Any good ENT's in the SF Bay Area?

[synfinatic]

So I've already been to an ENT (Ear Nose Throat of Los Gatos) and frankly, he didn't seem to really have much experience with divers and didn't seem to have much in terms of ideas other then to try some drugs which didn't work.

Long story short, I've tried decongestants and steroids (including prednisone) to help me with equalizing my ears (I have problems both on the way down and up) and frankly they don't do anything for me. If I go slow, I can go down ok, but going up I can experience sharp pain at any depth (for example from 50 to 45 feet). Obviously near the surface I go really slow. After trying the prednisone on a trip to Kona the ENT basically gave up and told me to give up diving.

So far I've been able to avoid any serious injury (I often end up feeling like an ear is plugged and sometimes with vertigo, but my ear drums are fine and the symptoms go away after a few days). But with things as they are I really can't see myself diving anymore which would suck since it's something my wife and I both enjoy doing with our friends.

Suggestions?

 

[billt4sf]

We have found that when we lay off diving for a week or more, my wife has trouble equalizing, but when we dive every day, not so. I found that I used to have trouble equalizing when I first learned to dive, and it basically went away after I dove a number of times. Solution: dive more

Short of diving every day , you might try equalizing (increasing pressure in your sinuses) several times a day and see if that helps.

I hope you find some relief!

- Bill

 

[Jayfarmlaw]

Call DAN, even if you are not a member, I believe they maintain a list of "dive qualified" doctors.

Scuba Diving Medical Safety Advice — DAN | Divers Alert Network

Good luck,
Jay

 

[synfinatic]

Oh, good idea Jay. Put my DAN dollars to work!