Riding with Burst Ear Drum

Ok so I just burst my ear drum off a KGB last sunday, not cool, and was bleeding for about a day. About half deaf in that ear now and super loud ringing. Seen the doc and got antibiotics and pain meds. Been about 3 days now and its ok, just the ringing noise which is seriously annoying.

My question is has anyone else done this and how did they go about riding? Im supposed to keep the ear completely dry so obviously thats a problem if I want to keep riding. Not riding is not an option so Im looking for some kind of solution that will let me ride without getting any water in my ear.

get some custom made ear plugs from a doctor, they are super comfy

anything I dont need to go to the doc for? I dunno, do they make ear flap thingies? Ill def get ear plugs but Ive heard even those are not completely waterproof

(Message edited by cheesydog on May 05, 2009)

I've actually had terrible luck with my eardrums, busted each one before. One of the worst feelings ever! The doctor always gave me some ear drops to use after being in the water. As far as riding, I just wore ear plugs.

Tom did you wait long before you rode? I actually want to ride now, its been about 3 days only

I just ruptured my eardrum at school last Tuesday. Some kid shove a glass rod up my ear and it ended up getting broken off. Anyways, I was wondering if there was a way to get back on the water safely. I don't want to risk anything, but want to be riding soon. I was thinking like cotton and then a headband or something, but I really have no idea.

I had this exact problem, and I wasn't willing to not ride either! I know the feeling!

I was told that if I let water in the ear, I could screw up the healing process and have permanent damage, so I approached things carefully - what worked for me was getting silicone earplugs. I think I got them at a regular drugstore. They come in a little plastic container and look like giant altoids at first. I followed the directions in the kit and they actually fill the entire pocket of your ear (you don't actually put them into the ear canal at all). They blocked water really well. Just to be on the safe side, my ear doc gave me this neoprene headband that wrapped over both my ears. They use them for little kids who get ear infections easily when learning to swim. This kept more water out and also kept some pressure on the silicone plug. I had to throw out the plug after each ride, since they were pretty nasty, but the little kit came with about 20, and I kept xtras on the boat.

It stayed totally dry and I got to ride plenty. Now I wear a protec helmet with ear flaps to prevent busting the drum again.

Good luck!

yeah what is used to do is buy some of that swimmers putty stuff that makes your own water tight ear plugs... you can get it at drug stores. then put those in and then duck tape over your ear. im talking a good whole ear cover. kinda uncomfortable but water tight.. i used to do it when i got ear infections from the dirty D. but still staying out of the water is always your best bet..

after i did mine i rode with silicon earplugs, then swimming cap held on with electrical tape, then helmet with ear flaps.
nothing like overkill to make you feel a bit safer...

some good ideas here, so I think ill get the silicon ear plugs, maybe puts some cotton in there and cover it with a headband or maybe swimmers cap plus helmet with ear flaps. Done!

A friend of mine who is a dentist uses silly putty religiously as ear plugs. Says no water gets in.

just get some grommets. they will stop it but if u hit the water hard they will come out... they will hurt to put in if u burst it i know the feeling u just gota keep cheaken them

proplugs.com -- Ive done it twice, rode with these both times against dr.'s orders.

It definately sucks 2 times here. I was gonna start wearing them after I healed but never do. Remembering how much it sucked bleeding and draining on my pillow at night has me thinking about finding some.

I am curious if riding with plugs could be dangerous also. What is you hit perfectly flat and jammed the plug deep into your ear?

The proplugs work good, but will allow water to enter if you fall hard. Get those and use the headband. I bought one last time I did it(got laughed when I put it on)and it helped a lot. I have lived with ear problems all my life due to having tubes as a kid. I always rupture the same hole in each ear. I have done it eleven times.

Custom earplugs from the doc are nice, but they are costly and I always lost them on hard falls. Of course I live in KS, and all of our lakes look like chocolate milk.

(Message edited by psudy on May 06, 2009)

I always get "macks" ear plugs. They're real cheap and at almost any drug store or wal-mart. When I busted mine, I used the plugs with a swim cap on top. Good luck, hope it gets better, busted ear drums are no fun!

DON"T RIDE until you are healed! I made that mistake at 18 and wish I could go back and change it! My hearing in my left ear is shot!

Once you have healed I would use the wax earplugs you can get at walgreens because you will lose some of them and you don't want to lose expensive ones from the doc.

Doc wax ear plugs and a swim cap is what I did. Oh yeah protec helmet with ear flaps. I still wear the helmet to this day.

Worst pain ever for me. I was knocked out from the impact. I came and the boat was already back getting ready to circle me. Throwing up, blood out of ear. Not fun stuff. I wakeboarded again 5 days later with the above mentioned gear. Balance was all messed up for several weeks.

yea i did the ear plug plus shower cap thing last wed night riding, managed to stick the trick that blew my ear drum so that was kinda a nice vindication

The freakin ringing in my ear tho is driving me nuts..

Luckily my balance doesnt seem to be affected so thats one positive thing

I'm with Riley. There is probably no more painful surgery than an eardrum graft- it's not worth it. It should heal up in 3-6 weeks and you'll be as good as new.

I blew mine 3 times (in less than 5 years) and then switched to a ace-wake helmet and have been safe for 4 seasons now.

EDIT- I'm sure there is a more painful surgery, but you get the idea

(Message edited by joe_crawley on May 07, 2009)

I blew my left eardrum last December when I caught my toe edge. It was funny that it didn't actually blow until several hours later while I was waiting in urgent care for a specialist to whom I had been referred by the Dr. who initially examined me. The next day I was sent to an ENT Dr. who told me that I could wakeboard as long as I wore earplugs. He recommended Doc's ProPlugs.

I got a set of ProPlugs at a local scuba shop. As I recall, there are four sizes available, and they let me try them on to be sure they fit. I tried one pair which was too small, so I asked to try the next size larger, which seemed to fit fairly well. I bought that pair and didn't try on any others. That was a mistake.

The next time I got a chance to wakeboard was on New Years Day. So I caught my toe edge again and lost both plugs when I fell and ruptured my left eardrum again. The ENT said that the second injury made it somewhat less likely that the eardrum would re-attach itself, but if it didn't heal properly, it could be surgically re-attached. He said I could keep on wakeboarding.

I went back to the scuba shop and tried on every size they had and ended up with the next size larger than the ones I lost. I then bought a Gath Surf Convertible helmet. I wore both the ProPlugs and the helmet which covered my ears and I concentrated on low impact riding until the ENT told me that my eardrum had healed over.

In the mean time, I was concerned that a hard fall would cause the ear flap to collapse against my ear and possibly blow it out. I got on ebay and bought a water polo cap (they have very rigid cups over the ears). The cups have a lot of vents, most of which I sealed with duck tape and Shoe Goo. I left a couple of the lowest vents open so that air or water pressure could not build up in a hard fall. Unfortunately, the cap wouldn"t fit under the Gath helmet and I did not want to wear it without a helmet because I was worried that it might be stripped off in a hard fall.

I was in a thrift shop a few days later and I walked by a bin of bicycle helmets. There was also an old Protec Ace helmet in the bin. It fit pretty well and I bought it for about a dollar, as I recall. The water polo cap fits quite nicely under the Protec Ace.

I wear the ProPlugs, the water polo cap and the Protec Ace every time I go wakeboarding now. Although I feel like a sissy putting on all that protection, I'm nearly 100% sure that I will never have another blown eardrum. I've also found that hard falls, which formerly left me somewhat confused for several seconds due to the impact, are now taken in stride with the helmet.

I have been doing this forever.... If I just jump in a pool, my ear drum will bust.

I ride with ones you can purchase at walmart. They are purple.

I'm not sure of the name but they are reusable.

Sean
h2o pro accessories

I think four days was the longest I waited

"Although I feel like a sissy putting on all that protection".

Dude, your 60 years old, you're the MAN.

I've busted my ear drums (both of them) 5-6 times each, so has a buddy of mine who rides with me. The last time i did it the doc told me to get those white/clear wax or silicone whatever you wanna call it, ear plugs from walgreens. they are the only thing that will keep all of the water out. the white/clear ones are the "adult" sized, the purple are the kids size. i usually just get the adult ones and split one of them in 1/2 and use it for both ears. Makes it tough to hear music from the tower, but i haven't busted my ear drums since i've been using them, and have had the same falls. you don't have to have all that junk on your head like everyone is saying. One hint though, make sure your ears are dry before putting them in. and spread it out so it covers all of the hole. You'll know there in good and tight when you push on them a little and you can feel a little pressure on your ear drum. If your ear is dry when you put them in, they won't fall out. my buddy came down hard directly on his ear from catching the front edge and smacking the water the other day, ear plug stayed in and his ear was fine. the headache he got was a different story.

yea i actually got some doctor made ear plugs, not cheap but worth the peace of mind. still cant ride tho coz my ear is still leaking some of that yellowish stuff so i don't think the plug will work properly while fluid is still seeping from the inside out, if u get what i mean

You can find those earplugs at www.macksearplugs.com . The purple ones are Mack's aquablock ear plugs and the soft white mushy ones are Mack's pillow soft. I've been lucky so far, but I've been wearing the white plugs for a long time. The purple aquablock plugs are great too, but everyone has their preference, I guess. Those doctor's custom style plugs are too expensive and don't work very well anyway. In addition to ear plugs, a swim cap, headband, or helmet is always a great idea, too. I thought helmets were goofy while snowboarding til I got a nice concussion. Now I'm a big fan of wearing helmets. Good luck with your recovery.

earmuffs and duct tape!

you can still use the plugs if your ear is draining...it doesn't drain a gallon..just a drop or 2 but it feels like a gallon. And most of the fluid is some of the drops draining back out. The plug may get a little crusty but they clean. I have tubes in my ears now and have had them on and off for upper respiratory issues for the past 3 years so it is like having a ruptured drum. Any ear plugs approved for water tightness will do. The white silicone ones from Wal Mart or any of the blue ones that look like arrows will do. I have custom ones and I don't think they work as well as the cheap ones.

yup youre right, I got some of the cheap moldable silicon ones, and they work way better than my expensive custom made one, of course I would discover this after paying 50 bux for the doc made ones...

anyway im just glad i can still ride, although with the ear plug, headband and helmet with flaps i cant hear a damn thing!

Yeah, they love selling people those expensive custom plugs, but the water proof Mack's ear plugs are all you need. You can get them at a lot of surf shops, too.

I know it's tough to hear while wearing this gear right now, but it's a small price to pay in order to be being able to hear later. Once healed, you should be fine without that extra head wrap. Good to hear you're back in the water.