Nitinol tympanostomy tube

A method for inserting a tympanostomy tube, wherein the tympanostomy tube has a nitinol body, the method comprising:

• providing the tympanostomy tube in a first configuration, in which the nitinol body has a first cylindrical shape defining a first end, a central region, a second end, a longitudinal axis, and a lumen extending longitudinally through the nitinol body;
• inserting the tympanostomy tube through a tympanic membrane;
• and
• transforming the tympanostomy tube, after the inserting step, from the first configuration to a second configuration in which the nitinol body has a second cylindrical shape different than the first cylindrical shape and defines the first end, the second end, the central region, the second end, the longitudinal axis, and the lumen;
• wherein a diameter of the lumen at one of the first end, the central region, and the second end is larger in the second configuration than the diameter of the lumen at the corresponding first end, central region, or second end in the first configuration.