Holy eardrum

[jackiemize]

During my O\W at Lake Travis about 2 months ago, I foolishly ruptured my left eardrum. I didnt want the whole class waiting on me and the pain was mild. When the cold water rushed inside my ear I experienced extreme virtigo..down I went..(spooky feeling) anyway..Lesson learned. The ENT I went to confirmed the ruptured eardrum and said it would heal all on its own but he said no more scuba.Of course I could not finish my o\w without the Doctors release...... "DAN" found me a Great ENT who happens to be a diver. He is going to "patch" the hole that has not healed after 2 months and assures me in a few months I should be ready to dive again..This is great news. I thought for sure it was over before it began. I would really like to hear from anyone that has had this done and are you diving again..Any input is greatly appriciated..

[Larry M]

My ear troubles stem from being in the water to much as I make my living diving and so one tends to push limits… for some reason I was susceptible to slight infections… I took antihistamines …these work somewhat but they also thicken the mucus so the ear will work going down but then mucus blocks the estuation tube on the way up … also they wear off…. so as you know it’s not a cool feeling when your stuck at ten feet cause your ear won’t clear… after the graft and three months no diving I gave it a try …. It made me nervous ….I could clear both up and down although a little sticky on the first try ….I was ecstatic!!!!! To say the least ..so to answer your question no there is no discomfort or trouble clearing the ears after the skin graft although it took a year for the ear clearing to feel the same as before the graft ..it cleared differently ..like a little more swallowing instead of holding the nose routine ..I loss no hearing although I had Tintenitus (ringing in the ears ) for a while but it slowly went a way …this was in 82 and have had no trouble since ..the only advice I have if you do the skin graft is GO ON ANTIBIOTICS ..a friend had the operation twice…. didn’t take antibiotics even though it was suggested she do so ..Result infection and the operatios failed both times
In Canada we have a menthol lozenge called fishermen friends ..these are a godsend for me as you just suck on one before the dive and it helps a lot in the clearing the ears during the dive ….there not an antihistamine either
Good luck

[DocVikingo]

Hi jackiemize,

That indeed is good news. The procedure you are having performed has a good track record at returning divers to the deep--I personally know a number of them.

An ENT savvy in dive medicine, such as yours, should be able to supply excellent advice on when you may return to scuba & any precautions deemed prudent.

Best of luck.

DocVikingo

[jackiemize]

I went for my post-op surgery meeting with my Doctor(Dr.Seng ,E.N.T. Plano Tx.) Wendsday. Surgury was set for the next day..To our amazement, the hole was gone. Can you beleive that>?? Wow.. It took 9 weeks to heal and the day before surgery it finally fixed itself. He told me to wait a couple more weeks just to be safe and then im back in the water .....I cant wait... Thanks for the encouraging words and to Scubu Doc who replied to my first Post...