For those following the saga of my burst eardrum (it’s edge-of-your-seat stuff!), my hearing is slowly coming back and the pain has mostly subsided. It’s actually quite remarkable that your eardrum can burst and then fix itself- it’s one of those parts of the body that ranks up there with eyes as being perceived as very delicate and irreplaceable, but it seems to be quite capable of looking after itself.
The doctors have told me that it could be up to another week or so before my hearing gets back to normal. As it is, I find it hard to pick out speech over background noise and I also have a little tinnitus. I tend to get more "foggy" as I get tired. They’ve prescribed a nasal decongestant, which is a little like snorting Pledge, but seems to help. The occasional ibuprofen knocks any pain on the head, but I’ve not had to take anything for a couple of days.
If things don’t return to normal, then I’ve to go back to the doctor and they will likely then refer me to an ENT clinic. But at the moment, progress is good. Either way, it’s not something I want to go through again or would recommend to others.