My son was awarded the NROTC Marine Option scholarship. Just had his BIG check presented to him at his high school a week ago!
Now bad news, we just received word that he was DQ'd due to an ear drum perforation that took place in July. We have clinical records as early as November noting that it was healed and subsequent exams did not note any perforation, and no perforation currently.
Recently he was seen by an ENT for some fluid behind the right ear drum. They attempted to clear it up with antihistamines and nasal sprays. I identified these prescriptions and the reason for them on his DoDMERB questionnaire. At a follow up ENT appt., the doctor advised that although it's improved, he would like to perform a procedure that will suction the residual fluid and that is all he needs to resolve the issue. He explained that at this point the fluid is more like glue consistency, so it's not likely to resolve on its own. No tubes are needed. His hearing still falls within the acceptable limits, and right ear hearing will improve even more.
So lots of questions...
My question is, what is the proper way to report this?
Do we contact the DoDMERB help desk or the DoDMERB case manager?
Do we reach out to his college ROTC office?
Do we present this new medical condition and ask for advice on proceeding with the procedure or report it AFTER the procedure is completed?
If this is considered a surgery (it is performed in office with no general anesthesia), then does he get another DQ for the 180-day criteria that is noted in the medical standards? Can something like this get a waiver?
Can he still participate in NROTC while he is under waiver review?
The ENT is very confident that this will resolve the issue and it will not reoccur. He stressed that this really is a non-issue in the context of the things he sees, but I know for DoDMERB, it's different. Until the ear drum perforation in July, he had no issues with either of his ears other than tubes when he was 2 years old. If you made it this far, thank you so much for your time. I read the FAQs on the DoDMERB page, but with this particular scenario, I would appreciate some anecdotal details if you have experienced a new medical condition during the DoDMERB process.
Now bad news, we just received word that he was DQ'd due to an ear drum perforation that took place in July. We have clinical records as early as November noting that it was healed and subsequent exams did not note any perforation, and no perforation currently.
Recently he was seen by an ENT for some fluid behind the right ear drum. They attempted to clear it up with antihistamines and nasal sprays. I identified these prescriptions and the reason for them on his DoDMERB questionnaire. At a follow up ENT appt., the doctor advised that although it's improved, he would like to perform a procedure that will suction the residual fluid and that is all he needs to resolve the issue. He explained that at this point the fluid is more like glue consistency, so it's not likely to resolve on its own. No tubes are needed. His hearing still falls within the acceptable limits, and right ear hearing will improve even more.
So lots of questions...
My question is, what is the proper way to report this?
Do we contact the DoDMERB help desk or the DoDMERB case manager?
Do we reach out to his college ROTC office?
Do we present this new medical condition and ask for advice on proceeding with the procedure or report it AFTER the procedure is completed?
If this is considered a surgery (it is performed in office with no general anesthesia), then does he get another DQ for the 180-day criteria that is noted in the medical standards? Can something like this get a waiver?
Can he still participate in NROTC while he is under waiver review?
The ENT is very confident that this will resolve the issue and it will not reoccur. He stressed that this really is a non-issue in the context of the things he sees, but I know for DoDMERB, it's different. Until the ear drum perforation in July, he had no issues with either of his ears other than tubes when he was 2 years old. If you made it this far, thank you so much for your time. I read the FAQs on the DoDMERB page, but with this particular scenario, I would appreciate some anecdotal details if you have experienced a new medical condition during the DoDMERB process.