eardrum

Question
I had a water skiing accident 20 years ago and perforated my eardrum.  I had surgery to repair it with no problems.  I would like to get scuba certified and have even tried the equipment to 12 feet with no real problems-when I cleared my ears soem small bubbles released from the right ear with some squeaking, and the pressure was gone as I went down. do you think it will be ok as I go down farther?  do you forsee any issues?
Megan

Answer
Hi Megan,

Sorry for the delay in answering you.

My answer is that you should be fine.  I blew out my inner ear (the round window) on one of my first dives and, after it healed, went on to become an instructor with thousands of dives.  

Now, I'm not a doctor, and you absolutely must have your Doctor give you the OK to dive.

As far as going deeper, it's merely the same equalization technique repeated over and over again.  It isn't harder to equalize the deeper you go (the opposite, actually, as the differential change in pressure decreases as the pressure increases).  

The best advice I can give you is to equalize BEFORE you need to.  Always be equalizing.  Equalize on the boat, at the surface and immediately as you descend.  Equalizing when you feel that you need to is too late to start.  That's when you have problems because you must overcome a greater differential and often this requires a 'force' which can lead to damage and loss of hearing.

Safe diving,
James