Hello,
I went diving a month ago and had an event while descending - as soon as I started descent I got very dizzy and disoriented (is this vertigo?). That feeling went away pretty quickly, but I had difficulty clearing my right ear. I kept ascending a bit and trying to equalize, to no avail. I heard a sort of pop eventually, but it did not hurt. At this point, I had actually gone down about 20 feet, and since my ear did not hurt, I went ahead with the dive. Upon ascent, my right ear continually made bubbling sounds, and when I got on the boat, it felt muffled and clogged. I knew something was wrong, so I did not go on the second dive that day.
About 3-4 hours after the initial dive, I started experiencing severe ear pain both inside and out. I took tylenol and that helped with the pain. Prior to the dive that morning, I had woken up with a sore throat, but no other cold-like symptoms whatsoever. We called in the hotel doctor (we were in Mexico - staying in PDC and the dive was in Coz), who told me I had an ear infection, as well as a buildup of wax, but that my eardrum was fine. He prescribed antibiotics and ear drops. My ear did not improve for the remainder of our stay, and I started to develop more cold-like symptoms (sinus congestion and pressure). My ear also leaked fluid (at first reddish, then a bright yellow color) for two weeks.
A week after the dive, I saw my ENT at home. He indicated that my ear was still infected and that my eardrum was perforated, and I also had a sinus infection. He prescribed more antibiotics and more drops. After about another week, my cold symptoms improved, but my ear still felt clogged with a ringing sensation. I just went back for a follow-up yesterday.
He discovered that my eardrum was not perforated after all, but that there was a casting covering the drum. He removed the casting and said the eardrum looked fine. There was also no more infection. My hearing test was within the normal range, but I continue to feel clogged with a ringing sensation. The doctor made no mention of the windows in the ear, or the possibility of a barotrauma, but now that I've been reading things online, my experience sounds like it could have been an inner ear barotrauma? If anyone has had similar experiences or any knowledge on this subject, I would greatly appreciate your input and advice! Thanks so much for your time
I went diving a month ago and had an event while descending - as soon as I started descent I got very dizzy and disoriented (is this vertigo?). That feeling went away pretty quickly, but I had difficulty clearing my right ear. I kept ascending a bit and trying to equalize, to no avail. I heard a sort of pop eventually, but it did not hurt. At this point, I had actually gone down about 20 feet, and since my ear did not hurt, I went ahead with the dive. Upon ascent, my right ear continually made bubbling sounds, and when I got on the boat, it felt muffled and clogged. I knew something was wrong, so I did not go on the second dive that day.
About 3-4 hours after the initial dive, I started experiencing severe ear pain both inside and out. I took tylenol and that helped with the pain. Prior to the dive that morning, I had woken up with a sore throat, but no other cold-like symptoms whatsoever. We called in the hotel doctor (we were in Mexico - staying in PDC and the dive was in Coz), who told me I had an ear infection, as well as a buildup of wax, but that my eardrum was fine. He prescribed antibiotics and ear drops. My ear did not improve for the remainder of our stay, and I started to develop more cold-like symptoms (sinus congestion and pressure). My ear also leaked fluid (at first reddish, then a bright yellow color) for two weeks.
A week after the dive, I saw my ENT at home. He indicated that my ear was still infected and that my eardrum was perforated, and I also had a sinus infection. He prescribed more antibiotics and more drops. After about another week, my cold symptoms improved, but my ear still felt clogged with a ringing sensation. I just went back for a follow-up yesterday.
He discovered that my eardrum was not perforated after all, but that there was a casting covering the drum. He removed the casting and said the eardrum looked fine. There was also no more infection. My hearing test was within the normal range, but I continue to feel clogged with a ringing sensation. The doctor made no mention of the windows in the ear, or the possibility of a barotrauma, but now that I've been reading things online, my experience sounds like it could have been an inner ear barotrauma? If anyone has had similar experiences or any knowledge on this subject, I would greatly appreciate your input and advice! Thanks so much for your time
