week intervals and at least one review per year are usually necessary. 1. Some patients may experience a slight stuffiness, pressure or pulling sensation in the ear, and this discomfort can be relieved by performing eustachian tube blowing exercises after the eardrum has healed firmly enough; 2. A small amount of thin or slightly viscous discharge will be present in the external ear canal, which usually lasts for a few days to a few weeks and then gradually disappears. However, if the discharge has a pus-like appearance and the amount of secretion increases instead of decreases, a follow-up examination is required. 3. After otitis media surgery for hearing reconstruction (including tympanic membrane repair and tympanoplasty for reconstruction of the auditory bone), patients can generally feel an improvement in hearing after the removal of the gauze strips, but it takes until 2 months after surgery to reach a stable hearing status. Therefore, it is not recommended to perform pure tone hearing threshold measurement and other review hearing before 2 months. 4. Eustachian tube function is an important factor affecting the outcome of otitis media surgery, but there is no effective means to evaluate the patient’s preoperative eustachian tube function or to predict the recovery of eustachian tube function after surgery. About one month after surgery, depending on the healing of the eardrum, patients can begin to do blowing exercises to help the eustachian tube recover. The easiest way is to “pinch and puff”, but be careful not to do it when you have a “cold” or a stuffy nose or runny nose to prevent nasal bacteria from entering the middle ear and causing reinfection. 3. The problems that need to be paid attention to: 1. Keep a happy mood, pay attention to rest, avoid noisy environment, low salt and low fat diet, do not smoke and drink alcohol; 2. Avoid violent, rapid head shaking or vibration, especially for patients who have had their auditory bones reconstructed to avoid displacement of the auditory bones; 3. 4. Promptly treat the “cold” to avoid viruses or bacteria from infecting the middle ear via the eustachian tube, and be careful not to cover your mouth or sneeze to prevent excessive air pressure from entering the tympanic chamber and damaging the eardrum.