Ashamed to ask: What did I do to my ear at training?

[S. Kim]

Hello,
I was training in the 5meter pool for around 30 minutes. When I was surficing at the end of training I experienced a pressure pain in my ear, it felt so bad that I quickly forgot about the equipment I was wearing and my teacher. The pain initially went away when I blew something out of my nose. However, my ear was painful for the rest of the evening and the only relief I got was by putting something warm on my ear and tilting my head to one side, touching inside the outer ear with my finger resulted in a horrible pain.
Some questions to ask scubaboard:
1) I was diving in a 5 meter deep pool, why did the pressure effect my ear so much?
2) How can I get relief from ear pain? I want to stay away from taking aspirin. Should I equalize my affected ear outside of the pool?
3) Asides from practicing more in the pool (which I fully intend to do before I return to open water), is there anything I should do to avoid panicing from a relatively minor pain? Safety is first and I never want to put a fellow diver in a bad situation. The pain came out of nowhere and now I am thinking about future situations where something similar could happen.
Thank you for taking the time to read this!

 

[lowviz]

You may have equalized so forcefully that you damaged your eardrum.

On the lower left, down by your name is "Report". You may wish to report your own post and ask to have it moved to "accidents and incidents" where you will receive far better medical responses to your post.

 

[S. Kim]

You may have equalized so forcefully that you damaged your eardrum.

On the lower left, down by your name is "Report". You may wish to report your own post and ask to have it moved to "accidents and incidents" where you will receive far better medical responses to your post.

Thank you for your quick and helpful response!

 

[KevinNM]

Consider seeing a doctor before going back in the water. If it is still hurting I would not go back in the water without having a doctor look at it. 5 meters is enough depth (and pressure change) that you can cause significant issues.

 

[NYCNaiad]

Don't be ashamed. Do go to an ENT doctor and get checked out. Don't dive again till you do. My friend had blood in her ear diving in a pool. After allowing it to heal, she was able to continue on with her dive education and now dives often, but has to take precautions. I hope the same happens with you, but the worst thing to do is ignore the pain and potentially make it worse...and possibly ending your dive career.

 

[NYCNaiad]

Don't equalize on land either till you go to a doctor.

 

[mselenaous]

First you need to remember to equalize often going up & down.
The biggest pressure changes happen shallow.
Give your ears a rest, see a good ENT, anti-inflammatory meds can help but your ears need time to heal. Do not force equalization. You will only cause damage.
If you are prone to sinus issues, this can affect your ability to equalize effectively.

Here is a great guide on ears for divers from DAN.
http://www.diversalertnetwork.org/?a=search&key=Ear

Good luck with your classes.

 

[CuzzA]

S.Kim,

You likely experienced what is called a reverse block. When descended you equalized the air space in your ear, unfortunately sometimes when you ascend the air doesn't make its way back out as it expands and can cause trauma to your ear. Especially if you ascend to fast.

The best thing to do is stop, descend a few feet, keep yourself calm and try to work the air out and then make another attempt. This could be as simple as moving your jaw around or tilting your head. Keep trying this as long as you have enough air to safely make it to the surface. There is no reason to panic. In fact, there are very few reason to ever panic while diving. Whenever you find something isn't right, stop, breath, evaluate the situation and act on your training.

The first atmosphere below the surface has the greatest differential in pressure change. You will soon learn once you get past the first 15-20 feet you won't have to equalize as often. We want to equalize before we feel any pain so it's best to start the process right when you begin to ascend. Some people are more prone to a reverse block and in that case it would likely be wise to plan your dives for a slower than normal ascent and focus on letting your ears adjust.

I would refrain from any water activities if the pain persists and it would probably be best to see a doctor. My buddy hurt her ear during open water at about 15 feet and she was done diving for the weekend and that Monday ended up being placed on antibiotics and the pain finally went away after about a month.

No worries though, there's always another day to wrap up your training. Good luck.

 

[Dizzi Lizzi]

My husband had ear pain after one of our first dives. He had to fly in 2 days, I emailed DAN And they got back to us quickly. Same advice as above, see md. They can tell you if ear drum is messed up.

 

[S. Kim]

Just came back from the ENT. My ears are fine apart from a minor problem inside one ear (nothing broken), it should clear up within a week. I will read scubaboard during the time I miss diving!

Thank you everyone for your replies and suggestions.