How long for ruptured eardrum to heal?

[DocVikingo]

Thanks for all the advise everyone

DocVikingo.....I did in fact observe bubbles coming from my ear while trying to equalize, and strangely enough, there was no pain (at the time....it hurts like a S.O.B. now, though.)

From the sounds of it, my ear and my sinuses aren't really related, more of a coincidence, is that correct???

I'll let you all know what the doc finds out when he does an examination.

It is possible that the sinus and ear symptoms were a coincidence. On the other hand, given that the sinuses drain through the nose and then past the eustachian tube openings, if you had a cold, allergy, sinus infection or the like it is possible they were directly related. Alternatively, they may have been the result of a generalized congestive process that impeded normal air movement within both the frontal sinus and middle ear, but not directly causally related.

This is educational only and does not constitute or imply a doctor-patient relationship. It is not medical advice to you or any other individual, and should not be construed as such.

Best regards.

DocVikingo

 

[Mahhz]

Well, I went to the doctor yesterday.....he couldn't see any tears or punctures, although he did say that doesn't mean there isn't any. There was quite a bit of swelling in the ear canal, so he couldn't see everything. He gave me an oral antibiotic, antibiotic eardrops, heavy duty sudafed to keep the passages open, and lortab for the pain. He wrote me a referral to an ear/nose/throat specialist that can take a better look at things once the swelling goes down. He should be able to give me a final prognosis of when I should be able to dive again.

 

[texdiveguy]

Well, I went to the doctor yesterday.....he couldn't see any tears or punctures, although he did say that doesn't mean there isn't any. There was quite a bit of swelling in the ear canal, so he couldn't see everything. He gave me an oral antibiotic, antibiotic eardrops, heavy duty sudafed to keep the passages open, and lortab for the pain. He wrote me a referral to an ear/nose/throat specialist that can take a better look at things once the swelling goes down. He should be able to give me a final prognosis of when I should be able to dive again.

Jeff ,, thanks for the update on the ear problem,,,,glad you followed thru with your Dr. and got things roleing to quicken your recovery.

 

[Mahhz]

Ok, just got home from the Ear Specialist. He did the visual inspection and some sort of a pressure test (Tympography, or something like that) and everything came back well. From an ear point of veiw he cleared me for diving again, everything has healed.

Now for another issue. He took a look up my nose, and discovered that I have a fairly bad deviated septum. He beleives that may be what caused my sinus squeeze, and even possibly the ear problem.

So the answer to my question from before, "Was my sinus squeeze and my blown eardrum directly related to each other, or just a coincidence?".....no, they were not directly connected to each other, but they weren't a coincidence either. They seem to both be symptoms of the deviated septum.

So now it's my decision to whether I should keep on diving, or have surgery on my septum. I havn't decided yet, because I don't know enough about the procedure yet.

 

[DocVikingo]

So, both could have been the result of a general congestive/obstructive process, but not directly related?

Correction of an uncomplicated deviated septum typically is a bit unpleasant, but no big deal. Many divers report being quite pleased with the improvement in breathing and equalizing.

You can read about the surgery here--->

http://www.entnet.org/healthinfo/sinus/deviated-septum.cfm

This is educational only and does not constitute or imply a doctor-patient relationship. It is not medical advice to you or any other individual, and should not be construed as such.

Best regards.

DocVikingo

 

[Mahhz]

So, both could have been the result of a general congestive/obstructive process, but not directly related?

Yeah, what I meant by that was, one didn't cause the other to happen, they were both a result of something entirely different.