3 thoughts on “Ruptured eardrum open thread and Ajiaco”

  2. Henry,

    You had problems equalizing at depth and hurt your eardrums?

    Had similar problem years ago in Curacao while scuba diving. Mine’s was not that bad because I aborted the dive once I realize that I could not equalize (it was my second dive for the day).

    Back on the boat I had a little blood mixed with my mucus (but no big deal thought). Went to the doctor and gave me Sudafed, took two weeks to heal.

    Now I take non-drowsy Sudafed before I dive to avoid the problem. Some divers with sinus problems use this approach with excellent results.

    Take care I hope all is well and soon you can return to diving. Have to be careful because is the damage to the ear is greater you won’t be able to dive again.

  3. We were fishing in about 30 feet of water and when it was time to pull up the anchor we couldn’t get it out because it was buried in the sand and the current was pushing the boat so strongly that was only getting wedged in further. We had an inexperienced person captaining the boat and he couldn’t manage the maneuver. So I dived in with a mask and snorkel to see if I could get the anchor loose. I grabbed the anchor line and started pulling myself down. I equalized about 10 feet down and started feeling more pressure at about 15 feet. Before I could get my hand back to my nose to equalize again it burst. I felt the pain and the water rush in.

    I’ve perforated the eardrum before when I was a child but later became a certified diver and never had problems with it until Saturday.

    Luckily the hole isn’t that big. The otolaryngolgist put a “patch” on it today and I have to go back in 6 weeks.

    I’m feeling a lot better.

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