Burst Eardrum?

...thought I would start a new thread on this to get any info

I went to ocean cove today. Sun was out, fog cleared, it was flat with at least 10 feet of viz. High tide at 9:30 had all the kelp stretched out so easy kick out there. Was going to be a great day! Unfortunately on only my third dive for a big ab in about 25ft I somehow managed to blow out my left eardrum equalizing. Definitely hurt, trying to equalize on the surface had air coming out of my ear which was both novel and distressing. So that ended my day and visions of big abs and a stringer of fish. Hurt like hell the 3 hour drive home. Talked to my doctor who said that it could just heal naturally. He prescribed some ear drops to prevent infection and something for the pain which thankfully has subsided w/o anything but advil.

Anyone else burst an eardrum? How long a recoverey am I looking at?

-Sean

Hey Sean,
Sorry about the eardrum. I have burst my left eardrum twice! It took about 2months to fully recover. Getting back in the water was a slow and controlled process. Now, I take benadryl to clear my sinuses before every dive, and equalize way too much. Most likely it is just a pinhole size burst and will take only a few weeks. I just took my time getting back in the water. Get Well. Joe

Like Joe said. Please just baby it. If you come back too soon you could end up with a chronic injury. My Dad blew an eardrum once and was so confused at 35ft down he kept swimming down when he thought he was going up. He repeatedly ended up hitting the bottom when he could have sworn he was going up. Finally almost out of air he blew bubbles and followed them to the surface. All the time his equlibrium was telling him to go the other way. He stayed out of the water for 6mos. Take care and get well soon.

My Dad had a very similar experience to Craig's Dad.  He blew one or both at 20 or 25' with a couple of abs in his arms.  He couldn't tell up from down and he recalled what an old timer had told him years before that - "if you can't get oriented kick off the bottom and trust that you're going up..."  He did that, hit the surface and called for his abbing partner who helped him to safety.  After that he always commented that he should've ditched the abs and his weightbelt, but stubborness is a strong trait with my family.   

He never fully recovered and ended up with some chronic ear problems, so take the good advice, msean, and let it heal right before going diving again.  On days when you can't clear sometimes a series of jaw movements and nose clears on the surface can get things working right.  Good luck, and let us know how it goes.   

Sorry to hear about your ear.  Nice hunting pics by the way.  Thanks for sharing that I'm thinking of starting spearfishing and I learned something.  Andy

Thanks for all the replies and info. Makes me feel a lot better. I probably should have done shallower dives before dropping down to 25 ft. right off and eased into it. Feels a lot better already so am hopeful it's not that serious.

thanks again,

Sean

Last November, I had my eardrum burst on the left side. I was in major pain. Went to the doctors and he sent me to a specialist. During examination, doctor looked puzzled. All the years of surfing an now diving and I had built up Surfer's Ear. What puzzled the doctor was the inflammation behind the drum. Got an MRI and I had a good sized cyst growing. To make this short, had surgery and all is better. If it wasn't for diving and blowing the ear drum, who knows what might have happened. I'm glad I'm diving again.

jack kwonsoo kim

I hope you heal up well - hey, at least it didn't happen at the beginning of the season. Rest up til April.

I blew mine out pretty bad about 12 years ago and still have problems with it from time to time. A doctor checking in my ears will inevitably mantion the scar tissue on the eardrum.

I was in a cave in a reverse sump section with the ability to exit in either direction - problem was that both exits meant I had to go another 20 ft. deeper before it started going up again. My ear just absolutely refused to equalize, and I sat there for 20 min or so working on it. Finally, with tanks getting light, I just had to do it. I crawled along the ceiling trying to stay as shallow as possible, and the pain was pretty bad.

Finally it let go with a squeal, a rush of cold in my head, and instant vertigo - but the pain just vanished.

I can still dive and fly, and in fact was diving 4 months after that, but not if I have a hint of a cold, and I have a noticeable hearing loss on that side (not sure that's related, but likely).