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+--- Thread: Perforated eardrum...Yikes! (/showthread.php?tid=1533)
Perforated eardrum...Yikes! - Grimloc - 09-03-2007
Ok...I'm new....here....and to the sport of diving. I just might have proved that in a profound way.
I perforated my left eardrum during a Controlled Emergency Swimming Ascent (CESA) performed as part of my OW Part 2 class. I do not recommend the experience...it was quite painful. I was probably within 6 feet of the surface, up from 22ft, when my left ear made an awful bit of cracking, bubbling and crunching noise.....then.....full on vertigo hit until I surfaced. Thank goodness for the instructor, who was holding on to my BC the whole way up. I had no idea which way was up during the vertigo. I had blood streaming from my ear and I could taste it in my throat from the Eustachian tube.
Does anyone have experience with this injury? Can I dive again? How long must I wait for healing?
I have to say I am a little leery at this point. Blowing out my ear via reverse block was one thing....the vertigo was a crippler.  :-\
Advice? Thoughts?
Thanks in advance
Re: Perforated eardrum...Yikes! - dfreeman - 09-03-2007
I did this in my foolish youth and after a period of time (a few months) it healed and I have done a lot of diving since.
My daughter Megan ruptured her ear drum on her first OW check-out dive in 3 feet of water while equalizing. Blood from the ear and the whole shot. She was 14 at the time and I think she handled it better than you did. Toughen up.
A year later, she got certified.
When she was 18 she did it again while equalizing in Bonaire. This was about dive number 50. As you can tell, she is a warm water diver, but she was also very cautious about diving with congestion and being rushed like on a dive boat. However she did go on a great trip in the Bahamas on Blackbeards just before this incident. Pictures are somewhere on this site.
We have since developed a regime of dive profiles to get her ears clear and avoiding this problem. She did 20 dives in one week on Bonaire this spring and can not wait to go back. Pictures of the Bonaire trip are also on this site. She has found her method to equalize and is now very comfortable in the water. She did some of the harder dive sites (if there is such a thing) on Bonaire with no problem.
So, let it heal and be careful.
Doug
Re: Perforated eardrum...Yikes! - Grimloc - 09-03-2007
Wow...."toughen up"......that's some good 'ol fashion advice there. I'm plenty tough my friend....just not familiar with the whole diving thing. I'll never forget when a member of my Infantry squad was shot in Panama, while ousting Noriega....."toughen up" was a great bit of advice at that time too.....thanks :
Good to hear there is more diving to be had.
G
Re: Perforated eardrum...Yikes! - Chris H - 09-03-2007
Grimloc,
Welcome to Wiscuba. Don't mind Doug, he's harmless. If you haven't already done so, I recommend calling DAN (Divers Alert Network) and seeing what they have to say about it. Not about how tough you are, but about your ear
Vertigo sucks, and I imagine a perforated ear drum does too.Good Luck,
Chris
Re: Perforated eardrum...Yikes! - dwitt2n - 09-03-2007
..let the get tough advice slide.....be smart about what you do....one think I've been doing since dive 1 (maybe 2) has been to equalize from the moment I get in the water...try adding that into your dive profile..... pay attention to your ears & colds & equalize slowly...every dive is a decompression dive..... welcome to the sport.....
Re: Perforated eardrum...Yikes! - jleech - 09-03-2007
Fear not, if you aren't frightened off of diving due to this, you should still be able to do a lot of diving.
I ruptured my eardrum when I had a reverse block on about dive number 19, I'm now approaching 700. I was diving when I had a cold, and using sudafed to try to open up my sinuses. I was able to force my ears to equalize, but when I started to ascend from 80 ft, I felt pressure in my ear, and was not smart enough to stop and descend a bit to see if I could get it to clear. I just kept going up, and it eventually popped.
The vertigo is caused by cold water entering the ear canal, mine happened in 70 degree water in fresh water springs in Florida, so was not too bad.
I went to a doctor who put me on some pretty strong antibiotics to clear up the infection. Once the infection went away the rupture healed. The doctor told me the perforation was originally just about the size of a pencil lead. My doctor cleared me for diving just under 3 months later, and I started my rescue class.
I was pretty worried after that, but I soon got comfortable again. I never use sudafed to allow myself to dive, I mostly take some antihistamines, and ibuprofen, to make sure that my mucus membranes don't swell due to an allergic reaction, and to keep secretions thinner.
I hope your ear heals up OK.
This is actually the second time I have had a ruptured eardrum. The first happened in a pool, when I slapped my head against the surface of the water while fooling around in 6 ft of water. It was about 2 months before that healed up as well. That incident was 10 years prior to when I started diving.
Jeff
Re: Perforated eardrum...Yikes! - DiveCaptDean - 09-03-2007
Grim-
As ou can see you should have plenty of great diving left to do in your life..Its a real shame that you had to have it happen right away..thus adding to whatever concerns you may have had being a new diver...it will get better....the question is....." Are you TOUGH ENOUGH to get back in the water?".......I assure you i am only kidding...and i am confident that Doug was as well.. Please dont take it the wrong way....If you look at past posts..i am sure you will find..there are a few smart A$$e$ here....but all in good fun..we all love the sport and are happy to offer advice to newer divers..solicited or not on occasion.....welcome to the board...........
DOUG.....you forgot the "smiley face" on your post.......
Happy diving
Deano
Re: Perforated eardrum...Yikes! - Dewit2it - 09-03-2007
Diving with Sudafed is not a good idea. When I had a drysuit blowup, I was also diving on Sudafed. It helped give me a case of sinus squeeze afterward that had me thinking I had bent myself. Luckily on the night dive I equalized and the headache disappeared almost instantly. From my use, it seems that Sudafed stops working at 60', so it may be a pressure sensitive medication.
May you start blowing bubbles again soon!
Re: Perforated eardrum...Yikes! - DiveCaptDean - 09-03-2007
just for extra info----
the wifes dives with sudafed with no problems to recreational limits
g/l
deano
Re: Perforated eardrum...Yikes! - Chris H - 09-03-2007
I seem to recall an article in DAN's Alert Diver that recommended the Sudafed drops instead of the oral tablets. The drops are more local and the tablets systemic.
Here is a link to an ear article by DAN