The tympanic membrane is located deep in the external auditory canal and is susceptible to trauma because it is very thin. Direct trauma includes digging the ear by oneself, taking foreign objects such as cerumen from the external auditory canal, rinsing the external auditory canal with excessive water pressure, splashing sharp foreign objects into the external auditory canal and injuring the tympanic membrane, and mistakenly dropping corrosive agents into the external auditory canal. Fractures of the temporal bone can also injure the tympanic membrane. Indirect causes include rapid changes in air pressure, such as shell shock, explosion, palm strike to the ear, high speed flying spheres hitting the ear, blowing of the eustachian tube, excessive force when blowing the nose, diving with the ear hitting the water surface first, using suction method to absorb dirty objects from the external ear canal, etc.