Ruptured ear drum

[lexi]

Ok. This summmer my hubby dove into the pool and ruptured his eardrum. He was in a ton of pain. Took him to dr and he said it was ruptured and to keep it dry for a few days. And that was it.

 

So I told him to stay out of the pool for a few weeks. He did. But when he went back to his lap swimming that he does a few times a week, it was hurting and he said it felt full of water. He said it was not healed.

 

I told him to keep putty in his ear for now. He did not listen. He took a break from swimming but when he swam again, same thing.

 

It's now November and he tried swimming again and he's having pain and dizziness and water is seeping out of his ear. And of course he swam without putty. Whatever. Ugh!

 

What do I do? Should it not have healed by now (original injury was in late July)? Should I worry about permanent damage?

[EKS]

When my son had ruptured eardrums (two at once!) the doctor told us to keep his ears dry and to come back in a few weeks (I can't remember exactly how long it was) so that he could look in there and see that things had healed.  After that was done, he needed to have a hearing test (a real one in a booth).

 

It sounds like your husband needs to see the doctor again to find out of the eardrum actually healed and advice on where to go from here if it did not.

[lexi]

Awesome! (Not)

We leave for family vacation to great wolf lodge next week. Swimming and water slides. I could cry.

[EmilyGF]

My sister had a hole in her eardrum for a decade. 

 

She put ear putty in her ear and wore a swim cap every.single.time she went swimming. She also suffered hearing loss at a few frequencies (specifically one that her alarm clock uses :-) ). But KEEP IT DRY. She also took baths for that decade and only had my mom wash her hair.

 

Emily

[Mrs_JWM]

I think you might worry silently about permanent damage, but your husband is an adult. If he chooses not to see a doctor or use ear plugs while swimming, then that's on him. I hope he is able to help you have fun on your vacation by doing non-water things with the kids when they need a break from the water stuff and you relax.

 

Sent from my XT1049 using Tapatalk

Edited November 12, 2016 by Mrs_JWM

[saw]

DS has a hole in his eardrum and hearing loss due to the hole. When he swims, he uses putty, an earband and a swimming cap. If any water gets in his ear, it hurts like the dickens. The expectation is that he will have a graft to repair the eardrum at some point in a year or so and that then no longer have hearing loss. The ENT has stressed that we have to keep the ear dry and that swimming is okay provided he keeps the ear dry. Hearing loss isn't fun, DS misses words and parts of conversations and has trouble sometimes in school because of it!

[Pippen]

Yes you definitely should worry about permanent damage. I've had multiple ruptures but they always healed. Even so I have had some hearing loss.

 

He should be seen by an ear, nose, and throat specialist. He needs to be evaluated for possible infection and have a hearing evaluation done so they know where he's at now and to serve as a baseline for the future.

 

The ENT will stress the importance of keeping the ear dry. If he hasn't listened to you by now he probably won't.

Edited November 12, 2016 by Pippen