Ear Scarring?

[guentherishere]

A friend of mine was telling me that one of his friends went to buds, made it through hellweek and everything only to get dropped in the diving phase for having some internal ear scarring. This kind of made me worry a bit. I have been doing my share of running, swimming, conditioning in general to prep myself. When I was younger (3rd grade) I had bad ear infections and ended up getting tubes in my ears. Of course they were taken out a long time ago, however there is still some internal scarring in my ear. Its nothing bad AT ALL. I've never failed a hearing test or anything of that nature. I've been a long time surfer and swimmer for a long time and never had and problems with my ears/hearing at all. For you to get dropped for something like this, would it have to be a really severe issue? It's just kind of making me worry... how bad would it suck to go through hell week and then get dropped? heh. Any feedback is greatly appreciated!!! Thanks a lot!

[stepmom2SEAL]

Our boy had MAJOR ear problems as a child, and this was a concern for him as well. He did take Scuba diving certification before going to BUD/S to see how he personally would handle it. I'm sure that's no guarantee that things will be good all through training, but it gave him the confidence to know at least his ears could handle the depth. He didn't have any major problems through training (I think they all end up with ear infections to some extent, but he handled it) I remember reading the Class 248 book where one of the guys dropped because he couldn't handle the sinus pain of the dive, and was at the point where he couldn't be offered a 2nd chance. I thought that might be a problem, but God was good, and his pain never got that bad.

[lelee28]

I too know of people w/ major ear problems that have made it through BUD/s. I think it depends more on pain and how much you can handle. It might cause problems with clearing during dives and ear infections, but I don't think that it would DQ you from BUD/s.

[dive doc]

A friend of mine was telling me that one of his friends went to buds, made it through hellweek and everything only to get dropped in the diving phase for having some internal ear scarring. This kind of made me worry a bit. I have been doing my share of running, swimming, conditioning in general to prep myself. When I was younger (3rd grade) I had bad ear infections and ended up getting tubes in my ears. Of course they were taken out a long time ago, however there is still some internal scarring in my ear. Its nothing bad AT ALL. I've never failed a hearing test or anything of that nature. I've been a long time surfer and swimmer for a long time and never had and problems with my ears/hearing at all. For you to get dropped for something like this, would it have to be a really severe issue? It's just kind of making me worry... how bad would it suck to go through hell week and then get dropped? heh. Any feedback is greatly appreciated!!! Thanks a lot!


Like has been mentioned above it depends on the scarring. If there is a significant amount of scarring on the tympanic membrane (eg from previous surgery) it can DQ from diving. But again, not all scarring, nor all surgery will DQ. In this case, it is judged on a case by case basis by a dive doctor.

DD

[tri.track]

Alright.... i want an honest answer because this is kind of why i joined this is to ask this question. I am partially deaf, my ear doctor told me i was born w/ a quote "mild to moderate" hearing loss. They wont actually give me a "percentage of hearing loss" but it's approximately around 50%.... I've looked on every website i could find, every brochure/pamphlet my guidance councilor gave me and in everything i've found there has been nothing about getting DQed for hearing loss, all i have found is stuff about vision requirements but not hearing.. I have occasionally gone months (years actually) without my hearing aids and functioned fine in life and school and stuff (9th-10th grade went without them, mom lost insurance and they broke, now a senior in high school). Someone, help.. i'm very confused. I don't have a problem going deep in water or anything, ive never really had any problems with my ears for that matter except that i was born partially deaf.

[dive doc]

Tri

hearing loss (usually permanent) is a relative contraindication to diving. This means that it will not always DQ, but it may.

50% loss may mean a couple of different things, depending on the type of deafness that i wont get into here but it is significant. One of the reasons it can be important is that deafness (or its cause) can sometimes effect what is called the neurovestibular system which is important for orientation underwater.

The simple answer is that if you are serious about pursuing this career i would suggest getting a full dive medical by a diving physician which will include the audiometry exams. They will be able to give you a much better indication of of whether it may DQ you from diving duty.

Im sorry i could not be more specific for you. Let us know how your medical goes.

DD

[snow85]

i posted the medical requirements as a link in a few threads on this site.

do a site search for something like "snow85," and "entrance requirements," "medical", or some such. you should come up with the link. it will tell you there what is acceptable for general navy entrance, and further in the doc, it will tell you what the NSW reqs are.

i don't know what the req is, but you have to understand that it can be a problem if you can't hear small/quiet sounds. you'll take a hearing test at MEPS, to start, well before you even get to the dive physical stage.

the other thing is, and you'll have to excuse me because i've never worn a hearing aid, but if you had to wear them, or had to have some sort of cochlear implant, is it possible that various radio frequencies can interfere with the device? if so, that could be a problem.

just things for you to think about. also, i know that advances in medicine have come quite a long way in the past 10 years, so if there are any procedures that you can have to improve your hearing that won't dq you, that could be an option for you as well.

if you can't find the link, let me know and i'll try to find it for you.