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Passenger w/ear injury safe for tandem?

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A friend of mine wants to make her first tandem, but she's concerned about her eardrums -- she has holes in both, and has had two surgeries to repair them (or at least delay further damage). Anyone with a medical background care to venture an opinion on whether a jump would be safe?

blues
W

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'Of course it hurts. The trick is not *minding* that it hurts.'
- T.E. Lawrence

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I do not have a medical back ground so I will only give my opinion. As a tandem instructor I have my students quite often complain about pressure on their ears, so I would really would not advise it. Also have them consult their doctor on it. I have had ear infections and have always consulted a doctor before skydiving.
Kirk

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My non-medical hunch is that it is NOT a problem. Generally, ear problems associated with skydiving are related to pressure build up inside the ear. If your friend has holes in her ear drums, that will probably prevent the pressure build up. Children often have ear tube implants that serve as holes in the ear drum to allow drainage, and I don't think that's a big deal for flying.

I'm not a doctor, so please don't suggest your friend make a jump on my say-so. But tell her that it probably isn't a big deal, and she should check with her doctor. I'll bet questions about flying with her condition are pretty common.

Information for her doctor: The skydive will be made from between about 8,000 and 13,000 feet (check with the drop zone for specifics), with free fall descent rates of about 10,000 feet per minute. 13,000 feet is about .65 atmospheres. The descent is significantly faster than in a standard airplane, but the pressure change is equivalent to a SCUBA diving descent to less than 30 feet. Pressure build-ups while skydiving are common, and jumpers should be able to use the Valsalva technique to equalize. Her doctor should consider both the pressure change and the rate of change.
Tom Buchanan
Instructor Emeritus
Comm Pilot MSEL,G
Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

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Quote

she has holes in both, and has had two surgeries to repair them (or at least delay further damage).



I thought that the eardrum tissue was one of the fastest healing tissues in the body. For example, when tubes are taken out of eardrums, the hole will close up within days.

Remember, that holes once healed leave a scar, and scar tissue causes a hearing loss.
May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. - Edward Abbey

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