Objective  To analyze the gender, age, etiology, diagnosis and timing of treatment in patients with tympanic membrane perforation.

  Methods  The clinical data of 906 patients with tympanic membrane perforation was analyzed retrospectively.

  Results  Among 906 cases of tympanic membrane perforation, there were 682 males and 224 females. The average age was (32.64±10.81) years; one hundred and sixty-eight patients (18.5%) had injuries related to alcohol consumption. The causes of injury were ear trauma in 319 cases (35.2%), otitis media in 282 cases (31.1%), improper cleaning of external auditory canal in 173 cases (19.1%), foreign body of canal in 84 cases (9.3%), traffic accident in 35 cases (3.9%), unhealed tympanic airway in 8 cases (0.8%) and other injuries in 5 cases (0.6%). The seasonal distribution was 248 cases (27.4%) in spring, 203 cases (22.4%) in summer, 265 cases (29.2%) in autumn, and 190 cases (20.9%) in winter. The positive rate of eardrum perforation detected by rigid auricular endoscopy was 100%, which was significantly higher than 80.8% by electrooscopy (P < 0.05). A total of 536 patients with traumatic tympanic membrane perforation were completely healed at review of four weeks.

  Conclusion  Ear trauma and otitis media are the main causes of tympanic membrane perforation, with the majority of males and the high incidence age of 19 to 29 years old. Most traumatic tympanic membrane perforation can heal in about four weeks. Application of ear endoscopy in the diagnosis of tympanic membrane perforation is very important.