Ear Issues

[BLUEVOODOODOLL]

I am newly certified after a two week course and I am already hooked. I can't wait for my first ocean dives in Aruba next week and I'm already planning ahead for the next and the next......

But it seems the only issue I have at this point, after several pool sessions and six lake dives is that I have a lot of trouble with water in my ears. I've always had the problem, being a life long swimmer, I've had a lot of swimmers ear trouble for some reason, but they usually clear up within a day or two with no further problems. But with diving it seems to be amplified.

Luckily this doesn't seem to cause much of an issue with equalization when I am in the water, but as soon as I am out my ears are sore and feel blocked. My last lake dive was Sunday morning and here it is now Tuesday night and one of my ears is still full of water and slightly sore (mostly from me trying every trick I know to get the water out - to no avail). My main concern right now is that I am supposed to be diving Aruba in ten days and I am afraid I will still have this blocked ear trouble and that it will eventually lead to problems with equalization and/or infection.

So I would really like to hear from experienced divers 1. How do you take care of ears that have taken on too much water - i.e. how do you clear them and 2. Is there any way to prevent this from happening in the first place?

Thanks!
~Christy

 

[TSandM]

The overwhelming likelihood is that you do not have water in your ears, but fluid in your middle ear as a result of equalizing too late or too infrequently. This is a common problem for new divers. The symptoms are a dull soreness in the ear, a feeling of muffled hearing, or crackling or bubbling noises in the ear. The prevention is equalizing much more proactively -- start before you submerge, and equalize BEFORE you feel any discomfort.

Once the fluid is there, you may be able to hasten its clearing somewhat by the use of decongestants and/or ibuprofen.

You may benefit from watching THIS video (about 45 minutes long) which has excellent explanations of equalization techniques and of the anatomy and physiology of the diver's ear.

 

[BLUEVOODOODOLL]

Thank you for sharing that video! It's very obvious now what the problem is for me. I was diagnosed along time ago with having narrow Eustachian Tubes, which to me always just meant I had blocked ears every time I got a cold, but it also meant that I thought that I had to blow really hard to equalize, and none of my instructors told me anything otherwise so that's what I was doing every dive for the last two weeks. I wish better ear education would have been part of my training, but I am glad I saw that video before my first ocean dive.

Thanks again,
Christy

 

[CamG]

Greetings Christy! Congratulations on your recent certification also. It sounds as though your diving is really getting going. I still feel the same way, my desire to dive is only a blink away!
I can sympathize with your ear plight also having been in the same place not long after my certification. As you have learned TS&M is a very helpful friend here on SB! The only addition I would suggest is a ENT approved ear solution to clean / dry your ears.
But having the small tubes be careful, I have one normal and one small guess which one is more difficult?
This is a bump in the road, that is all. As you continue to dive you will get to know your body and the way it reacts to pressure / depth. Soon it will be second nature and it will become reflex to equalize early and often.
If you can not equalize, DO NOT DIVE!!!! Never push your ears. That is why we have ENT's they are professional advisors on issues like ours! My ENT is a diver and a great guy. He has not only helped my issues it has enabled me to be the diver I would like to be. So no fears, if it becomes an issue call in the pro's. Good luck and safe diving!
CamG Keep diving....keep training....keep learning!

 

[jonesbf]

I had the exact same problem at the end of my OW cert. I went to the ENT and he told me it was blood in my inner ear from not equalizing early enough. My instructor told the class that equalizng was very important, but didn't got into enough detail on how to do it. I had a minor barotrauma before I even finished my last pool dive. I've since learned that holding my nose and blowing is only a fraction of what I have to do. It helps to start doing that before you ever get to the water. Do it on the surface before your head ever goes under, and do it often as you descend. In my case I also have to tilt my head back and swallow hard to get a good clearing. I've also learned that cold water makes the problem a lot worse. It tends to thicken mucus making it harder to clear the ears. Keep in mind that once you feel the squeeze it's too late. You have to go back up until the squeeze releases, clear and try again. Don't try to clear while it's hurting, go back up and try. You can get your ears to clear while you are feeling the squeeze, but you run a greater risk of barotrauma. The video that TS&M suggested does shed a lot of light on the issue, but you have to get your own feel for your ears too. Don't be afraid to tell buddies or instructors that you have had problems descending. Pretty much anyone will respect that and you'll find a lot of people have the same problems.

Welcome to diving and have fun!

 

[BLUEVOODOODOLL]

I really appreciate all the responses, it was never before suggested to me to start clearing while still on the surface, which would have been very helpful. In fact I think on one of the very early lake dives I was trying so hard to remember all the steps of all the tasks that we had to complete that I totally forgot to equalize at all until I felt the squeeze and then I of course was blowing way too hard anyway, and then even harder than that to make up for forgetting. Thats probably when I caused some damage. If I had been in the habit, or taught to start while still on the surface I probably could have avoided the trouble.
Starting to equalize before descent and knowing better and more correct ways to do it is going to make everything even more enjoyable for me.
Thanks again,
Christy

 

[don Francisco]

TSandM is right. You don't get water inside your ears unless you have a perforated eardrum. The fluid that accumulates in your ears it the same stuff that fills blisters, and it leaches from the middle ear tissues because of poor equalization technique.

The fact that you've always had ear problems as a swimmer might be outer ear irritation, either from a retained drop of pool water or your efforts to get said drop out. Try using a ear drying product like swimmers ear, or a home brew of diluted vinegar with a bit of alchohol as a drying agent.

You might be having both porblems at once, but have to deal with each differently. Equalize more gently and more often to protect the middle ear, and a drying product to deal with the outer ear irritation.

 

[ligersandtions]

You have received some very good advice. Let me throw in another vote for pre-pressurizing your ears. It has worked wonders for me....I generally will pressurize before I head out to the dive site to make sure I don't have any hidden congestion issues, and then again right before I descend....and then again pretty much as soon as my head breaks the water. From there, I equalize with pretty much every inhale, and generally have no problems. Occasionally, my ears are difficult, in which case, I ascend a bit and try again.

I've also found using an ear drying product works well for me. I put a little in after I get home from diving and have no further issues. I used to get that blocked ear and muddled hearing issue as well, but as I got better at equalizing and taking care of myself before and after diving, my issues have been completely resolved.

Good luck, and have tons of fun in Aruba!

 

[winddriven]

Thanks soo much TsandM and all the following hints on 'revealing the truth' about how to equalize during diving which not many instructors would explain in such way...Really great post i think every new diver like myself should watch this video.

 

[catra8104]

The video is excellent and well worth the time... I watched it before my first OW dive and it did help tremendously... Even sent it to a friend who has troubles equalizing while flying...