Diving with perforated ear drums

[dunkdawg]

I posted on this forum a few years ago and completely forgot to do a follow up on my situation

At the time I had tubes in my ears and water going through them was an issue. I took some of the advice I got but it still ended...badly. I got through my first 2 days of getting my open water license but on the last dive of the day my ear plugs failed and water rushed in and right through the tubes leaving me in immense amounts of pain and completely unable to finish my course along with being bed ridden for the rest of my vacation.

Its now been a few years and I really want to try again but now the situation has changed a bit I no longer have the tubes and luckily my left ear is completely healed besides a build up of scar tissue but my right ear drum now has a hole and water going into the ear at all is no longer an option.

So my question is do I have any options? I know equalizing is a big part of being able to dive so is having my ears completely sealed even an option? if it is what are the best items out there that will allow me to do this basically want no way for water to come anywhere near my ears.

Thanks for all the help guys

 

[uncfnp]

Sorry to hear your first try didn't work out well. Is tympanoplasty, a graft to close the perforation, not an option? It would seen to be the best choice if it would allow you to return to diving with less concern.

The catch is that I am not sure how often the surgery is successful enough to handle the pressures at depth. Hopefully doctormike will post.

 

[John A Lewis]

You might want to check DAN's web site concerning the ear and various aspects when diving:

Tympanic Membrane Rupture (Perforated Eardrum) | Ears & Diving - DAN Health & Diving

 

[doctormike]

Hopefully doctormike will post.

On it!

Once the tympanic membrane has healed, it is usually as good as before. The graft that is used isn't like a patch on a tire, it's more of a scaffold to allow the eardrum to heal on its own.

Any sort of success rate or percentage is meaningless in this situation, though, because every perforation is different. Also, patients with underlying Eustachian tube dysfunction (the reason that the OP needed ear tubes placed in the first place) may still have it even though the tubes are out. So if that's an issue, then the chance of complete healing goes down.

I wouldn't go diving with a TM perforation, even (especially) with some sort of fancy ear plug.

PM me if you want me to see if I can find you a local referral for an ear surgeon.

Mike

 

[PaloPinto]

I hope you have already consulted with your physician, that being said I have known people who have not had a problem diving after perforated ear drums.

 

[muzzleloader]

I had my left eardrum repaired and dove six weeks later in March of this year. Have since dove to 110 ft with no problems. Surgery was done in Houston at Houston E N T


Ted

cell if you want to call me - 361-seven nine eight-6826