Popped an Eardrum on Rock N Roll

[Adventure-Ocean]

A friend of mine took his first dive in a beautiful place only 15 ft deep with a nice coral head to view. He was only at 10 ft when he popped his eardrum. The doctor told him his eardrums were very thin due to playing guitar in a rock band and standing too close to the amp. He could no longer dive or snorkel. This was back in the days before headphones were used much. Now that everyone walks around using headphones, I wonder if our eardrums are taking a beating and creating a larger risk when diving.

Any rock n Roll divers experience problems like this?

Adventure-Ocean

 

[tomfcrist]

I played in a few metal bands in my 20's....I have no ear issues as far as I'm aware.

 

[coldwaterdufus]

what did you say ????

 

[muzikbiz22]

I'm not buying it, but doesn't mean it couldn't be true. Was on stage 4 to 7 nights a week for most of the 80's and early 90's. I've never had an issue, and I dive all the time.

 

[Dsix36]

I spent more than my fair share of time near speakers and amps in my younger years. I do suffer from a slight hearing loss in a certain range due to extreme noise (as the ENT told me after a hearing test), but have absolutely no problems with diving.

PS - I grew up with a shotgun attached to my shoulder and have been working in a very noisy environment most of my life too.

 

[letterboy]

I spent more than my fair share of time near speakers and amps in my younger years. I do suffer from a slight hearing loss in a certain range due to extreme noise (as the ENT told me after a hearing test), but have absolutely no problems with diving.

PS - I grew up with a shotgun attached to my shoulder and have been working in a very noisy environment most of my life too.

that must have been an interesting transplant . . . going through security tough?

 

[flots am]

The doctor told him his eardrums were very thin due to playing guitar in a rock band and standing too close to the amp. He could no longer dive or snorkel.

I'm not a doc, but that sounds like a load of crap. If you're equalizing properly, the pressure differential across your eardrums should be very low.

If your friend wants to dive, have him call DAN for a referral to an ENT who knows what he's taking about.

flots.

 

[doctormike]

The doctor told him his eardrums were very thin due to playing guitar in a rock band and standing too close to the amp. He could no longer dive or snorkel.

He either misunderstood the doctor, or the doctor had no idea what he was talking about. Prolonged exposure to amplified music can cause a sensorineural hearing loss (permanent, nerve hearing loss). This has no effect whatsoever on the eardrums, and you can't make the diagnosis by looking at the ears. It also has nothing to do with diving, apart from not being able to hear the dive briefing.

Here are three types of noise induced hearing loss:

Temporary threshold shift: Your ears ring and you have some hearing loss after a night in a club. It gets better in minutes to days.

Permanent threshold shift: Your ears ring and you have hearing loss after years playing in a rock band. It never gets better.

Blast trauma: Your hearing is permanently damaged from a single shock wave (often seen in survivors of explosions). In this one, you might also have tympanic membrane damage, but this is really more of a type of blunt trauma than a noise induced hearing loss. Yes, the explosion is technically very intense sound, but that's not what the OP was referring to.