First Aid For Fighters: Is it a Cauliflower Ear?

Doc,

I got earholed. Now my ear hurts. I hope it's not cauliflower ear. What can I do about it?

First off, is the pain in your ear canal or the external ear? If it's the external ear you prolly have a hematoma and should get it drained.* I waited too long and had to have a surgical irrigation and drainage. Essentially opening the skin removing the clot, sewing it up and smashing the ear with a hard dressing. the cartilage of your ear gets its nutrition from the skin. if you get a clot under the skin one of two things happens. 1: The cartilage thickens and twists giving you a cauliflower ear. Looks like a pig chewed on it. 2: The cartilage can die, rot and you have your ear removed. Bizarrely enough, this looks worse that the chewed up ear.

If the pain is inside your ear you may have a serious problem, especially if you can't hear very well. You may have an infection or the bones (ossicles) in your hearing mechanism may be dislocated. either way go see an ENT doc. (Ear, Nose, Throat or otorhinolaryngologist).

* Why We Not Hit Hard? recommends that you see a trained professional to have your ear drained. Don't let your buddy do it. Don't let your buddy's wife do this, unless she does it for a living. Just working in a hospital doesn't count. Maybe your wrestling coach, but if he's smart, he'll tell you to go to a doctor. Having your ear drained is a simple, quick and terribly painful procedure. But it's better than the alternative which is to walk around with a giant cauliflower ear. Regardless of what the other guys in the gym say, girls don't find it attractive. We've done studies.

CC-licensed photo by daviddeferro. Yes, that's Alessio Sakara.