Someone remind me please - after a burst eardrum...

[MyNameIsInigoMontoya]

I've had perforated eardrums before, but mostly when I was small so I don't really remember the details!

I know about the not getting water in until it's healed, and have been trying to do that. But I'm not really sure how you tell when it's fully healed and fine to swim etc again? Or do I need to get it checked by the doctor to make sure it's mended? (It burst after I'd seen the doc this time, so I didn't get a chance to ask).

It seems mostly OK now, except that there's still a faint whistle from it sometimes. But we are off on holiday soon and have swimming and possibly even surfing planned, so it would be good to know if that will be OK!

How long is it since youve seen the dr?
Most would heal within a few weeks.

For children you usually have to go back in a month to check its healed properly.

Thanks! I think it was about 5 weeks ago that it happened. I had to go to out-of-hours GP as it was getting really bad before it burst (painkillers not doing much!), and got prescribed antibiotics but soon after that it burst anyway, the anti-b's obviously didn't start to kick in fast enough.

I read that they normally take 6-8 weeks to heal, so in theory it could still not be OK, which was why I wondered!

My son has had perforated ear drums many time, & they do normally take 6 weeks to heal. For your holiday you could try an ear plug, Blu-tac works well as you throw it away after each use and use a fresh piece next time. It will stop the water getting in. Have a good holiday.