My experience has been very bad with my perforated eardrum, but from what I have read on the internet, I am a very rare case.
I did it for the first time 9 years ago. about 3 months later after checking with a ENT doctor, I went on another dive. The ear felt a little strange, but it was fine. My next dive at about 30 feet of water with no excessive clearing the perforation happened again while performing the valsalva. I tried two more times to dive after that with no luck. the ear drum perforated both times with very light valsalva before reaching 15 feet. I gave up after that on SCUBA diving despite my over 100 dives and love for the sport.
About 5 years ago I lived on an island in southern Japan. The snorkeling was amazing. I snorkeled and could go down to about 10 feet if I went down slow and let my ears naturally equalize. One day while returning to the surface, it happened again merely by the expanding air from my accent. My eardrum seems to have gotten consistently weaker with each perforation.
I suspect that through blowing my nose with vairous colds and such that it has happened more than the six times that I have counted.
The last time was 2 1/2 months ago. I was doing a headfirst dive into a lake and the impact of the water on my eardrum perforated it again. My previous three times before I had not seen a doctor. This time, the doctor told me that it was such a huge hole that he couldn't imagine it healing so upon my return to Japan where I now live, I went to the ENT doctor here to get a referal for surgery that the doctor in the U.S. assured me would be needed. But they told me that it was healed and there was no need for surgery.
I am very frustrated. I have always wanted the injury to be bad enough so that I could have surgery covered by insurance. Even though my eardrum seems to heal enough to satisfy a doctor, everytime I try to dive or snorkel more than a few feet, I prompltly get another perforation! And now it seems I can't even jump into the water without it happening.
I don't know what to do!!! Please help!
I did it for the first time 9 years ago. about 3 months later after checking with a ENT doctor, I went on another dive. The ear felt a little strange, but it was fine. My next dive at about 30 feet of water with no excessive clearing the perforation happened again while performing the valsalva. I tried two more times to dive after that with no luck. the ear drum perforated both times with very light valsalva before reaching 15 feet. I gave up after that on SCUBA diving despite my over 100 dives and love for the sport.
About 5 years ago I lived on an island in southern Japan. The snorkeling was amazing. I snorkeled and could go down to about 10 feet if I went down slow and let my ears naturally equalize. One day while returning to the surface, it happened again merely by the expanding air from my accent. My eardrum seems to have gotten consistently weaker with each perforation.
I suspect that through blowing my nose with vairous colds and such that it has happened more than the six times that I have counted.
The last time was 2 1/2 months ago. I was doing a headfirst dive into a lake and the impact of the water on my eardrum perforated it again. My previous three times before I had not seen a doctor. This time, the doctor told me that it was such a huge hole that he couldn't imagine it healing so upon my return to Japan where I now live, I went to the ENT doctor here to get a referal for surgery that the doctor in the U.S. assured me would be needed. But they told me that it was healed and there was no need for surgery.
I am very frustrated. I have always wanted the injury to be bad enough so that I could have surgery covered by insurance. Even though my eardrum seems to heal enough to satisfy a doctor, everytime I try to dive or snorkel more than a few feet, I prompltly get another perforation! And now it seems I can't even jump into the water without it happening.
I don't know what to do!!! Please help!
