What Causes Clear Liquid Discharge From Ears?

Posted on Mon, 27 Jul 2015

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Mon, 27 Jul 2015 Answered on

Mon, 24 Aug 2015 Last reviewed on

Question : I need to know what would cause a clear liquid to come out of your ear?

Answered by Dr. Naveen (47 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Cerebrospinal fluid leak... Inflammation of middle ear and external ear...

Detailed Answer:
Hi

Thanks for posting the query

The commonest causes of watery ear discharge are:
1. Acute infection in the middle ear with a perforated ear drum.
2. Inflammation of the skin of the external auditory canal.

The uncommon causes include, cerebrospinal fluid leak (the fluid suspending the brain). When there is trauma to the temporal bone with associated fracture, the cerebrospinal fluid leaks through the damaged portion. This is a serious condition which requires immediate intervention.

As your brother-in-law had met with an accident before, I would suspect a leak of the cerebrospinal fluid. Hence, it would be wiser to consult an apt ENT specialist at the earliest. He may order for a High resolution CT scan of the temporal bone with MRI of the brain.

Hope this answers your query; revert back to me if you have any follow-up queries.

Regards
Dr. Naveen Kumar N.
ENT and Head & Neck Surgeon

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Shanthi.E