Perforated ear drum [Archive] - BSAC Scuba Diving Forums

Annaspanna

07-06-2010, 12:43

Hiya,

I have come here looking for some advice. I haven't started diving but it has always been my dream to do so. The problem is that I have a hole in my eardrum. Is there any way that I can learn to dive with it or will I have to undergo surgery first?
I'm not keen on the idea of surgery but if it is the only way I can learn to dive then I will have to do it.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated :)

ChristianG

07-06-2010, 13:01

I'm not keen on the idea of surgery but if it is the only way I can learn to dive then I will have to do it.
Welcome aboard Anna. :)

Understand that I'm not a Doctor, leave alone an ENT specialist, but your eardrums do need to be whole and hearty before you can take up diving and, I suspect, that having such an operation will not necessarily automatically get you into dive mode either.

It might help to learn just how you got that hole in the first instance? I ask because it might (not will) have some bearing on the matter.

NickMcV

07-06-2010, 13:13

Hi Anna,
If you search through the medical forum, there are a few threads that discuss this in detail.
Christian is right that a hole is not a good thing, as water will get into the inner ear, along with all the little bugs and beasties in the water, and be an infection risk.
You will have to discuss with an ENT specialist & Diving Medical referee to determine if the repair operation will result in a sufficiently robust repair to allow you to dive safely.

I'm not a doc - but did burst an ear drum once, so have some personal insight on the problem - Good luck....

R.Burgess

07-06-2010, 14:14

I was recently diagnosed as having a perforated ear drum but it has healed itself. Although I've heard about people having surgery, are you sure your perforation is permanent?

garfield32

07-06-2010, 15:32

Hi Anna,

I used to suffer with a lot of inner ear infections after diving.

After a while and many missed dives I went to see an ENT specialist who diagnosed a permanent perforation in my right ear drum, which I suspect was due to a weaken ear drum caused by having a tube surgically implanted when I was a teenager.

I then started to use a pro-ear mask as a temporary measure to keep me diving i.e. keep my ear dry and stop the infections. This was until I had the surgery, a myringoplasty, which is where they repair the hole with a graft. In my case they took the graft from my outer ear. Since then (I had the op about 4-5 years ago) I've had no further problems with my ear and diving. I do on average 50-70 dives a year mainly in the UK.

So in summary seeing an ENT specialist is definitley the way to go.

Hope you get it sorted

Regards

Gareth

ChristianG

07-06-2010, 16:47

I then started to use a pro-ear mask as a temporary measure to keep me diving i.e. keep my ear dry and stop the infections.
A word of caution on the Pro-Ear mask (I note that it was a temporary measure, but nevertheless). Yes, it "protects" the ear/s but if it floods, easy enough to do, particularly for a beginner at this thing, it is likely to create havoc with your ears.

It's an "if all else fails" solution, provided you're prepared to accept the undeniable risks of it.

Your ears do more than allow you to hear, they are also central to your balance. Lose your ears' balance mechanism and you're likely to be in worse trouble than being deaf, you can learn deaf, you can't learn balance.

northern_diver

07-06-2010, 19:40

PeteM

08-06-2010, 07:52

Hi Anna

http://www.hse.gov.uk/diving/medical/amed1.htm

List of HSE approved medical examiners for diving related issues. Theses specialists will be able to give a more up-to-date and accurate answer than the forum (however good the forum honestly is :)).

Agreed however those people have by their very nature a commercial slant, you are better off speaking to those that BSAC/SAA/SSAC/PADI/et al will actually require you to see to get the medical if you can not sign the self declartion http://www.uksdmc.co.uk/main/Medical%20referees.htm