Cauliflower ears are a common condition within contact sports that affects the ears. It is caused by repeated trauma to the ear, which causes them to swell up and get lumpy. This can result in deformity of your ear and it can affect your hearing, so it’s important to know how to prevent it.
What is a cauliflower ear?
A cauliflower ear is a condition that results in the formation of a bump on the outside of the ear. It occurs when blood pools under torn cartilage after an injury to your outer ear, including abrasions caused by hard grappling or striking. The ear is an area of the body that’s not designed to take punches and so this can result in some seriously painful injury. Cauliflower ear is irreversible, however it can be prevented and treated in various ways.
The cartilage in your inner ears (also known as ossicles) are responsible for transmitting sound waves from your eardrum to your brain, while also helping with balance. They’re made up of three small bones called malleus (hammer), incus (anvil), and stapes (stirrup). While these bones aren’t directly responsible for hearing loss if they become damaged, they do prevent normal movement of vibrations through sound waves into our inner ears—so it’s important to keep them healthy!
What causes cauliflower ear?
Ear cartilage is very fragile and can easily be damaged. The most common causes of cauliflower ear include:
- Being hit in the ear.
- Wrestling.
- Grappling (i.e., Brazilian jiu-jitsu).
- Mixed martial arts (MMA) or striking.
- Repeated trauma and abrasions, such as from playing rugby or American football without wearing protective gear on your ears. In other words, it’s not just martial artists who are at risk for this condition!
This type of injury can also occur after surgery—for example, when a surgeon places stitches around your ears during plastic surgery procedures like rhinoplasty (nose job).
What are the symptoms of cauliflower ear?
- Swelling: Swelling is a common symptom of cauliflower ear. Depending on how your injury heals, you may experience swelling in different areas of your ear.
- Pain: Cauliflower ear can be painful if it’s caused by an injury to the cartilage or surrounding tissue. It’s common for people with this condition to experience pain when they touch their bruised earlobe or turn their head (especially if they’re doing something that stretches the cartilage).
- Redness: The area around your cauliflower ears will likely become red after an injury or during healing, especially if there’s a lot of swelling present in this area. This discoloration may cause your ears to appear darker than normal; however, even though they’ll be similar shades of pinkish-red at first glance (and maybe even purple), most cases won’t actually have any colour changes after time passes by—so don’t worry about anything being permanently stained onto your skin!
- Bruising: Bruises can occur as an injury develops into its final stage (for example: bruising might appear on top of bruises because layers are formed underneath each other). In addition to looking unattractive due to their dark colours and uneven shapes/areas (which makes telling what parts are bruised difficult!), bruises also feel sensitive due to increased blood flow near damaged tissues so they might hurt whenever touched too hard without proper protection such as gloves being worn beforehand!
How to prevent cauliflower ear
- Use ear guards. If you’re sparring and not wearing headgear, it’s important to wear some kind of protective gear around your ears. Even if you’re just doing light training and not getting hit in the head, cauliflower ear can still develop because of the repeated strain on your ears. Ear guards are inexpensive, available at most local sporting goods stores or online, and can be worn under your regular boxing gloves.
- Use headgear—and don’t take it off! If you’re taking part in a contact sport like boxing or MMA (mixed martial arts), wearing headgear is essential even if there isn’t any striking happening at that moment of play—because once an injury occurs, there’s no going back! No matter what game or activity you’re playing: Headgear should always be worn when playing contact sports like football and hockey; helmets should always be worn when riding bicycles; etcetera…
- Know how to block punches to prevent injuries from occurring in other parts of the body such as arms/hands while also preventing cauliflower ear occurring during heavy sparring sessions which would require surgery later down line…
- There are specialised products such as ear splints to keep the cartilage in place, as well as ‘CauliBuds‘ which use silicone-encased magnets that create compression to prevent cauliflower ear and swelling.
Cauliflower ear treatment
If you have a cauliflower ear, you should consult with your doctor to discuss the best treatment option for you. The most common treatments include:
- Ice: Apply an ice pack or cold compress to the affected area as soon as possible after getting injured. This will help reduce swelling and bruising while speeding up the healing process.
- Compress: After applying ice, wrap a clean cloth around your head to apply pressure on the injured area. Use a bandage if needed to secure it in place. You should reapply compresses throughout the day when possible until you experience improvement in symptoms (usually less than three days).
- Massage: For minor cases of cauliflower ear, gentle massage may be enough to correct mild damage without resorting to surgery or other invasive procedures. However, it’s important not to overdo this step because excessive massage can cause further injury which may result in permanent deformity of your ear cartilage (and increase scarring).
- Drainage: Doctors can treat the swelling by draining the excess blood from your ear through a syringe, or creating an incision to drain the blood from.
Cauliflower ears can be treated and prevented, but it’s important to take action quickly.
Cauliflower ear can be treated and prevented, but it’s important to take action quickly. Severe cases of cauliflower ear are irreversible. Avoiding cauliflower ears is easy, but if you do get one, it’s important to get it treated. You could end up with permanent damage if you don’t get it treated. This condition can easily reoccur in combat sports, so it’s important to monitor your ear for swelling even after it’s been drained. It will not go away on its own so educate yourself on how to prevent and treat it.
Conclusion
Cauliflower ears are an unfortunate part of combat sports, and if you’re not careful, they can be a permanent problem. The good news is that there are many ways to prevent cauliflower ear, and also ways to treat it when it does occur. If you notice any of these symptoms, take action quickly by seeing your doctor and getting treatment as soon as possible so that you don’t end up with permanent damage!
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