Ruptured eardrum If you get a hole in your tympanic membrane, it’s called a ruptured eardrum. (Your eardrum separates your outer ear from your middle ear.) Infection, trauma, loud sounds or foreign objects in your ears can cause a ruptured eardrum. In most cases, a ruptured eardrum will heal on its own in a few weeks. But sometimes, it requires surgical repair, such as tympanoplasty.