Seeing fluid leaking from your ear can be alarming, but this type of discharge is often linked to conditions and causes that a professional audiologist can swiftly diagnose and treat, from ear infections to earwax blockages.
Technically called otorrhoea, any type of watery, thin discharge should be investigated as soon as possible. Untreated issues can have long-term impacts on your health and hearing or develop into symptoms of pain and hearing loss over time.
For most Regain Hearing clients, leaking fluids aren’t indicative of a serious concern. However, we’d urge you to seek medical attention quickly if you have ear discharge accompanied by other symptoms such as dizziness, a high temperature, severe pain, or redness and swelling.
Quick Facts About Watery Ear Discharge:
- Most watery discharges from ears are caused by one of three things: excessive and thin earwax, an injury or damage inside the ear, or an infection.
- If you’ve noticed a watery fluid, step one is to book a hearing and ear health check or see a GP if you have other symptoms that could indicate a more serious issue, such as an advanced infection that might need rapid treatment.
- Avoid any attempts to clean discharge from your ears at home, particularly using cotton buds. This can make the problem worse, push blockages further into your ears, or cause pain and discomfort if you have damage or an infection inside your ear.
Understanding Some of the Potential Reasons Between Fluid Discharges From Your Ear
There are numerous possible causes of a watery discharge. This could be as straightforward as an excess of earwax, which our ears produce to prevent bacteria and dust from getting into the delicate inner ear.
In this case, we’ll often suggest a speedy, pain-free microsuction earwax removal treatment if you have excess wax that is causing the discharge.
However, if there are symptoms alongside a watery discharge, this is more likely to be down to something else, with the most common symptoms including:
- Pain, itching and irritation
- Hearing loss or hearing ringing or buzzing noises
- Temperatures and dizziness
We, and all audiology professionals, are mindful of advising you to see a medical professional urgently if you have a fever and pain. There is a small potential that the discharge isn’t related to your ears and is caused by a head injury.
Likewise, if you have a watery discharge that contains any amount of blood, have had a fall or knock to your head, or are in pain, it’s better to have it checked out urgently because some types of head injuries can be serious and are best ruled out as a priority.
Rest assured that this is rare. If you haven’t had an accident, participated in a contact sport, or had an injury that included a blow to the head, a head injury is considerably less likely to be a concern – but it is always wise to be sure.
What do our audiologists say?
“A watery discharge from the ear might look concerning, but in most cases, it’s your body signalling that something needs attention—not panic. The key is to get it checked early, so small issues don’t become bigger problems.” – Lee Fletcher Regain Hearing
“A watery discharge from the ear might look concerning, but in most cases, it’s your body signalling that something needs attention—not panic. The key is to get it checked early, so small issues don’t become bigger problems.” –
Common Causes of a Watery Discharge From Your Ear
Fluid draining from your ears is usually due to an ear infection, although these can vary and should be diagnosed during an ear health assessment to ensure you take the right action to treat and clear up the infection.
1. Middle Ear Infections and Discharges
Otitis media, or a middle ear infection, creates a build-up of fluid that collects behind the eardrum. Middle ear infections are very common in children but can happen regardless of age.
This infection should be treated efficiently and without allowing it to worsen since significant pressure, often when an ear infection hasn’t been looked at, can damage the eardrum or even prompt it to burst in more extreme cases.
2. Watery Discharges and Outer Ear Infections
Often referred to as swimmer’s ear, an outer ear infection, or otitis externa, means that the tissue within your ear canal has become infected, causing swelling, soreness, and discharge that drains out from your ear.
This happens when continued exposure to moisture breaks down the skin and cells within the ear canal, making them vulnerable to bacteria and infections.
Despite the name, swimmer’s ear is not exclusive to people who swim and can be linked to a wide range of conditions and issues affecting the ear canal, including skin irritations like eczema.
3. Eardrum Injuries and Watery Fluids
The most typical cause of an eardrum injury is attempting to clean your ears with a cotton bud, which we always advise against. Likewise, any type of obstruction or damage can impact your eardrum, including fluctuations in pressure, which cause fluids to leak from the tissue damage.
Objects in the ear are naturally more often found in children, but you could also have a tiny stone, pebble, or grains of sand that have become stuck inside your ear after swimming or spending time outdoors. This can cause symptoms similar to an ear infection, make an infection more likely, and generate a watery, thin fluid.
Another possible factor is acoustic trauma when you have been exposed to very sudden or extremely loud noises which cause damage to the eardrum or force it to rupture – this isn’t common but can be more prevalent in people who work in high-noise environments like demolition zones or music venues.
4. When to Seek Help to Address a Watery Discharge Leaking From Your Ear
While earwax is completely normal, it’s always worth having your ears checked if you have any quantity of discharge that is bothering you.
Usually, you wouldn’t expect to have noticeable or visible amounts of ear wax leaking from your ears or in a watery consistency.
However, it’s worth clarifying that newly produced earwax is indeed thin, watery, and clear rather than the hardened yellow earwax that can mean your ears need cleaning. A tiny amount of thinner earwax could simply mean your ears are working hard to clean themselves and discharge the wax before it hardens.
That said, a discharge is often unpleasant and worrying, and having your ears assessed will enable us to verify whether there are any concerns, injuries, or infections that need to be treated or an excess of wax production that needs to be addressed.
We recommend keeping your ear dry and avoiding dipping your head underwater in the shower or bath until you’ve had your ears checked, just in case there is an infection. Exposure to water could exacerbate the symptoms or cause discomfort.
Treatment Options for Fluid Discharge Coming From One or Both Ears
Eardrums are very good at healing and won’t always need targeted intervention, but infections should definitely be treated, usually with antibiotics and pain relief such as paracetamol to help with soreness and a temperature.
If an ear infection is persistent or keeps returning, you might also be advised to use antibiotic ear drops as a preventative measure.
Should there be a blockage or object in your ear, this will need to be removed quickly. We often use our microsuction approach, which avoids fluids and acts as a fast and advanced way to remove impacted earwax – although any larger objects may need to be removed by a specialist if there is any potential for damage.
In most cases, a prescribed treatment or therapy will resolve the problem and provide quick relief from symptoms.
We can offer advice and guidance to ensure you protect your ears from subsequent injuries or infections and implement a good ear hygiene routine, especially if you are a regular swimmer or at risk of noise-induced hearing complications.
What to Expect From an Ear Check at Regain Hearing to Investigate Watery Discharge
We recognise that clients are often worried about a watery discharge and unsure what an ear health check might involve. The primary goal is to chat about your symptoms and conduct a physical examination of your ears to determine the cause of the problem.
Regain Hearing’s audiologists across our network are highly qualified professionals. We take great care to use gentle, pain-free techniques, such as video otoscopy, which enables us to look inside your ears without irritation, soreness or discomfort.
Importantly, we’ll also run through a few questions to get a clear idea about when the discharge started, such as:
- How long you’ve noticed the watery discharge from your ear.
- The texture and extent of fluids you’ve seen and whether they are coming from one or both ears.
- Any other symptoms you might have been experiencing, including muffled hearing or hearing loss, pain in your ears, a temperature or headaches.
- Whether the discharge is continuous or intermittent, and any corresponding times or activities that seem to prompt it to return.
This is essential to ensuring we understand all of the potential causes of the watery discharge and can factor this into our recommendations when evaluating the best approach, treatments or therapies and advising on the right ways to resolve the discharge and prevent it from returning.
If you’re seeing any kind of ear discharge that isn’t normal for you, worried about the health of your ears or hearing, or are concerned about a potential ear infection, please get in touch or book an appointment at any of the Regain Hearing clinics as soon as possible.
