About three years ago I jumped into the swimming pool and ruptured my eardrum. I have been told that I have a scar on it now. I also skydive, but it has never bothered me to go to 14,000 feet. I would really like to go scuba diving, but every time I now go into a pool it takes days for the water to drain out of my ear. How can I find out what is happening here and if I can go scuba diving? Needless to say, I am not willing to risk my hearing over this.

Thalia

How much do you trust your physician?

The key question is this: Has the hole healed completely? Scuba diving can be very hazardous if you still have a hole in your eardrum. As you well know, as you descend in the water, the water pressure increases dramatically. Water under pressure can "jet" through an eardrum perforation, causing serious injury to the middle ear and inner ear. This could result in permanent deafness and severe dizziness.

What you need is an examination and/or a test. An ear, nose and throat doctor should examine your eardrum under a binocular microscope. This could reveal a small residual perforation, one that could easily have been missed by your doctor's hand-held otoscope. A simple test called a "tympanogram" could also help reveal a small perforation. Given a choice, I would rely upon the microscopic examination, but it would not be unreasonably excessive to have both the microscopic examination and a tympanogram.

Let the ear, nose and throat doctor know that you want to be "cleared to go back to scuba diving." Once you have received reassurance that your ears are "safe" for scuba diving, you might ask him or her for recommendations regarding an earplug that would keep water out of your ear while diving.

My preference for a comfortable, effective and inexpensive earplug is to divide a ball of cotton in half. Into each half, rub petroleum jelly (Vaseline) until the cotton takes on a slightly dark color and has a putty-like texture. Place a plug firmly into each ear-canal opening -- snugly enough so that they will not fall out, but not so deep that you need an ENT to remove the plug! I assume that you wear a diving suit. The headgear should keep most of the water away from your ear canals, but the cotton-and-Vaseline plugs would give you an extra layer of protection.