Blocked ears - sudafed not helping

[Seabear70]

See the doc...

Telling you to try anything right now without clear knowledge of what exactly is wrong could do more harm than good.

That being said...

Under the light of a new moon spin right three times and spit twice over your left shoulder... For a full moon reverse the directions.

 

[mstudley]

Here's another vote for seeing the doctor. Diving w/o seeing the doc can/will only make things worse and he the potential to cause permanent damage.

Don't buy any sort of gadget to better help ignore symptoms of something else (ie. that proear mask thing). A DAN referred ENT is your best bet. I've had ear problems in the past and now I see an ENT on a fairly regular basis and haven't had trouble since.

 

[connellc]

Don't let your enthusiasm to dive cause further problems to your ears. I was anxious to make a dive once when I was congested. Result..... ruptured eardrum at 60 feet, which caused severe vertigo and could have worsened things if I had panicked. I couldn't dive for 2.5 months. Waiting one or two weeks for a blocked ear to clear is better than waiting several months for a ruptured eardrum to heal. See the doctor or call the dive.

Even if you can get down you've got to come back up and worry about reverse block, which is very real also.

Good luck and I hope it clears quickly!

 

[sharkdiver00]

has to say. If you are not even being able to equalize on the surface, do not count on being in the water this weekend. Good luck and let us know how you are. Maria

P.S. If you want more in depth info on whatever the diagnose is, you can always contact DAN on their medical questions line and they will help (www.diversalertnetwork.org).

 

[RIDIVER501]

Not to slam you too hard Mel, but you must have been sleeping through that part of the class where it was mentioned that taking decongestants during diving is not a good thing and that diving with a cold is not a good thing. How if you can't get down and if the decon you took to get down wears off you have that funny condition called reverse block....
Get well then dive. Your ears and sinuses will thank you later

 

[Mel.B]

Thanks for all the replies. Just a couple of things...

- I'm taking sudafed now, NOT while I'm diving and I never suggested I would take it while diving.

- The dive shop/club that I am going away with this weekend has a pro-ear mask that they lend out, so I don't have to buy one.

- I've seen the Doc and I have otitis media with effusion in both ears so I know the chances of it clearing by the weekend are next to none. The doc has not prescribed antibiotics and advised to continue with the sudafed & antihistamine as well as inhaling Eucalyptus oil. Hey, it probably won't work, but I'd rather give it a try and miss out, than not try anything and miss out. This weekend's trip is to a remote area about 4 hours drive each way from where I live and the weather has been perfect all week. If it was just a dive 10min down the road to where I normally go I wouldn't even worry about it.

So thanks for all the helpful (and not so helpful) advice. At least now I know I'm doing everything I can.

Mel

 

[O2BBubbleFree]

At least now I know I'm doing everything I can.

Mel

Except, of course, staying home...

 

[Mel.B]

Except, of course, staying home...

How is staying at home going to help my ears clear up?

I can still go and have a great time with my friends and help out on the boats, even if I can't dive.

 

[connellc]

How is staying at home going to help my ears clear up?

I can still go and have a great time with my friends and help out on the boats, even if I can't dive.

Just remember not to dive if your having any difficulty clearing. Otherwise, you will be moving this post to "diving accidents".... I hope all works out.

 

[Rick Inman]

Oh, oh. Don't do what I did (and don't show my wife this thread).
I made a shallow dive, 0-25', and we did a lot of up and down to see where we were in the river. After the dive, my left ear was plugged. Didn't hurt, but the hearing was terrible, which was bad news 'cause I spent the next week in the studio mixing with one ear. Not good.
Anyway, the ear stayed plugged about two weeks, and I continued to dive - in fact I did 12 dives like that! You think it's hard to hear with a hood on, try it with one ear plugged!
Finally, after the 12th dive, while driving over a mountain pass at 3200', the ear just cleared right up. That was two weeks ago and I've made several dives with no ill effects.
But, like I said, don't do what I did. Go to a doctor.