ear advice please

[liberato]

Believe it or not but there are [a] few divers who barotraumatise their ears this way on every single dive wandering why they feel fullness after every dive as they don't have any major equalizing difficulities (ie no pain)...

This is what happens so regularly to new divers. They are very careful to a fault on their descent rate yet they haven't the experience to equalize correctly. Your post explains this phenomenon better than any I have seen. Thanks! (Are you a physician?)

To munkispank, I am going to be heretical and say without serious symptoms such as tinnitus, vertigo or pain it doesn't make much sense to second guess your GP who said everything looks fine. He should be the one to refer you to an ENT if there are continued complications. Even then, it should be to one that is diver aware. Unless you have $350 just burning a hole in your pocket...

 

[GoBlue!]

munkispank- with the disclaimer that you shouldn't use the internet as a doctor substitute, i encourage you to consider your symptoms NOW vs. several days ago. If you're heading toward improvement, even if a bit slowly, save your $350. Sounds to me like you're improving, as you say that you used to have crackling, used to be a bit dizzy, sound is less muffled I bet....

Jim

 

[munkispank]

munkispank- with the disclaimer that you shouldn't use the internet as a doctor substitute, i encourage you to consider your symptoms NOW vs. several days ago. If you're heading toward improvement, even if a bit slowly, save your $350. Sounds to me like you're improving, as you say that you used to have crackling, used to be a bit dizzy, sound is less muffled I bet....

yeah- this is why I was asking for advice- as there has been SOME improvement, I was questioning whether I was just being impatient. As it is this AM, I am about to call DAN for a local number, and I might wait until monday to see how it feels.

thanks for all the advice.

 

[LubaScuba]

wow lubascuba- thats some good comments. I am going to call DAN for a name locally and have a check.
to anser your questions:
when you speak do you hear yourself louder in the affected ear or opposite is true?
Neihter actually- it seems the same for both
Are there any crackling sounds coming occasionally from the affected ear? Try with yawning.
Not anymore- had a bit of crackling on the first couple of days after diving, but nothing now.
Is there any tinnitus (high pitch sound) when you are in your bed before sleeping?
no- none of this
Do you feel any dizzines with head movements?
Again- I did a little the first two days or so (before I saw the doctor) but now I have nothing. I was also taking some sinutab so this made me a little dizzy.

so - I will check up local options and hopefully get an appointment for mon/tues. I will post my info as a when I have any updates.

simbrooks- thanks for posting your costing- I paid $128 for a regular doctors walk in and was told a specialist referral was going to cost around $350, hence my reticence. I am in the same boat insurance wise as since I moved I am 'between jobs" and have not yet signed onto a new plan.

I'll keep the board posted- thanks for al the advice

Seems that nothing really serious is going on, but still contact the ENT for some advice. ENT might ask you to do audiometry which is probably a good idea. Keep yawning every hour at least once in the meantime.

Best wishes.

 

[lhpdiver]

I've always had ear problems if I dive in very turbid water. So after not being able to dive because of 1st hurricane this summer I was anxious to get in the water. It was really stirred up. I had a couple of dives involving showing a large group how to use a lift bag to raise a cinder block to surface from 40 ft over and over again in strong current... That was probably a Saturday. Sunday morning I woke up and my left ear felt funny. No pain. Two more dives - probably 130/60 - back on the boat I actually thought the ear felt better than first thing in the morning. Monday morning I woke up and I couldn't hear a thing - nothing - out of that ear. Had some neomycin (sp?) in the cabinet - tried that for about 5 days. No change. I mean if I flicked my finger against the ear lobe I couldn't hear it. So I went to a local GP (I am now self employed and also no longer have ins). He said no infection - try an antihisamine. Did that for 1 week. Hearing came back a little - called GP - he prescribed a slightly stronger antihistamine. Tried that for a few days - then went to an ENT who I had been to a couple years before. He dives. They did a hearing test etc ($200) and declared that I had no round window problem but that my hearing was slightly worse than it was 2 years ago. No drugs.

So here we are about 2 months later. The hearing has come back pretty normal I think but I always have tinnitius now (maybe I always did ?). I average 4+ dives a week. I must admit the ear equalizes differently now. It is much lazier.

I guess this whole experience cost about $350. At one point I called DAN and they sent along an insurance form but I kind of thought that would be an abuse or something...