Expected — no call needed
Blocked hearing in the operated ear for some weeks; a small amount of blood-stained or clear discharge in the first days; mild pain controlled by ordinary painkillers; brief unsteadiness on sudden movement; altered taste on one side; popping and crackling as the ear clears; a numb or tender area around an incision.
Call within a day or two
- Discharge that increases, becomes thick, yellow or smelly, or continues beyond what you were told to expect.
- Pain that increases after initially settling, or that painkillers no longer control.
- Fever.
- A sudden change in hearing in the operated ear after it had begun to improve.
- Dizziness that persists beyond the first days, or that is provoked by loud sound or by pressure (straining, nose-blowing).
- Loud new or worsening tinnitus.
- Any concern that something is not going as expected — a call costs nothing.
Seek care the same day
- Facial weakness on the side of the operation — difficulty closing the eye, a drooping mouth. This can occur from local anaesthetic in the first hours and resolve, but if it appears later or does not resolve, it needs assessment without delay.
- Severe or spinning vertigo with vomiting, or a sudden and complete loss of hearing in the operated ear — after stapes surgery this may indicate a perilymph leak, and early treatment matters.
- Severe headache, neck stiffness, high fever, drowsiness or confusion — signs of infection spreading beyond the ear.
- Heavy bleeding from the ear that does not stop with gentle pressure.
- Swelling behind the ear with pain and redness.
If you cannot reach your surgeon, go to an emergency department and tell them what operation you had and when.
Longer term
Contact your clinic if hearing that had improved later declines, if dizziness returns months after surgery, or if discharge recurs. Late changes are usually treatable, and the earlier they are assessed the more options remain. See revision ear surgery for how a disappointing or fading result is approached.
This page provides general educational information. It cannot replace an individual assessment, which depends on a full history, examination, audiometry and, where relevant, imaging. If you have sudden hearing loss, severe pain, facial weakness, severe dizziness or discharge with fever, seek medical care promptly.