Was treated ER for a bug that was in my ear. During the flushing process which was done by a RN I suffered extreme excruiating pain. The first flush was done I believe with normal saline which was unsuccessful. Because of the amount of pain I was in afterwards I asked her to get the doctor and she refused. She then left the room and came back with peroxide which she informed me would be made into a solution, for a second flush. Approximately 20 seconds into this flush I felt a burning sensation as if someone had set the inside of my ear on fire! Is this normal? I was discharged with very little after care instructions and was not told that if certain symptoms occured to come back to the ER. After, returning home within an hour I was at my own doctors office with a very uncomfortable ear that felt full of something. When the doctor took a look in my ear she stated that she couldn't see through my ear canal because my eardrum was swollen, punctured, and she saw blood.
The mom
I do believe you may have a case- although it will be hard to connect the ruptured eardrum to the treatment. The moment you experienced such extreme pain, the nurse should have notified the doctor and had the ear examined again. There should not have been a second attempt to flush out the insect without that being done. The some of the damage to the ear canal may have been from the insect, but some no doubt was done by the flushing efforts as well. Since they have no way to prove the eardrum was intact prior to the flushing, they should be responsible for the care that you will now require while it repairs. As a rule, removing an insect from the ear is best done in a dark room using a flashlight to attract the insect- instead of drowning it with liquid. And you should never flush an ear blindly. So yes, they failed to provide decent and prudent care on several counts- and your own doctor should be of help to provide the documentation you would need.
Fizzle
I would think so. It should have been documented in your doctor's notes, and that's all you should need. I had my ears rinsed out twice; one time it hurt and the other time it was done really nicely. I don't see how the outcome could be as you describe. That said, forget about a big payday from this--unless it's permanently debilitating, you don't have that kind of complaint.
Orignal From: Is this a case for possible medical malpractice?
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