ruptured eardrum?

i did a couple jumps this weekend and on the first jump i lost quit a bit of my hearing. and @ the time i did have a little cold. my question is how serious is this? could i have ruptured my eardrums? should i get it checked out?

go to a doctor tomoroww(today if you can)
that is not cool.
if you have any type of congestion you should SERIOUSLY think about staying low! hope its nothing major

Get it checked out ASAP. Jumping with even the slightest congestion can really fuck up your ears. Better to be safe and get it looked at by a dr.

I had a temporary loss of hearing also, 2 months ago when i had a little cold and went up to 14000 ft.
It was the feeling like 1 of my ears wouldnt `pop` back from the difference in pressure.
I walked with it for about 2 weeks, then i put a little bit of oil (natural oil, which you use for cooking), into that ear just 2 or 3 drops, and held my head under an angle to prevent it flowing out for at least 1/2 hour.
After that 1/2 hour i washed the ear out with a medium hot shower, just shower in your ear with some pressure.
The next day it was almost gone, and the day after it was gone.
Stupid from me that i didnt do it earlier then 2 weeks.
Maybe it works for you too.

Tip: use a straw to drip the oil in your ear, you´ll find that your ear is more difficult to find then you think, instead of pooring the whole oil-bottle over your head. Found that one out by experience, put straw in oil, then seal of 1 end with your finger.

If you did rupture your eardrum, you´d know. I ruptured mine on my third jump from 12.5k, and didn´t notice it while in freefall (adrenaline). When my skymaster opened i DID notice Even the slow turns I made w/the skymaster to get down fast were dizzying so I flew as straight as I could. Having tears in my eyes all the way down It felt really cold in my ear, tickled a lot and when moving my jaw I heard this sloshing sound. You bet I was sure what happened.... Pain was gone by the time I was back in the hangar. I jumped again the next day, 3 times, for fear the doctor wouldn´t let me for a while (yeah I know, real sound reasoning). It happened on a friday, I was at my doctor´s on monday and it had healed already. No problem according to the doctor, just don´t get your ear wet in the shower etc, no swimming.
Since it happened I have had way less trouble w/pressure in that ear. So it sorta helped.... I did end up w/a sinus infection that week, I just hadn´t felt it that weekend yet.

Eh what was it I wanted to say.. Right, I don´t think you ruptured your eardrum..... Go see a doctor if it hasn´t cleared....

i just got my ears checked out and the doctor said that i partially ruptered my left ear. And my right ear is infected. they gave me ear drops to dry the fluid in the middle ear and antibiotics as well as decongestions. But the bad new is that i was told not to jump for at least 2 weeks. but i guess i'll be the judge of that.

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i just got my ears checked out and the doctor said that i partially ruptered my left ear. And my right ear is infected. they gave me ear drops to dry the fluid in the middle ear and antibiotics as well as decongestions. But the bad new is that i was told not to jump for at least 2 weeks. but i guess i'll be the judge of that.

Actually, this is one of the few instances where the medicos actually have the facts right. It isn't the skydiving that would put you at risk, it is the pressure changes involved with the flight. It would be in your best interest to stay on the ground for the two weeks until you are completely healed, the risk to your health and hearing is not worth it.

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I walked with it for about 2 weeks, then i put a little bit of oil (natural oil, which you use for cooking), into that ear just 2 or 3 drops, and held my head under an angle to prevent it flowing out for at least 1/2 hour.

If you think you may have a ruptured ear drum, I would strongly recommend against this. Cooking oil isn't sterile, and could introduce some unfriendly bacteria to your middle ear if your eardrum is perforated.

A

Don't push it dude, 2 weeks may seem like a long time, but if you think of the rest of your jumping career (40+years), then its nothing. You don't want to fuck with your hear!

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Don't push it dude, 2 weeks may seem like a long time, but if you think of the rest of your jumping career (40+years), then its nothing. You don't want to fuck with your hear!

on another note along that line.... hearing does not repair itself, if you've lost it, it's gone permanently. loud aircraft can hassen hearing loss, it's not a bad idea to wear ear plugs for noise (hello Skyvan!).

to hell with your hearing...if you jump and get disorientated you may end up killing someone(including yourself). stay on the ground!!!

if you have a partial rupture it is easy to finish the job with another few jumps.
would you jump while you were drunk? I hope not, but thats the same effect you'll have if you finish deafening yourself!

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to hell with your hearing...if you jump and get disorientated you may end up killing someone(including yourself). stay on the ground!!!

if you have a partial rupture it is easy to finish the job with another few jumps.
would you jump while you were drunk? I hope not, but thats the same effect you'll have if you finish deafening yourself!

I should have clarified that I meant chronic long term noise exposure, not the sudden rupture. long term noise exposure leads to hearing loss that will not recover

Sonic,
actually I was responding for Rookeskydiver. I know I cresponded to you. but I think the hearing loss is a small price to pay if you look at the possibilities of raising the statistics .
two weeks is NOT long at all to wait. Trust me I know how much it sucks to not jump! but we have a responsibilities to the other jumpers to be as safe was we can!

I had a cold over the summer.. didn't really even bother me at all.. until I did a full altitude jump and freaked out cause i couldn't hear a damn thing out of my right ear (of course i continued to jump that day, stupid me) anyway, I went to the Dr. and he said with the pressure built up from the fluid on my ear drum, i should not jump until it has cleared up with the BOTTLES of antibotics i was supposed to take.. NOT JUMP? YAH RIGHT.. So he suggested something else.. I went into the hospital the next day and had tubes put into my ears. Insurance covered it and it took about 15 minutes. The best damn thing i ever did! I was cleared to jump the next day, and my ears don't ever even pop on the way to altitude anymore.

The only stipulation with this was I cannot get my ears underwater for 6 months, the tubes fall out on there own.. SOLD!! A small price to pay for the altitude gained!

Just thought I'd share some options.

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. But the bad new is that i was told not to jump for at least 2 weeks. but i guess i'll be the judge of that.

There are 2 reasons for not jumping (if there are more please do tell me).

Reason number 1: it can rupture, causing: from partial to long term loss of hearing, lost of balance, exessive pain, internal bleeding, dizziness, you might faint and most prolly you will not be able to stand up your landing and might biff the landing cause the lost of balance, and you will lose stage 1 from the 12 stages that the ear has.

Reason 2: it can get injured again (a not so painful injury) and will get severly infected making you loose a stage and giving your partial permanent loss of hearing and dizziness.

if you get one of these 2 reasons, your ear will be sensitive to infections and you will have to carry ear drops with you everywhere you go for a lot of years and will have to extra carefull when you go to the beach or the pool, etc.

Conclution: wait the 2 weeks, its not so bad, use them to go to the beach or who knows where. Oh yeah, no scuba dive or deep diving cause that pressure can also make you have a really bad day, trust me on this one.

Hey, Rooke....

First, I am glad you weren't more seriously injured...ears are nothing to fool around with. Good to hear you've gone to the Dr...

However....

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But the bad new is that i was told not to jump for at least 2 weeks. but i guess i'll be the judge of that.

Well, you jumped congested...you were the judge of that, too...

Nope, the Dr. is the judge of that. Over the summer, I had eye surgery. Know what? I really really really wanted to jump before he said o.k. The day after he o.k.'d me I was in the air again. Know what else? I still have a tube in my eye as we speak. It is really irritating. It is a pain in the, well, eye. He has started to remove it twice, because it was only supposed to be in there 2 months, and it's now 4 1/2 months post op. I'm restricted because of the tube. Both times he started to remove it, he stopped. my eye is not ready. If it had been left up to me, I'd've pulled it out long ago. I'm in fairly regular "pain" (feels like an eyelash is there all the time). BUT! It's not yet fully healed. So I wait.

Guess what? He's the Dr. You're not. Listen to him, tolerate it for what it is. You're here in So CA, so it's not like you have to jump before "winter" sets in. Worse comes to worst? You sit out for 14 days. Paugh. Nothing. You think the sky's going somewhere? You think you'll forget how to do this amazing thing? You think all your friends will be miracle jumpers by the time you come back? Not true. So what's the rush?

Stay down, get healed, and then return as normal. You'll be happy you did, and your Dr. will be pleased you actually listened to him.
Ciels-
Michele

hey guys thanks a lot for all the info. and support. i was supposed to drive up to perris for the first time to jump with some friends, we were all stoked about jumping there. i havent jumped anywhere but san diego. but thanks to you guys i'm sure it can hold off for two weeks. thanks guys

Good deal, Rooke! Smart decision!
Ciels-
Michele

I'm curious about something, and it might be slightly OT....

SO I understand that jumping while you have a cold, head cold, congestion, etc... is bad, but....

Is it from the alitude that causes the problem, or the sudden change in altitude from climbing in the aricraft or the actual skydive??

i.e.:
If you were to do a HnP instead of a full altitude jump (13k+) would it make any difference ? Or what about if you were to go snowboarding instead on a mountain that is about 8,000' MSL. Would the effects be the same for all three if you had the same sickness?

>Is it from the alitude that causes the problem, or the
>sudden change in altitude from climbing in the aricraft
>or the actual skydive??

It's the sudden change in air-pressure(~=altitude), on the aircraft or during the jump itself. When you're congested, the pressure inside your head can't balance itself with the outside pressure fast enough; when the pressure difference grows big enough, pop goes the eardrum.

>If you were to do a HnP instead of a full altitude jump
>(13k+) would it make any difference ?

Yes. When recovering from a cold(and sometimes when I've been sick as well, stupid, I know), I do a hop'n'pop to see how I feel. If I feel fine, I go full altitude.

>Or what about if you were to go snowboarding instead
>on a mountain that is about 8,000' MSL.

It's not the altitude, it's the pressure changes.

Erno

What Erno said!.

rooke,

Glad you decided to stay. believe me i ko whow you feel In the three years Ive been jumping Ive been Unjumpable for more then half of it. (mostly due to location)

It helps you appreciate it more when you get back!
besides, If you cant give 100% to the dive, then its just wasted money.
If you were to jump in pain you wouldnt accomplish anything but deafening yourself!
it sucks, Yes,but you made a good decision!

It was about 2 years ago that something similar happened to me and i was "grounded" for 2-3 weeks. I got lucky and the weather sucked so i couldn't have jumped anyway.
You're doing the right thing by waiting it out.

WHAT ?!!

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WHAT ?!!

ROFLMAO!

Can you hear me now?

Cool...