Well, I've managed to rupture my eardrum. My question to my brethren on TB is this: Has anyone else done this before? How long did it take to heal? Did your hearing return to normal?
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Ruptured eardrum. Anyone else ever have it?
- Thread starter MonkeyBass
- Start date
Dr. said it ruptured due to an inner ear infection (didn't even know I had one). I'm on antibiotics and nasal steroids (to keep the eustachian tube open). Hopefully I'll recover in 6 to 8 weeks.
Good to hear it's generally a full recovery. Right now the hearing loss and roaring sound is pretty annoying.
Good to hear it's generally a full recovery. Right now the hearing loss and roaring sound is pretty annoying.
I ruptured my eardrum as a kid. I had a full recovery too but it was pretty annoying being deaf in the one ear for a few weeks.
My nephew had that happen for the same reason. His infection was bad enough that they had to replace his tubes with plastic ones. I don't recall the exact recovery time,I think it was 7-8 months,but it was a full recovery...and I swear,that kid hears EVERYTHING now,but still can't listen 
I had one of mine ruptured in a fight,and the roaring/big surf sound lasted about 2 weeks before my tinnitus returned,but that was a different injury cause..
I'm sorry to hear about your condition,I know it sucks. But,you should be able to look forward to a full recovery,and you'll definitely want to look for a pair of quality ear plugs. IIRC,my nephew had a pair that let him hear a constant decibel level kinda like 'noise limiting' hearing aids. I'll see if I can get more info from him for you..
I had one of mine ruptured in a fight,and the roaring/big surf sound lasted about 2 weeks before my tinnitus returned,but that was a different injury cause..
I'm sorry to hear about your condition,I know it sucks. But,you should be able to look forward to a full recovery,and you'll definitely want to look for a pair of quality ear plugs. IIRC,my nephew had a pair that let him hear a constant decibel level kinda like 'noise limiting' hearing aids. I'll see if I can get more info from him for you..
I used to rupture my eardrum every six months. Since it takes 12 months for a full recovery...
You will recover fully. The surf (blood flow) goes away in a couple of weeks, you seem to be healed in six to eight weeks, but your eardrums are still quite fragile at this point. WEAR EARPLUGS when practicing or doing any other loud activity for at least a year. Use all of the steroids and antibiotics as directed. Expect intermittent but frequent tinnitus for the first six months, then occasionally after that for another six months.
Sorry it happened to you, and best of luck.
You will recover fully. The surf (blood flow) goes away in a couple of weeks, you seem to be healed in six to eight weeks, but your eardrums are still quite fragile at this point. WEAR EARPLUGS when practicing or doing any other loud activity for at least a year. Use all of the steroids and antibiotics as directed. Expect intermittent but frequent tinnitus for the first six months, then occasionally after that for another six months.
Sorry it happened to you, and best of luck.
Thanks for responses and well wishes. You've put me at ease in letting me know I'll be back to normal.
The ironic thing is I got the ear infection from a cut that I got in my ear canal from getting molds made for Westone earplugs!
The ironic thing is I got the ear infection from a cut that I got in my ear canal from getting molds made for Westone earplugs!
It's a good move if you're ever attacked. A solid blow to the ear'll do it and the attacker will have a hard time carrying on with impaired balance. Don't do it unless you're being seriously threatened, though (i.e., scumbag with a knife, not just some jack*** taking a swing at you) because if you hit them too hard (and you'll want to err on the side of hitting too hard), you can give them a concussion. Even if it's the biggest jack*** in the world, you'll have a tough time explaining why you gave him a concussion, especially if he gets the law involved (which he will because he's a jack***).
I ruptured mine cliff diving. In the days following, I had significant pain, noise and drainage. My hearing came back but, it's reduced compared to my other ear.
Well it's mostly the very high end that's diminished. I can still hear fairly well out of that ear, but I can definitely tell the difference.
6jase5
Mammogram is down but I'm working manually
I was diagnosed with Meniere's disease a yeah and a half ago. It sucks. I've lost all the low to mid frequencies on my right ear. It's messed up my sense of direction...I can't tell where sounds are coming from. I'll have a kid ask a question in class and have to scan the whole room to find the kid, despite the fact that the kid is 4 feet to my right. Kinda like losing depth perception when you lose sight in one eye. I also get nasty vertigo and the nausea that accompanies it. Note to self...try everything possible NOT to hurl tuna salad...it's definitely better the first time.
It happened to me while watching Nazareth at an outdoor concert. So, so loud. My wife(ex now) was trying to say something to me and I couldn't hear her so she got in closer and started yelling as loud as she could. At that moment the band came to an abrupt stop. Hurt like hell, and there was a little blood. Had a bad headache the rest of the night, but it was gone the next morn. Couldn't hear well for a month or so, but think I'm back to normal now. That was maybe 12 years ago.
mine ruptured many times as a kid, from chronic ear infections. The infection behind the drum was too much pressure for it to take and it would tear. Last time it happened I went to a concert and had a bad ear infection when I was 13. The infection along with the high SPL at the show caused it to rupture. Pus was running out of my ear and down the side of my face. It smelled so bad. But it healed just fine.
An added bonus of all those ruptures- the scar tissue was very thin, so I could hear VERY well, and I could hear very high frequencies like dog whistles, anti-theft systems in department stores when I walked through the doors, and even though my hearing is a little damaged now at 35 I can still hear the high pitched noise a traditional tube tv makes when it's on but the screen is black. I can always tell when my daughter has left the tv on but shut the cable box and surround system off by the whine of the tv, but no one else can hear it. Pretty cool talent I guess.
An added bonus of all those ruptures- the scar tissue was very thin, so I could hear VERY well, and I could hear very high frequencies like dog whistles, anti-theft systems in department stores when I walked through the doors, and even though my hearing is a little damaged now at 35 I can still hear the high pitched noise a traditional tube tv makes when it's on but the screen is black. I can always tell when my daughter has left the tv on but shut the cable box and surround system off by the whine of the tv, but no one else can hear it. Pretty cool talent I guess.
I had a ruptured eardrum (unknowingly) for almost a year. From a sports accident. It basically felt exactly like those moments in Saving Private Ryan when an explosion goes off and suddenly everything is super muffled. It started causing really bad balance/vertigo complications because the holes remained. And apparently my ent doc was terrible and never mentioned them. Got a new doc and he patched them up with skin grafts in minor surgery. Hearing was not significantly different after that. Lost some high pitch hearing making it harder to distinguish speech in noisy places. And I don't hear brass on drum kits in the full band mix(unless they are ringing out during a rest in the song).
For a while after that I had to make sure not to lift heavy objects or do anything that could put heavy pressure on it.
BurningSkies
CRAZY BALDHEAD
- Feb 20, 2005
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I have a hole in my right eardrum that's been there for years. Obviously my hearing isn't that great to start, but I don't notice much difference from when it was whole. Beyond the somewhat strange feel of having air pass through it.
Yep, once in each ear. Both were before the age of 11, so it's a little difficult to remember how long it took to heal. I remember I had cotton in my ear for at least a week or two and had to drain it a lot. I had a lot of problems with ear infections as a child, so I had about 20-30% hearing loss before I started playing music. Most of it is in the upper register though, according to my hearing tests, so it hasn't hurt my bass playing much 
...unless I've been getting hissed at on stage all these hears and I just never heard it.
...unless I've been getting hissed at on stage all these hears and I just never heard it.
