Weight Training With a Perforated Eardrum

If you’ve ever had your eardrum rupture from trauma, infection, or a rapid change in pressure, you know how painful and debilitating it can be. Cleveland Clinic describes the ear as having three major sections:

• The external ear, or what you can see on the side of the head
• The middle ear, containing the eardrum, ear bones, and an air space
• The inner ear, a bony labyrinth with structures that control balance and hearing

After a perforation, your middle ear needs time to rebuild. If an infection is present, you might need medication. During recovery, you need to avoid certain head positions and movements. No matter how eager you are to return to your weight-training routine, it’s critical to take things slowly and let your body heal.

Dealing With Injuries

When your eardrum is perforated, it’s critical to seek medical advice. Should the nerves (also called hair cells) incur infection or damage, there’s a possibility that you could experience some hearing loss, according to Lakeshore Ear, Nose, Throat Center.

Your physician will let you know how long to refrain from weight training while your eardrum heals; if you’ve been prescribed medicine for an infection, it could be weeks. Return to your workout routine gradually and only with permission from your healthcare provider.

Can You Lift Weights With a Perforated Eardrum?

While you deal with the injury to your ear, you don’t want to lift weights at more than a moderate level of intensity. Do not allow your blood pressure to get too high, as it will impact the area of the membrane that’s healing.

Instead, the Augusta-Aiken ENT and Allergy practice in Georgia suggests lowering the amount of weight you use and doing more reps once your physician says you can exercise again. For example, bench press at 65 percent of your one-rep maximum, but do three sets of 12 reps.

Safety Tips

When you are lifting, be careful to keep your head level with your heart or above it. Do not drop your head below your heart, as you want to avoid increasing the amount of blood that flows to your ear.

The American Council on Exercise recommends performing Romanian-style dead lifts, bent at the waist to 90 degrees, with the neck and spine straight and neutral; again, do not drop your head toward your knees. Or instead of lying on the floor and doing crunches, work on your abs by using a captain’s chair machine with leg raises, as suggested by Muscle & Fitness.

A Word About Water

If you’re thinking about a swim, you might want to table it for now. Mount Sinai advises that you avoid swimming in a pool or open water until your doctor permits it (which could take up to six months). You should also skip the steam room, hot tub, or sauna right now.

If you don’t follow the doctor’s orders, it may increase the odds of hearing loss.