I have used this method a few times [I saw it probably in the same Chiunes journal as Bartram] but I never deared to put the garlic straight in the ear, but had it put in a very tiny bag which was connected to a thead [chut] which hang outside the ear.[at night]
I saw one case healed after a full year of treatment which had an open drum for a very long time.
People sometimes are suggested to be operated but I have seen a recurrence after such an operation![which is “logic” as an operation does not heal the cause [which is not really known],but only repairs the mechnicl problem.
Bartram [see below] was a famous herbalist

EAR DRUMS, PERFORATED. Sliced Garlic treatment. Peel corm, leaving transparent epithelial-layer attached. Cut slice and shape it to cover the perforation; push it against the eardrum so that its cut surface hugs the perforation. Pack the external auditory meatus with an alcohol-moistened plug of cotton wool. Water must not enter the ear and forceful nose-blowing avoided.
Replace Garlic slice once or twice a week until healing is complete. If middle ear becomes inflamed with excessive exudate, stop treatment and give an anti-inflammatory (such as Echinacea, author). Any exudation usually stops when treatment is discontinued. (Chinese Medical Journal, May 1977)

Bartram, Thomas. Bartram’s Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine . Little, Brown Book Group. Kindle Edition.