Fried Fritz
Registered
Can anyone help
On the 26th Feb 2012 I made a dive in good weather but there was a bit of current on.
I descended to 15 metres when I heard a pop in my left ear followed by the sound of bubbles.+
The descent took 75 seconds.
There was no pain or vertigo but thought it a good idea to surface and check out the situation topside.
I got out of the water and onto the boat. I took my gear off and felt OK.
I waited 15 minutes and felt great. I then put my gear back on and went back into the water.
I only made it down a metre or so before the pain set in and I aborted the dive completely.
I went straight to the doctors and was advised my ear drum was very red and to come back in two days for reassessment after the administration of antibiotics.
My ear was ringing and still is to this day with the same intensity.
I went back as advised and was told there was a small pin hole in my ear drum and to rest and continue with the antibiotics.
I went back to the doctor a week later and asked for a referral to the ENT surgeon who did my sinuses in 2004.
He was not available for a month plus so I saw another Doctor.
He stated there was a small scab on my ear drum which he tried to vacuum off but it would not budge.
He said it was probably the scab covering a perforation in my ear drum.
I then did an audio test which showed a loss in my high frequency hearing.
Doc was not sure if this was due to the high pitched whistle in my ear causing me not to be able to hear the high frequency tones during the test.
I went back a week later, being yesterday, for another check and the scab was still the same but there was a slight improvement in my hearing. The ringing had not changed
Doc could not be sure exactly what had happened but advised I never dive again. He was concerned I had punctured my inner ear and had some fluid loss but could not confirm.
He wasnt sure if it had been damaged from the external water pressure or by my equalisation.
Due to this he had to err on the side of caution and advise I never dive again. He was concerned if I dived again I might experience further fluid loss, experience vertigo and possibly die.
I am booked in for further testing on April 24th for ENG, Caloric and Pure Tone and Speech testing. I would like a second opinion before then if possible.
Can anyone advise on best plan of attack here. I will go crazy if I cant dive again. I have heard of people with much worse injuries who are still diving. I dont want this to be a case of the doctor covering his ass at the expense of my future diving enjoyment.
My intentions are to not dive til next season and see what happens. The ringing is still there and if I equalise, which I can do without any problems, there is no pain at all.
Any advice will be greatly appreciated
On the 26th Feb 2012 I made a dive in good weather but there was a bit of current on.
I descended to 15 metres when I heard a pop in my left ear followed by the sound of bubbles.+
The descent took 75 seconds.
There was no pain or vertigo but thought it a good idea to surface and check out the situation topside.
I got out of the water and onto the boat. I took my gear off and felt OK.
I waited 15 minutes and felt great. I then put my gear back on and went back into the water.
I only made it down a metre or so before the pain set in and I aborted the dive completely.
I went straight to the doctors and was advised my ear drum was very red and to come back in two days for reassessment after the administration of antibiotics.
My ear was ringing and still is to this day with the same intensity.
I went back as advised and was told there was a small pin hole in my ear drum and to rest and continue with the antibiotics.
I went back to the doctor a week later and asked for a referral to the ENT surgeon who did my sinuses in 2004.
He was not available for a month plus so I saw another Doctor.
He stated there was a small scab on my ear drum which he tried to vacuum off but it would not budge.
He said it was probably the scab covering a perforation in my ear drum.
I then did an audio test which showed a loss in my high frequency hearing.
Doc was not sure if this was due to the high pitched whistle in my ear causing me not to be able to hear the high frequency tones during the test.
I went back a week later, being yesterday, for another check and the scab was still the same but there was a slight improvement in my hearing. The ringing had not changed
Doc could not be sure exactly what had happened but advised I never dive again. He was concerned I had punctured my inner ear and had some fluid loss but could not confirm.
He wasnt sure if it had been damaged from the external water pressure or by my equalisation.
Due to this he had to err on the side of caution and advise I never dive again. He was concerned if I dived again I might experience further fluid loss, experience vertigo and possibly die.
I am booked in for further testing on April 24th for ENG, Caloric and Pure Tone and Speech testing. I would like a second opinion before then if possible.
Can anyone advise on best plan of attack here. I will go crazy if I cant dive again. I have heard of people with much worse injuries who are still diving. I dont want this to be a case of the doctor covering his ass at the expense of my future diving enjoyment.
My intentions are to not dive til next season and see what happens. The ringing is still there and if I equalise, which I can do without any problems, there is no pain at all.
Any advice will be greatly appreciated