Recovery time for most patients is about 4 months. During this time many people will experience nighttime pain, stiffness, popping, catching, and feelings of tightness. All of that is normal! In fact, most people continue to experience symptoms for up to a year from the time of surgery.
Normal appearance of the tympanic membrane. (Figures 1, 2, and 3 courtesy of Janet Griffin, MD, Children's Hospital Medical Center of Akron, Ohio.) Acute otitis media with effusion. The tympanic membrane is injected but landmarks are still clearly visualized. Acute otitis media. The tympanic membrane is bulging and hyperemic, and yellow purulent fluid is seen in the middle ear space.
Background. The extremely thin and delicate tympanic membrane (TM) is the first component of the middle ear conductive system. The TM is easily traumatized, and diseases of the TM deprive patients of their ability to work and to enjoy life. With the appearance of fluid in the middle ear, these phenomena disappear from the surface of the TM, so observing the fluid is possible. 2  The inflammatory process of an upper respiratory tract infection affects the TM in the form of myringitis. 3  The TM becomes red and thickened, and the light reflex disappears.