Ruptured eardrums - any experience?
Hi there Grazza,
This happened to me about 6months back, at South Stradie, I nearly drowned and was a wake up call for sure.
My advice is not to go in the water for 3 weeks, keep it dry especially in the shower(cotton buds) and do not put alcohol ear drops in.
You'll be all right mate, grab a video, or a camera and a beer and take it in bro.
Hope you get some good footage of your son...
:)
Yeah sorry but your hearing will take about 6 weeks to come back properly, so dont worry.
You have burst your ear drum and the nerve endings that are connected to the snail looking thing inside your head has been slighty damaged, due to your loss of hearing.
Takes time mate, chill.
At least when your girl asks you do to the dishes or something, you have a good opurtunity to not hear it???
gday grazzer, I ruptured my eardrum a couple of months ago, and got similar symptoms, really bad head spins, pain for a couple days and tinnitus, felt like i had a ear infection/blocked ear for a couple weeks, went to the hospital the same day and the doctors diagnosis was ruptured eardrum and to stay out of the water for six weeks, if your not sure if youve ruptured it one way to check is to block your nose and then breath hard through it like you would to pressurize your ears if you were diving or on a plane and if you feel/hear the air blow through your ear its ruptured, it is a bit painful to do though. you'll be fine to surf as long as you feel ok and you DONT get water in the ears, theres heaps of info about how to go about it on the net, just google ruptured eardrum surfing, i found bluetack to be the best to keep the water out, i wouldnt be surfing anything too big though cos if the bluetack comes out your gonna get the spinning/pain etc again as soon as you get water in the ear. I got a bit of fluid from the affected ear for the first couple of hours but if it keeps going on for days id get it checked again, just remember you cant get water in the canal for minimum 6-8 weeks or you could get permanent hearing damage, hope that helps.
** i was back in the water 2 days later against doctors advice just plugged up the ear with bluetack, 8 weeks and many surfs later and i cant notice any permanent changes, I have made sure to plug the ear well everytime ive gone surfing and touch wood no problems yet, not game to give it a go without the bluetack yet
There is so much good advice on surfing forums with so many experts how can you go wrong. I would not even consider going to a doctor for this one grazza, If the waves are good this morning mate I suggest you take 6 panadol, if you can get hold of panadol forte or similar 4 will do, wash them down with 2 bottles of beer. Do not have any breakfast, then get a plastic bag large enough to pull over your head and do just that, make sure it is clear plastic so you can see, then tape it firmly round your neck(or a big zip tie) to create a watertight seal. Also one last tip you can pass onto your son and his mates, a triple board bag makes a good bodybag if needed.
Listen to Weellybin
oozing liquid from both ears and the possibility of both eardrums being ruptured, personally I would head home, the risk of a major infection in such a delicate area is to high .
the antibiotics youre taking were they bought in aust ,indo ones may not be 100% real as in ingredients.
is staying on worth losing all your hearing.
how does one go flying with both drums ruptured ?
I'd have to agree with Udo. In that warm tropical water the bacteria will cause infection in no time. Had some bad ones from simple reef grazes over there so staying out of the water (as hard as it is) would be best, especially when we're talking about your ear/hearing and being close to other vital organs.
Hey Grazza,
After it happened did you have a warm sensation at the back of your throat? You'll know the feeling if it happened, it's pretty unique. If so, you've def got a rupture or perforation - that feeling is liquid (seawater) seeping down the cavity between your ear and throat.
Even if you don't have that there's still a chance it may be ruptured, I did it one time without that feeling (have done it three times in total). A good friend of mine ruptured his eardrum on the rail of his board, so it's quite possible to happen that way.
Alternatively, and without diagnosis from a good Ear, Nose and Throat doctor it's difficult to say for sure. As Wellymon said a good whack will send the cochlear and all it's sensitive machinery flying, making hearing difficult for a good, long while. But the eardrum will stay intact.
The final point is surfing: I've known, and seen first hand, people surfing with busted eardrums. One of them a surf guide on our boat at 6 foot Maccas. He gave the vertigo a day to settle down, bunged his eardrum full of Blu-tac and went for it. Wasn't a bother. Make sure you use new Blu-tac each session.
Personally, I'd err on the side of caution and go for it. Don't let that swell go to waste...well, maybe not the 15 footers but, you know, on the backside of the swell there's gonna be an epic day or two. Let the antibiotics do their thing, pull rank on Sam when the bombs come and make it a trip to remember.
Lastly, have something to suck on when you're flying back. If the eardrum is only perforated or slightly traumatised you don't want it popping in the plane. Suck on them and equalise every 5 mins or more during ascent and descent.
Blew a big fucking hole in my right eardrum 15ys ago, took the full impact on the side of my head while pig dogging on a 5' beachie that closed out. I knew it was busted as soon as I headed to shore, tried to go straight but kept veering to the right.
Doctor's orders to stay out of the water for 6 weeks, then once back surfing not to get water in the ear for another 3-6 months and avoid any more impacts. This was from the hospital at Margs, they said they dealt with a half dozen busted ear drums a week.
The permanent damage is 70% hearing loss and tinnitus that can drive me fucking nuts at times, especially if I get water in the ear.
Take ya time man, no surf is worth any more damage than what you've already done.
advice seems to be stay in indo....first sign of pus or severe pain get the fuck outta there.
Thanks Folks, I'm feelin' the love here.
First off, It's very comforting to know that my symptoms are the standard ones. Stu, no warm sensation at the back of the throat. Does that mean any rupture is smaller? I'm grasping for positive straws here.
Can anyone tell what the yellow fluid actually is? Is it seawater lodged in some sinuses up there? Is it inner ear fluid leaking out through the ear drum perforation? Is it just weeping from the wound? Should I try and get rid of it or just let it run its course?
But overall, I've written off this trip. I'm thinking keep the powder dry for next year, given all your comments, coupled with the fact that I only had one functioning ear prior. (It's a long story - mumps as a kid resulting in nerve deafness. Vaccinate your kids, earth mummies and daddies - the diseases they prevent are far heavier than the ones you imagine they cause.) .
Surf is down to a more manageable 8-10' this AM, but the thought of going down with the head in this state is very scary. I shall watch and think about how to manage the pain that will undoubtedly ensue shortly after takeoff.
"no warm sensation at the back of the throat. Does that mean any rupture is smaller? I'm grasping for positive straws here."
From 8,000 km's away, sight unseen, and with no medical degree or letters after my name I can say conclusively, "I don't know."
Sorry...
But if it's positive straws you're after then grab a good camera, shoot every good wave the fellas hook into and sell them at $20 bucks a pop. Maybe give them package deals - $200 and they can have every photo you've taken of them.
Turn this year's surf trip expense into a tidy profit.
worst case scenario grazza - you could have a fractured skull (from the impact with your surfboard), and the yellow fluid could be cerebrospinal fluid (surrounds the spine and brain). If you have two black eyes this would suggest a skull fracture is quite likely. A CT scan of the head would be the best test to look for any fractures.
Good luck and hope the hearing loss is only temporary.
so whats ER doc think.......perforated eardrums ?
Probably. One (the ear I'm permanently deaf in) looks intact, the other he thinks is "blown away". Either that or anatomically abnormal. He assures me that they will probably grow back eventually. He was sure about the Banksy, but, and is excited at the prospect of surfing these babies for the next week. I was kind of antsy when he and the board went backwards over the falls together, but a deal is a deal, isn't it?
Having accepted my fate surfing-wise, only concern now is recovery of hearing. Not enjoying being deaf at all.
Hi,
What you think about Noise cancelling earplugs.
I think this ear plugs is more helpful to you.
OK, so day two of a three week stint in one of the more far flung regions of the Indonesian Archipelago and I suffered the worst single wipeout of a several decade long surfing career. A late grab rail backhand drop went wrong at the last minute and the lip slammed straight into my left ear which in turn drove my right forehead straight into the rail of my board. I came up with a) a lot of pain, b) the horizon spinning around wildly, and c) the next two waves of the set to deal with. My son had taken the wave previous and helped me past the waves and back to the boat.
Now it's three days later. My hearing is at about 20% of normal, with constant tinnitus as the accompaniment. Yellow fluid hasn't stopped weeping out of both years. It's uncomfortable to say the least, and more than a little bit worrying.
There's a nurse who looked at things post accident with those earscope devices (whatever they're called) and said no rupture but redness on the ear drum. I don't believe him and I think I've busted both sides. I'm hitting the antibiotics big time cause an infection would be scary, but I don't know whether this is all normal and I should wait it out or if I should be on the first plane home.
So, some of you buggers must have done this before - what's the drill?
I am currently sitting out a gazillion foot swell, and in a way I'm kinda glad I don't have to man up and hit it. But there is an enticingly shaped 15ft + set peeling down the reef as I write this. At least there's something to keep me entertained.