Equalizing mistake -- ruptured eardrums

[HawaiiFinnFish]

Aloha!

I work for a SCUBA company but go freediving by myself when the tourists are in the water. I didn't equalize properly the second time at around 55 feet. My ears hurt now and I'm having trouble equalizing at 25-30 feet. In order to let things heal, should I stop freediving and just snorkel on the surface for a while or is there something I can do to accelerate the healing process. I haven't talked to an otolaryngologist but a fellow diver recommended I stay away from freediving 1-2 months.

Aloha & Mahalo,
Marcus

 

[Grover48]

GO SEE A DOCTOR!!!

I can not emphasize that enough.

 

[Grover48]

GO SEE A DOCTOR!!!

I can not emphasize that enough.

 

[TheWetRookie]

GO SEE A DOCTOR!!!

I can not emphasize that enough.

What he said

 

[diver 85]

What he said

What they both said........unless his buddy slept in a ---------(get the picture)........

 

[HawaiiFinnFish]

Thank you for the replies,
However the last OL Doctor I saw here couldn't do jack so I'd just as well stay away with my non-insurance and let things hopefully heal on thier own. I was hoping to get advice on either timefrime to spend on surface, and to learn whether freediving is still an option for the next few months or if it is a bad idea and might result in permanent damage because equalization is now difficult rather than easy.

Aloha from Hawai`i!
FinnFish

 

[HawaiiFinnFish]

Yeah, dive buddies are important unless they spearfish, leave a trail of fishblood in the water and wear tanks while I shoot to the bottom on my own with just a mask and fins. That's the MO of our spearfishers.... We're supposed to be self-sufficient on our own dives. The thing is, I don't have a problem until I get around 30 feet, and cannot equalize properly, and also my ears hust at ambient surface pressure and I don't know what to do other than just wait and let time pass; furthermore, I don't know if I should refrain from diving at certain depths or altogether (aside from surface snorkeling -- and I hate using snorkels) in order to have the damage repair itself with time.

 

[DandyDon]

GO SEE A DOCTOR!!!

I can not emphasize that enough.

Looks like he's going to wait until the infection sets in well, end up in a waiting room on the verge of tears. Been there.

 

[vixtor]

[..] I didn't equalize properly the second time at around 55 feet. [..] now and I'm having trouble equalizing at 25-30 feet.

I only had formal scuba classes (not freediving), so maybe what I'm doing is not right for freediving/snorkeling. But even when I'm snorkeling and going down, I am equalizing the first time at 1-2 feet deep, and then at every 4-6 feet I feel I need to do it again. If I would go down to 30 feet without equalizing I cannot imagine I would still be able to push some air into the internal ear, and the pain would be terrible. Of course, as I go deep the volume variation decreases, so the equalizations happen at larger intervals.

 

[openmindOW]

HawaiiFinnFish, you have my sympathy, but you really need to see a Medical Doctor notwithstanding the lack of insurance. Bring a checkbook or, better yet, a credit card. I am sorry that you don't have Insurance, but as Dandy Don suggests, it is possible that an infection could set in. That will cost more money to address if you wait it out. If you have an infection, it will probably NOT self-heal. And, no, diving is out for you for a while.