Perforated Ear Drum - Reassurance needed!

[YammaMaz]

Hi everyone, I was really hoping there is someone who may have experienced this or any expert that could please give me some advice (and hopefully reassurance!).

I’m new to diving and have just 15 open water dives under my belt.
I’ve had a virus that has caused me to have vertigo for the past 2 weeks. All other symptoms have cleared up now but I still have the dizziness. I have just been to the docs and asked him to check my ears out because I was worried there was something more to it that may prevent me from diving. He said that he can see a really small perforation in my left ear and that it is an old perforation that hasn’t healed - from maybe years ago.

He said to go back in 2 weeks once the dizziness has gone and he will look at it again and if it hasn’t healed he would refer me to an ENT specialist.

I’m guessing it won’t heal on it’s own if it hasn’t already? Will I still be able to dive with a small perforation and can it be fixed if not? I sometimes feel lightheaded after diving, could it be connected?

I know the ETN specialist will be able to answer my questions but 2 weeks (or more) not knowing is going to be torture!

Thank you in advance for your help

 

[towtruck]

Let me start by saying I am not a medical expert, but one suggestion would be a proear 2000 mask I absolutely love mine. I bought mine in hope of being able to equalize easier. It did not help me with equalization but it does keep the water out of your ears. If I had a perfed drum I wouldn't dive without being able to keep the water out.

 

[doctormike]

Hi everyone, I was really hoping there is someone who may have experienced this or any expert that could please give me some advice (and hopefully reassurance!).

I’m new to diving and have just 15 open water dives under my belt.
I’ve had a virus that has caused me to have vertigo for the past 2 weeks. All other symptoms have cleared up now but I still have the dizziness. I have just been to the docs and asked him to check my ears out because I was worried there was something more to it that may prevent me from diving. He said that he can see a really small perforation in my left ear and that it is an old perforation that hasn’t healed - from maybe years ago.

He said to go back in 2 weeks once the dizziness has gone and he will look at it again and if it hasn’t healed he would refer me to an ENT specialist.

I’m guessing it won’t heal on it’s own if it hasn’t already? Will I still be able to dive with a small perforation and can it be fixed if not? I sometimes feel lightheaded after diving, could it be connected?

I know the ETN specialist will be able to answer my questions but 2 weeks (or more) not knowing is going to be torture!

Thank you in advance for your help

Hi, YammaMaz, thanks for writing!

We really can't reassure anyone over the Internet, but maybe I can help with this problem.

It's hard to say this without sounding arrogant, but the truth is that it is rarely possible to diagnose a perforation of the eardrum without a good cleaning of the ear canal and evaluation by an ENT doctor using a microscope. The exception to this would be if you tried to valsalva underwater and bubbles came out of your ear.

Yes, large perforations can be seen with a handheld otoscope, but this would be rare in cases of an acute traumatic perforation. I have great respect for GPs, pediatricians and other general medical doctors, but having done this for 20 years, I can just tell you that there is no substitute for an ENT exam (and an audiogram) in cases of ear pathology. There are many, many subtleties of the eardrum that can be mistaken for infections, middle ear fluid or perforations.

Feel free to PM me if you want a local referral, I may know someone in your area. You can also contact DAN for referrals. Until you can equalize safely, you should not dive.

Finally, I know that the advice was well intentioned, but you should not dive under any circumstances with a perforated eardrum, no matter what you are wearing. All such devices can leak at depth, and the effect of having a sudden rush of water into the middle ear at depths could be dangerous, both for your ear and for your ability to safely complete the dive.