Hi all! New to boards and diving. I was recently diving off of Singer Island, Fla. After completing our last dive i had somewhat of a "funny feeling" in my right ear. Since returning home i've been informed by the doc that i have a ruptured ear drum. I was wandering if anyone else had gone through this and how long it kept you out of the water? Also how did it effect you on your next dives? Thanks for any info.....
Equalizing
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I'll ask a Moderator to move this to Dive Medicine for proper coverage. Hope you'll come back to this forum and Introduce yourself, so we can welcome you appropriately.
luvspoodles
Contributor
I have ear barotrauma, not a ruptured eardrum. The doc said that it will heal in 4-5 days and it does not seem to be healing. This ailment is the most painful thing I have ever faced, so I can't imagine how painful a ruptured eardrum must be!
Normally a rupture wont cause pain, friend of mine ruptured his in a pool (yes a pool)
He was out of the water for about 2-3 months.
Also depends on how bad the ear damage is! Will scar tissue be a problem? If the rupture is sever enough, this could cause problems.
He was out of the water for about 2-3 months.
Also depends on how bad the ear damage is! Will scar tissue be a problem? If the rupture is sever enough, this could cause problems.
Laurence Stein DDS
Medical Moderator
luvspoodles:
Luvspoodles...I think you're confusing us with the facts!
Barotrauma, whether it is of the ear, sinuses, lungs, etc...anywhere there is an air space that must be equalized in some way during scuba diving, is simply a traumatic injury to that anatomic part of the body. Barotrauma is non-specific in that it can mean a ruptured ear drum or a burst alveolar sac. Barotrauma is not THE injury but rather how you were injured.
When you say ear barotrauma, it means nothing to others unless you specifically tell us what was injured and how. What part of your ear was injured? Was it on ascent or descent? Did your symptoms occur suddenly during the dive or did they occur some time following the dive? You've already told us that you didn't rupture your eardrum....Great....so what DID you injure? What will heal in 4-5 days? Hope you understand.
The fact that you are reporting such severe pain seems a little unusual. Generally, if you injure some part of your body by barotrauma, there is little, if any residual pain. It might hurt at the time of injury but that quickly subsides. A ruptured ear drum may hurt for a few seconds and then it's pretty much gone. What you will notice though is vertigo or dizziness, muffled or deminished sounds, possibly a little bleeding from the ear. There will be very little if any pain once the drum perforates.
Persistent pain in your ear makes me think of an infection rather than barotrauma. If you had an underlying ear infection prior to your dive, you might well have experienced pain during your dive and then persistent pain as the infection may have worsened.
If it is not going away, it's time to see the doctor again.
Perhaps you can give us a little more specific information about your problem. Then we may be able to discuss it better.
Feel better.
Laurence Stein, DDS
For additional information on ears and diving you can find a great streaming video at;
http://faculty.washington.edu/ekay/index.html
Look for;
Streaming Video Lecture
"The Diver's Ear - Under Pressure"
It is worth watching a few times both for background on ears and for equalization technique.
http://faculty.washington.edu/ekay/index.html
Look for;
Streaming Video Lecture
"The Diver's Ear - Under Pressure"
It is worth watching a few times both for background on ears and for equalization technique.
luvspoodles
Contributor
Laurence Stein DDS:Luvspoodles...I think you're confusing us with the facts!
Barotrauma, whether it is of the ear, sinuses, lungs, etc...anywhere there is an air space that must be equalized in some way during scuba diving, is simply a traumatic injury to that anatomic part of the body. Barotrauma is non-specific in that it can mean a ruptured ear drum or a burst alveolar sac. Barotrauma is not THE injury but rather how you were injured.
When you say ear barotrauma, it means nothing to others unless you specifically tell us what was injured and how. What part of your ear was injured? Was it on ascent or descent? Did your symptoms occur suddenly during the dive or did they occur some time following the dive? You've already told us that you didn't rupture your eardrum....Great....so what DID you injure? What will heal in 4-5 days? Hope you understand.
The fact that you are reporting such severe pain seems a little unusual. Generally, if you injure some part of your body by barotrauma, there is little, if any residual pain. It might hurt at the time of injury but that quickly subsides. A ruptured ear drum may hurt for a few seconds and then it's pretty much gone. What you will notice though is vertigo or dizziness, muffled or deminished sounds, possibly a little bleeding from the ear. There will be very little if any pain once the drum perforates.
Persistent pain in your ear makes me think of an infection rather than barotrauma. If you had an underlying ear infection prior to your dive, you might well have experienced pain during your dive and then persistent pain as the infection may have worsened.
If it is not going away, it's time to see the doctor again.
Perhaps you can give us a little more specific information about your problem. Then we may be able to discuss it better.
Feel better.
Laurence Stein, DDS
I can't believe it! The doctor simply said "barotrauma." The other doctor said it was barotrauma that turned into an infection. So I suppose it is the infection that is still hurting? The intense pain has gone away with Cipro. Now it still feels muffled (both of my ears) and I do have occasional pangs in my right ear, but it is a milliion times better than before. I was assuming that I got it by not clearing properly on the descent, but I also remember in the weeks before my dives some slight pains in my ear once in a while. Can I have had a slight infection for a long time? What causes an infection? I actually haven't dove since August, and I have never had an infection before. All I know is that this is the worst pain I have ever had, and I even had kidney stones! Thanks for the information. I had thought that with barotrauma my ears get swollen. Is that not the case?
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Did you use alcohol every day after diving?
If not, that's a good way to get an infection, but the trauma could lead to it anyway.
If not, that's a good way to get an infection, but the trauma could lead to it anyway.
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