Beyond Technique--Preventing Middle ear barotrauma

[Spanocha]

On my check out dives I messed around and acquired myself a case of middle ear barotrauma. After reviewing my missteps, I decided that to prevent this from happening again I should do the following:

1). Quit Smoking (I have quit smoking cold turkey for over three weeks. It feels great!).
2). Refuse to Wear a Hood for the Quarry Dive
3). NOT dive with even the slightest hint of allergies

My question is whether or not I should take an Afrin or Sudafed regimen before and during the dives, just to keep the eustachian tubes as clear as possible.

Besides improving my Valsava technique, or acquiring new clearing techniques, what else can I do to prevent the ear barotrauma?

Thanks!

 

[Spanocha]

I almost forgot...Is it a dumb idea to use the medications in the first place? My instructors in class said that it was a "no no" to ever take medications while diving, but the man who was certifying me said that it helps.

How should I go about the regimen if the medications are a good idea? Which medicines specifically?

 

[adurso]

See how meds affect you prior to diving. One of my buddies is an ENT and we were discussing this the other day. Another person started to ask him about decongestants prior to a dive and before the question was finished the reply was "Afrin" followed by "sudafed". Two one word answers. Either drug is acceptable IF one has tried them on land and is aware of the effects prior to a dive. Follow the label directions

 

[DandyDon]

Barotraumas happen. Don't beat yourself up over a learning experience and get the hood back on for cold dives.

I can't say whether you should are not, but many divers use Pseudoephedrine HCl, aka PSE or generic Sudafed - which took its name from the chemical but now the brand name is used on other OTC drugs. It's not Pseudoephedrine HCl unless it says so on the box.

Have you thot about seeing an ENT doc? Goood idea. My bud cannot dive without it but he's too stubborn to see a doc; my doc knows I use it, but then I use it every day. See cautions and effects at Pseudoephedrine Information from Drugs.com and try taking it on a day that you're not going to dive or hardly anything else to see if you have any problems. It is chemically similar to "speed."

 

[K9-Handler]

I can empathize. I did my open water dives just two weeks ago, and drove home with a terrible ear ache. My ENT was not available for a few days so I went to see my Primary Care doc. His reaction was "Oh, GAWD! That is disgusting!!!". Great.
When I finally got to see the ENT, her reaction was, "In all my years of practice I've never seen a discharge that was that color [neon yellow]". Great, again.
The diagnosis is a fungal infection of the auditory canal (outer ear), perforation of the ear drum, and bacterial infection of the middle ear. I've had hearing in that ear briefly for maybe two days of the past two weeks.
I took generic Sudafed 12-hour both mornings before the dive, and loaded up on Afrin an hour before. Obviously it didn't help.
There is some possibility that the middle ear infection was there from the pool dives during confined water training, but the barotrauma happened during an "adventure dive" to 40-feet after performing the required skills on OW dive #2.
It sure looks like I'll be a candidate for shallow-diving-only in the future.

 

[Spanocha]

I can empathize. I did my open water dives just two weeks ago, and drove home with a terrible ear ache. My ENT was not available for a few days so I went to see my Primary Care doc. His reaction was "Oh, GAWD! That is disgusting!!!". Great.
When I finally got to see the ENT, her reaction was, "In all my years of practice I've never seen a discharge that was that color [neon yellow]". Great, again.
The diagnosis is a fungal infection of the auditory canal (outer ear), perforation of the ear drum, and bacterial infection of the middle ear. I've had hearing in that ear briefly for maybe two days of the past two weeks.
I took generic Sudafed 12-hour both mornings before the dive, and loaded up on Afrin an hour before. Obviously it didn't help.
There is some possibility that the middle ear infection was there from the pool dives during confined water training, but the barotrauma happened during an "adventure dive" to 40-feet after performing the required skills on OW dive #2.
It sure looks like I'll be a candidate for shallow-diving-only in the future.

I sincerely empathize with you. The ER docs didn't know what to do with my middle ear barotrauma either. Three different docs came in and said three different things. It was frightening to a certain extent. At the end of the day (6.5 hours later) they merely asked if I wanted some pain pills.

I saw an ENT specialist, 2 weeks later I might add, and at that point the tissues has absorbed all of the blood. Case closed. I am afraid that I know have the "ear fear", but I am determined to overcome it.

You will get better with time!

 

[DandyDon]

Well the sinus area seems to be a pretty special one. Great that we do have ENTs to help us, even tho they can take longer to see. In my younger years* they were EENTs or Eye Ear Nose and Throat docs if I recall correctly. Still some partnerships currently listed that way, but not as common as then I don't think.

* When TV and photos were black and white, and you had to replace the flash bulb after each indoor snapshot. :11:

 

[ronbeau]

On my check out dives I messed around and acquired myself a case of middle ear barotrauma. After reviewing my missteps, I decided that to prevent this from happening again I should do the following:

1). Quit Smoking (I have quit smoking cold turkey for over three weeks. It feels great!).
2). Refuse to Wear a Hood for the Quarry Dive
3). NOT dive with even the slightest hint of allergies

My question is whether or not I should take an Afrin or Sudafed regimen before and during the dives, just to keep the Eustachian tubes as clear as possible.

Besides improving my Valsava technique, or acquiring new clearing techniques, what else can I do to prevent the ear barotrauma?

Thanks!

I am not so sure that refusing to wear a hood for quarry dives is a smart idea. The amount of heat you will lose from your head is amazing.

You might want to reconsidering the refusal to wear a hood for quarry dives.

 

[Spanocha]

I am not so sure that refusing to wear a hood for quarry dives is a smart idea. The amount of heat you will lose from your head is amazing.

You might want to reconsidering the refusal to wear a hood for quarry dives.

Perhaps I can cut ear holes into a hood. :no

It would be the ultimate in phallic comedy!

 

[DandyDon]

Perhaps I can cut ear holes into a hood. :no

It would be the ultimate in phallic comedy!

Yep, you can lose 40% of your body heat from your head. That's why you seldom see a country person without a hat or cap. Burn the holes in with a large phillips screwdriver heated on the kitchen stove. Do it over the sink in case yours if flammable. Do not burn holes while wearing the hood.
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