Barotrauma (again)

[maudiver216]

Hi all,

I went diving for the first time in eight months this past Saturday at a shallow reef (no more than 20 feet), but felt my right ear clogged back on shore. This is the second time this happens to me; the first time having happened almost two years ago during a 60 foot dive. It has been a few days now, but my hearing seems to be getting worse. My question is about recovery. I know that recovery takes weeks (it took over a month the first time), but I fear my lifestyle may be making it worse. Specifically, I enjoy working out with heavy weights and practicing high intensity interval training. I fear that this may be putting more pressure on my swollen inner ear. Is my fear justified? Should I take it easy while I recover?

Thanks

 

[lowflyer]

This may just be middle ear barotrauma, but if you are losing hearing or have vertigo, dizziness, etc, you need to be evaluated to see whether it's middle or inner ear.

 

[Duke Dive Medicine]

Hi all,

I went diving for the first time in eight months this past Saturday at a shallow reef (no more than 20 feet), but felt my right ear clogged back on shore. This is the second time this happens to me; the first time having happened almost two years ago during a 60 foot dive. It has been a few days now, but my hearing seems to be getting worse. My question is about recovery. I know that recovery takes weeks (it took over a month the first time), but I fear my lifestyle may be making it worse. Specifically, I enjoy working out with heavy weights and practicing high intensity interval training. I fear that this may be putting more pressure on my swollen inner ear. Is my fear justified? Should I take it easy while I recover?

Thanks

I could see how straining could increase the venous pressure in the area and theoretically lead to increased fluid leakage in blood vessels that are already inflamed, but I have no scientific evidence to back that up. If your hearing is getting worse, I'd echo @lowflyer in saying you should probably visit an ENT physician to rule out damage to the inner ear.

Best regards,
DDM

 

[JahJahwarrior]

Many years ago I descended rapidly to try and take the most perfect picture ever. The picture didn't turn out that great, and when I finally cleared my ears, there was the loudest pop, and I proceeded to be deaf in that ear for several months. I hear fine now, but I think I damaged it a bit--when the other ear is covered, I lose some details that people are saying and it is uncomfortable to listen to them, I end up turning so I can use both ears.

At the time, I just didn't think to go to see a doctor. Looking back, that was incredibly stupid of me. Now I know how to look up ENT in my HMO plan, and I would not hesitate if the same thing happened, to go visit one.

I don't think that HIIT will cause any additional harm, but you need to review your diving practices to see what is causing this repeated barotrauma, and confirm with a doctor that your ear is healed properly before diving again--so you probably have atleast 2 doctor visits to attend.

The shallow depth doesn't get you out of ear damage risk. Remember you are going from 14psi to 28psi, 100% change in pressure, requires clearing your ears several times over a short depth distance. My ear damage occurred at about 30 feet.

 

[Oezkan]

This may just be middle ear barotrauma, but if you are losing hearing or have vertigo, dizziness, etc, you need to be evaluated to see whether it's middle or inner ear.

How does the ent / doc know its inner or middle ear barotrauma

 

[lowflyer]

How does the ent / doc know its inner or middle ear barotrauma

@doctormike can answer this better than I. An ENT doc, which I am not, can get a clue doing tuning fork tests. However the more definitive way is to refer you to an audiologist for hearing tests.

 

[doctormike]

Yeah, sorry, have been really swamped lately! Will get to this, I promise...

 

[doctormike]

There are just SO many things that this could be, without an exam and an audiogram, it's really hard to say much. You can very easily distinguish between outer ear problems (wax), middle ear barotrauma and inner ear injury with an ENT evaluation. There are some ways of looking at your ear and checking your hearing over the Internet, but they are pretty limited...

Take a look at this, and feel free to DM me if you want a local referral. I might know someone in your area. Sorry I can't be more helpful!