Scuba John
Registered
Hi all. I hope this is the correct place to ask my question. I just recovered from a perforated eardrum incident. The hole has closed and my doctor (who is not a diving physician) tells me to "keep it dry" for another two weeks before I swim or get water in it. I would like to know how long I should wait before I scuba dive?
Background. On or around Nov 8, 2020, my ear started feeling funny. It didn't hurt but sometimes there was a sharp pain above my neck but it did not feel like a normal ear infection. When my hearing started to diminish a week later, I went to a clinic here in Phuket, the doctor flushed it with warm water but couldn't really get a good look at it. There clearly was infection so he gave me a course of antibiotics and after a week, cleaned it again. In that examination he found a pin-hole perforation in my ear which surprised the heck out of me. 45 years of diving and I've never had this happen before and for the record, I had not been diving (due to Covid restrictions) since Feb 26, 2020. So this happened without diving, maybe when I was playing with clearing my ears as we divers do? I have no idea.
By this time the infection had moved to my chest, so he gives me anti-viral meds. A week later it has moved back into my inner ear again, so he gives me another round of antibiotics. A week later it's not better so he sends me off to a specialist, where I should have gone to begin with. But with no pain at all, really, just diminished hearing, I didn't think it was a big deal. We've all had ear infections and most of the time they are no big deal.
I go to my regular ENT at the hospital here, and he looks in with a scope so I can see the perforation. Clearly there is infection so he gives me another round of antibiotics. The hole is only a pin-hole, very small, but when I equalize we can see fluid coming through the hole. A week later the infection has not cleared and the hole has not closed so he takes a culture and takes another guess at antibiotics. A week later the culture says I have a bacterial infection. There is no longer liquid coming out, only air. Luckily he guessed correctly at the type of antibiotic to use and he gave me another week of it, both oral and ear drops. Two weeks later I go back (yesterday) and the infection has cleared and the hole has closed. Yay.
Thanks all.
Background. On or around Nov 8, 2020, my ear started feeling funny. It didn't hurt but sometimes there was a sharp pain above my neck but it did not feel like a normal ear infection. When my hearing started to diminish a week later, I went to a clinic here in Phuket, the doctor flushed it with warm water but couldn't really get a good look at it. There clearly was infection so he gave me a course of antibiotics and after a week, cleaned it again. In that examination he found a pin-hole perforation in my ear which surprised the heck out of me. 45 years of diving and I've never had this happen before and for the record, I had not been diving (due to Covid restrictions) since Feb 26, 2020. So this happened without diving, maybe when I was playing with clearing my ears as we divers do? I have no idea.
By this time the infection had moved to my chest, so he gives me anti-viral meds. A week later it has moved back into my inner ear again, so he gives me another round of antibiotics. A week later it's not better so he sends me off to a specialist, where I should have gone to begin with. But with no pain at all, really, just diminished hearing, I didn't think it was a big deal. We've all had ear infections and most of the time they are no big deal.
I go to my regular ENT at the hospital here, and he looks in with a scope so I can see the perforation. Clearly there is infection so he gives me another round of antibiotics. The hole is only a pin-hole, very small, but when I equalize we can see fluid coming through the hole. A week later the infection has not cleared and the hole has not closed so he takes a culture and takes another guess at antibiotics. A week later the culture says I have a bacterial infection. There is no longer liquid coming out, only air. Luckily he guessed correctly at the type of antibiotic to use and he gave me another week of it, both oral and ear drops. Two weeks later I go back (yesterday) and the infection has cleared and the hole has closed. Yay.
Thanks all.
