Will I ever be able to dive again?

I am so despondent. I love diving so much I daydream about it. But three weeks ago I injured an eardrum, and it is not getting better. The ENT said it could take three months. But it just feels hopeless. I can't swim either, and I am really missing the water. Any words of hope out there? The injury occurred on ascent at the safety stop after an 80 foot dive with no problems. I had made three dives the day before. I was taking 12 hour sudafed and my regular allergy mess ( Allegra and two steroid nasal sprays) and I have never had ear problems in over 100 dives. I came up slowly, but I got a reverse block. I went back down and the intense pain subsided. I developed serious vertigo, but that went away on the way back up and has not returned. I sat out the next dive ( we were on a boat in the Channel Islands), and made the next two shallow dives. I did not realize I had injured my ear, it just felt as if water was in the outer ear. So I used swimmers ear drops before the night dive was about to take place...and I saw STARS. It hurt like crazy in the injured ear. My knees buckled from the pain, and then I could taste the alcohol from the drops. So it all suddenly became clear...I had ruptured the eardrum and that caused the vertigo.
of course I stopped diving, and saw a doctor within 48 hours as soon as I could. The two Ent's and my regular doc have had me on Sudafed since then, plus all the other allergy mess, and told me to do a nasal rinse before using the sprays. The eardrum does not have a hole in it ( and didn't when the first doctor saw me 48 hours after the accident), but it has dried blood in patches on it, is mostly cloudy, and is pushed inward ( even as of two days ago). The audiology tests say the inner ear is fine, but there is -250 mm Hg pressure on that eardrum still. They suspect fluid in the middle ear and a swollen or collapsed Eustachian tube that won't let it drain. I can equalize the left ear but (obviously) not the right ( the one I injured). I don't know how to prevent this in the future, assuming I do get to dive again.

Not a Dr so take what I say with a grain of salt. Obviously follow Dr's orders and stay out of the water. Follow their regimens to the letter. You are better to stay out of the water for a few months now than risk further damage and longer breaks to heal. From the sound of it you have a pretty bad middle ear barotrauma.

Do your Dr's have diving experience? If not call DAN and get a reference.

My 2cents


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I agree, you should heal completely first, Then contact an ENT Dr that is well versed in diving medicine & find out what your chances may be. Also to find out why. how you ruptured your ear drum in the first place. From there you & the Dr. should be able to determine you future eligibility to be able to dive.

Ah sudafed! There is the root of the problem. If recreational divers were aware of all the physiological issues they would never touch the stuff.
It lowers the oxygen toxicity threshold when using higher oxygen concentrations like 32%. Not to mention blown ears and sinuses.
Divers especially women that have been well within the CNS safe range have toxed out and drowned when taking sudafed.
Check most cave and wreck forums and DAN and you'll see.


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I have some words of hope...I injured my eardrum freediving and had symptoms very similar to what you are experiencing. (Especially the pain when you put ear drops in...I have never felt anything like that and it was AWFUL.) I had only just begun diving and was three weeks into a semester-long academic diving program in Bonaire. One of my professors said I might never dive again and I was so distraught. I tried to swim and snorkel, but when I dove down just a few feet I felt that cold rush into my ear. A few days after the injury, I saw a doctor in Bonaire, but he told me I had an earwax buildup in my ear and that was the problem (it wasn't), and sent me to get my ears cleaned out with a tool that is essentially a tiny power washer for the ears. Needless to say, with my injury this was very painful and I could also taste the water that the nurse was flushing through my ear. (She didn't speak much English and I don't speak any other languages so I couldn't communicate my concerns.) Ultimately, I ended up sitting out of diving for a few more days and then just decided to go ahead and get back in. It was weird at first but I wanted to dive so I just kept at it...and I never got an infection and haven't had any trouble since, except that my once-injured ear is still sometimes slower to equalize.

Of course, I absolutely DO NOT advise that you disregard your doctor and just go ahead and dive in a few days. PLEASE wait until you are completely healed and cleared to dive!! I was extremely lucky after doing something pretty stupid...but the reason I shared my story is just to show that after having an ear injury (and even after receiving subpar medical care for it) I am still able to dive and I haven't had a recurrence. I do agree with the above posters that you probably should avoid sudafed while diving. Good luck, hang in there . These injuries CAN heal!!

Seasiren4scuba:

The ENT said it could take three months.

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Just sit out for 3 months... Not the end of the world.

I am not a medical doctor, and speak only from experience.

I have perforated both ears on several occasions, they heal but it takes time. On two occasions I had bacterial and fungal infections, such are the hazards of diving in the tropics.

Nasal rinse pre-dive is good, I also use Earol in both ears prior to my dives and have been using a mask with ear covers for three years now with positive results.

You might also want to have a look at Docs Pro Plugs I met a diver in Lembeh last month who told me it changed her diving for the better.

Post dive treatment with Swimmers Ear or alcohol/vinegar mix is NOT recommended if you think you have perforated the drum.

Ah sudafed! There is the root of the problem. If recreational divers were aware of all the physiological issues they would never touch the stuff.
It lowers the oxygen toxicity threshold when using higher oxygen concentrations like 32%. Not to mention blown ears and sinuses.

Click to expand...

A lot of people would still use it, especially the extended release. And a lot of people have ongoing good experience with doing so. I wonder how many blocks and reverse blocks extended release Sudafed has prevented?

Remember, everybody who ox. toxed or had a blown ear drum or damaged sinus scuba diving could've prevented that if they just didn't dive. Doesn't stop us from diving. Won't stop some from using Sudafed.

DAN has an article on using Sudafed and Enriched Air Diving. Scroll down to the 'bottom line' piece.

I do use extended release 12 or 24 hour, though. Don't want it wearing off underwater. I've yet to have a perforation, but I've got allergies and I've had reverse block twice. Can be quite painful. In fact, that's why I use extended release Sudafed these days...

Richard.

My dive buddy completely blew out his ear drum in a fireworks accident.
They rebuilt his ear drum with tissue from other places -- It took about 8 months before he could dive again.
The doctor said it was the worst one he had seen - completely gone and blown out.

But since the repair he has about 300+ dives on it with no problems.

So follow your doctors advice and it should heal up -- Just don't push it - Give it time.

Thank you all so much. I am reading and rereading these and it does help. I know the time will go by and I will feel silly for thinking this is so dismal, especially compared to what could have happened with the vertigo and the very distant (3000 ft ) bottom I was over at the time. I really appreciate all of your comments and intend to keep learning from all of our cumulative experiences.