ear concerns

[elonmelle72]

i just finished my second confined water dive for my open water certification course. i've had a little bit of a cold lately, but it's been clearing up and i took a 12-hour sinus medication a few hours before the dive. my left ear, in both of my confined water dives, has been no problem to clear, but my right ear is driving me crazy. in the first dive, it kept me from going all the way to the bottom of the pool because i couldn't equalize it, no matter how many times i went up and slowly descended again. i had a bit of a cold then, too, so i figured it was probably no big deal. for my second dive, my sinuses felt clear and my cold symptoms were nonexistant. the first time going down to the bottom, i got down without any pain by equalizing almost every time i exhaled. later on, though, after we had gone up for a while, i couldn't quite get my right ear to equalize. it didn't give me pain on the bottom, but it did feel more "full" than my left ear. after the dive, which i returned from approximately 8 hours ago, it still feels full. as a swimmer, i'm familiar with the feeling of having water trapped in my ear, and it doesn't feel like that's the case. i've tried several equalization techniques to try to relieve the pressure in my ear, the most successful being taking a deep breath, holding my nose, breathing gently against it, then swallowing while still holding my nose. i only feel like this has been somewhat successful because on various attempts i've either heard a high pitched sound in my right ear or felt it pop. however, the fullness sensation hasn't gone away or dissipated. any suggestions? is this serious? do i need to see a doctor?

 

[immersed]

That's a tough call from an armchair - since you're familiar with swimmer's ear and recognize this as being different, I think I'd err on the side of caution and go to the doctor.

 

[spectrum]

elonmelle72

* Don't cut corners on ear safety, even in confined (pool?) water. There have been novice posters that suffered significant setbacks by trying to do pool work with marginal colds and such. You are just learning these skills you don't want to erode your safety margin.

*I'm not sure what you have going though it sounds more like water than anything. That's else just cojecture since I'm no doctor and certainly have not examined you. If there is an element of pain or tenderness I'd certainly head for the doctor.

This may help and will certainly be value for your future personal care as a diver:
http://www.scubaboard.com/showpost.php?p=1312758&postcount=8

A sngle treatment has been know to clear some residual suffiness at thje end of a dive day.

Pete

 

[Dive-aholic]

It wouldn't be a bad idea to get checked out by a doctor, in case this is serious. And especially if you're experience any pain.

How hard were you equalizing? What happens sometimes is that new divers pinch their noses and blow too hard causing a reverse pressure which ends up pulling water into the ear. It doesn't feel like swimmer's ear because the water is deeper in the canal than it gets with swimmer's ear. You'll feel the fullness for a couple of weeks. Eventually the water will absorb into your body. Being pool water, you shouldn't have to worry about infection, like might be possible in ocean water.

I'm just relating information based on my own personal experience when I started diving and what I've also heard other divers talk about. Based on what you've posted, I still recommend seeing a doctor, just to be safe. Before your next pool session would be optimal.

 

[rawls]

Never hurts to seek medical advice. Could be wax. Could be some residual congestion. Your right eustachian tube may be smaller than your left therefore making it a bit more difficult to clear. I don't know how deeply you descended when you tried to clear with each exhalation. I can drop quite a way on one breath and have to clear sometimes more frequently. Try to clear every 3 feet. You may want to start at the shallow end of the pool and work your way down. See how that does. I obviously can't say for certain, but it doesn't sound like it's a condition that will ruin your being able to continue diving.

 

[Knight1989]

Having a cold right now myself, I can sympithize. It can deffinitly make diving a lot harder is not impossable due to equalizing. I would secound what the others have said as far as seeing a doctor, but I wouldnt be to concerned, it dosent sound to serious, but better safe than sorry. Best advice, is if your diving with a cold, just be carefull, dont push yourself. If your ear wont equalize, dont wait for it to keep hurting or push through it, just come up a few feet and try again. The last few dives I've done, I had to hold at a certain depth for up to 30 min for my ear to finally equalize before I could go any deeper. Just remimber, if your ear is hurting, your pushing it to hard.

 

[highlandfarmwv]

I've only had 2 dive trips since becoming ceritfied (each were 6 days of lot of diving). So far, I've had a "stopped up ear" during and after both, starting about the 2nd day. When I did go to the dr after the first, he c ouoldn't see anything by swelling. So I didn't go the second time.
After about 3 days it goes away. I presume that I am too violent with the equalizations. I need to learn to be GENTLE.

 

[Jcsgt]

Sometimes it helps me to start clearing before I ever get into the water. Also, try tilting your effected ear up--this works a lot of the time for me. I have similar issues.

 

[Tagerisatroll]

When i was getting my certification i found chewing gum help clear my ears after because it kept my jaw muscles moving all the time, I'd chew two or three pieces of cheap bubble gum seemed to work the best for me anyway. Don't do it while your diving though choking hazard and all.

 

[Jcsgt]

I've also chewed that Altoid peppermint gum before a dive, and that seems to help open things up as well. I like to throw it away before the dive, though--I can just see myself somehow getting it stuck in my reg.