Congested Ear or I am assuming?

[dubaipassion]

Hi folks

I am new to diving world and I am attending the PADI Open Water course nowadays.

before I join the course I was a bit sick and I had a light COLD.

After I attended the class, I knew that it is not good to dive with COLD, as you might be having a congested ear canal and it will be difficult to dive then.

However, I thought that I have already recovered and I am OK, but in the first dive which was in a confined sea water be the shore, I felt some pain in my right ears as I was descending but I forced myself and I reached to the sea bed where we started to do the skills required and my ear accomodated to the water pressure and the pain was gone.

The same thing happened again in the next diving class. although it disappeares after sometime, but it annoys me too much while descending and make me descend very very slowly.

I tried to clean my ears with wax cleaners (and I found tons of was coming out) but the feeling of congested ear is still there.

What do you think I should do? If I started putting anti-congestion, then it wont be allowed to dive and I will miss the course

or you think due to my very begining, this is normal and it will go by time?

I wish I find some help from you

 

[spectrum]

First of all you should never let it escalate to pain, that's asking for an injury.

I assume you were taught the Valsalava meanuver where you pinch you nose and pressurize yourself lightly. Do this a few times a day, every day. With practice you will feel you ears gently shift pressure.

As you gear up, do it a few times. Right before going down do it. On a vertical drop dive do it on each breath. If it becomes uncomfortable you are getting into trouble and the "trap door efffect" will make it difficult to equalize, come up a few feet to relieve this phenomenon. When you have again equalized start down slowly.

This will get much easier as you get coordinated and you eustacean tube become conditioned to open and pass air. Meanwhile be patient and you were correct to be concerned about the remnants of your cold. From your post I can't tell if the cold or your methods were the problem.

Pete

 

[kirwoodd]

Spectrum is right.

Also, dont put q-tips in your ears. bad bad bad.

and the wax?
yeah, very useful in your ear, stop taking it out. There is such a thing as too much, but you need some. Go to your Doctor.

 

[Ed Marshall]

The wax has nothing to do with any difficulty clearing your ears anyway. That's caused by swelling or congestion in your eustachian tubes. Can't reach those with a Q-tip.

Ed

 

[dubaipassion]

Thanx Spectrum!

The way you mentioned is exactly what I am doing with the help of my Diving instructor who descends with me

But if what I feel is a congestion, what should I do? or how long I can tolerate it? As I told you, the pain disappeares after I force myself and reach the bottom. But I dont see other buddies complaining except me

 

[bobv]

The wax has nothing to do with any difficulty clearing your ears anyway. That's caused by swelling or congestion in your eustachian tubes. Can't reach those with a Q-tip.

Ed

If you are a smoker, that will cause inflmation in your eustachian tubes. Ask your Doctor. Never allow it to get the the "painful" stage.

 

[TSandM]

Okay. What happens as you descend unequalized is that there is effectively a suction effect in your middle ear. It causes fluid to transudate out of the tissues into the middle ear chamber, and can cause rupture of small blood vessels and bleeding into the space. Eventually, either the pressure equalizes, or something gives -- that can at best be the tympanic membrane (eardrum) and at worst, the round window of the cochlea, which is a bad injury.

If, after a dive, you have a persistent feeling of fullness and muffled sound, you have fluid in the middle ear. This indicates that you did not equalize well enough or often enough.

If you are one of the people who has difficulty equalizing, the way to cope with it is a very slow, controlled descent, with frequent maneuvers to relieve the pressure. Tolerating the discomfort until you get deep enough to force equalization is a setup for a more serious injury. At best, you end up with that "congested" feeling in your ears. That can lead to infection, which sidelines you for diving for some time. At worst, you have an injury that puts you on the beach for weeks to months.

It's worth being very careful with this. If there is an allergic or inflammatory component to your equalizing difficulties, nasal steroids and perhaps the judicious use of a decongestant before diving may be warranted. If it is an anatomic problem, better technique may solve it. There are rare people who simply can't equalize, and this is one of the few reasons that someone simply can't dive.

 

[spectrum]

But if what I feel is a congestion, what should I do?

If you know yourself to be congested call the dive, period. Congestion is a temporary contraindication to diving, end of story. Sooner or later psudafed or other medications will be suggested but that's a wrong foot for you to start out on. This is a time for discipline. If things persists have a doctor check it out.

By the way, were you hearing a cracklng sound in your ear after the dive, like for a week or 2? This often results from the forced fluid TSandM described.

Pete

 

[cleung]

Long acting decongestants like Sudefed should be okay. That's what I use before each of my dives.

 

[rawls]

The part about forcing yourself is not a good idea. You have to remember that you have to come up from the dive. When you do that air is expanding and will push against your ear canal and ear drum. Then you are dealing with a potential reverse squeeze and could rupture you ear drum from the inside out. Clear gently and frequently...every couple of feet. Even a couple of feet increases the pressure in a closed air space. You may be descending too far too fast. Remember...Clear gently and frequently...