Ear drops to help equalize?

[BKP]

To answer your original question, TravelDave, I use Swimmer's Ear (drops) after every dive. It's mostly alcohol, and dries out your ear, which serves two purposes (for me): -reduces residual water in the canal, which *does* help me with equalization in subsequent dives; -reduces chance of infection from seawater left in your ear...

Good luck, and dive safe...

 

[BillP]

As for ear drops, given a normal and healthy external ear canal there is no reason to anticipate that these would in any way facilitate equalization.

To answer your original question, <snip> I use Swimmer's Ear (drops) after every dive <snip> which <snip> -reduces residual water in the canal, which *does* help me with equalization in subsequent dives

That's very interesting, BKP. I suppose that if a diver developed marked external ear canal swelling/obstruction if s/he didn't use ear drops (i.e. they don't have a normal and healthy external ear canal), then ear drops could help with equalization, but other than that scenario I'm having trouble imagining how it's even possible for Swimmer's Ear to help with equalizing. Can you explain how you're hypothesizing that mechanism of action works (beyond the placebo effect)?

Thanks

 

[BKP]

That's very interesting, BKP. I suppose that if a diver developed marked external ear canal swelling/obstruction if s/he didn't use ear drops (i.e. they don't have a normal and healthy external ear canal), then ear drops could help with equalization, but other than that scenario I'm having trouble imagining how it's even possible for Swimmer's Ear to help with equalizing. Can you explain how you're hypothesizing that mechanism of action works (beyond the placebo effect)?

Thanks

Bill, I'm not a doc, so I'll simply explain my experience as best I can, rather than try to offer clinical fact.

Prior to using Swimmer's Ear, I'd invariably surface with an earful of water, along with that frustrating dulling of external sound, and that "bloated" feeling in your ear canal -- I simply don't know another way of putting it. Tilting my head, applying the old palm-to-skull therapy to break the surface tension and drain it, was hit and miss. If it was "miss," my next descent almost always proved to be an equalization exercise in futility (partially, anyway). I don't know the mechanics, and can only guess what effect the pre-existing water in the canal represented.
However, since using the Swimmer's Ear, I've never *not* been able to drain the residual water. It's helped dry it out, and subsequent dives always felt like the first from an equalization perspective.
A nice by-product is also that I've never had an infection since using Swimmer's Ear.

Bottom line -- it's now a member in good standing of my Save-a-dive kit...

 

[BillP]

Can you explain how you're hypothesizing that mechanism of action works (beyond the placebo effect)?

Prior to using Swimmer's Ear, I'd invariably surface with an earful of water, along with that frustrating dulling of external sound, and that "bloated" feeling in your ear canal -- I simply don't know another way of putting it. Tilting my head, applying the old palm-to-skull therapy to break the surface tension and drain it, was hit and miss. If it was "miss," my next descent almost always proved to be an equalization exercise in futility (partially, anyway). I don't know the mechanics, and can only guess what effect the pre-existing water in the canal represented.
However, since using the Swimmer's Ear, I've never *not* been able to drain the residual water. It's helped dry it out, and subsequent dives always felt like the first from an equalization perspective.

Thanks, BKP. So I take it that your answer to my question is "No"? For the mere presence of "old" water in the ear canal to cause problems equalizing, you would have to assume that this water was somehow different from the water that you would introduce into your ear on the next dive. Unlikely, wouldn't you say?

Just a guess on my part of course, but I hypothesize an alternate explanation for your experience. Perhaps your vigorous- yet unsuccessful- attempts to clear the water from your ears after diving (prior to using Swimmer's Ear) caused your difficulty with equalizing on subsequent dives, and once you abandoned those techniques your problem improved? In other words, have you considered that maybe it wasn't the actual introduction of the Swimmer's Ear in your regimen that made the difference, but rather the other changes that you made?

Since people who have no structural obstruction to their ear canal have no problems equalizing the external surface of the eardrum with the environment, I have to agree with the other posters above who answered the OP's question by saying that eardrops should not be expected to help with equalizing.

(BTW, DocV is a "doc" and usually offers as close to "clinical fact" as possible when he posts answers to medical questions. I try to consider that before contradicting him ;-) )

Regards

 

[BKP]

Thanks, BKP. So I take it that your answer to my question is "No"? For the mere presence of "old" water in the ear canal to cause problems equalizing, you would have to assume that this water was somehow different from the water that you would introduce into your ear on the next dive. Unlikely, wouldn't you say?

Just a guess on my part of course, but I hypothesize an alternate explanation for your experience. Perhaps your vigorous- yet unsuccessful- attempts to clear the water from your ears after diving (prior to using Swimmer's Ear) caused your difficulty with equalizing on subsequent dives, and once you abandoned those techniques your problem improved? In other words, have you considered that maybe it wasn't the actual introduction of the Swimmer's Ear in your regimen that made the difference, but rather the other changes that you made?

Since people who have no structural obstruction to their ear canal have no problems equalizing the external surface of the eardrum with the environment, I have to agree with the other posters above who answered the OP's question by saying that eardrops should not be expected to help with equalizing.

(BTW, DocV is a "doc" and usually offers as close to "clinical fact" as possible when he posts answers to medical questions. I try to consider that before contradicting him ;-) )

Regards

Look Bill. Frankly, I don't know what your problem is, other than you're looking for a one-sided debate.

I already told you, I'm not a doc, and I was quite forthright as to not understanding the reason that the use of the Swimmer's Ear coincided with my equalizing difficulties disappearing. It simply did. Hypothesize all you want about it.

Other than that, I'm not endorsing it, I'm not condemning it.

So what are you looking for?

PS... I certainly did NOT contradict DocV. I was very clear about my experience being particular to *me*, and *not* knowing the mechanics of it. So can I be any clearer?... Jeez...

 

[DandyDon]

BKP, I don't know if you have seen a physician about your ears or not? ENTs are recommended but most GPs are qualified to tell you if you have obvious ear problems or was build up. Do you ever irrigate your ears to remove excess wax? A doctor taught me how: The Ear Wax FAQ

 

[BKP]

Hey Don... actually I did talk to my doctor about it a few years ago, when I was having an equalization issue. Was checked, and no anomolies were found, no issues.

I actually have done the irrigation. Never had a real problem with build-up.

However, thanks for the suggestion (and it was an interesting FAQ -- 'specially the 'candling'). For me, the mystery remains...

 

[BillP]

Look Bill. Frankly, I don't know what your problem is, other than you're looking for a one-sided debate.

I already told you, I'm not a doc, and I was quite forthright as to not understanding the reason that the use of the Swimmer's Ear coincided with my equalizing difficulties disappearing. It simply did. Hypothesize all you want about it.

Other than that, I'm not endorsing it, I'm not condemning it.

So what are you looking for?

PS... I certainly did NOT contradict DocV. I was very clear about my experience being particular to *me*, and *not* knowing the mechanics of it. So can I be any clearer?... Jeez...

Hey thanks, BKP. I think that makes it clear. Let's see if I understand your latest post...

• Your experience is particular to *you* (and you do not assert that it has any application to the original poster?)
• You have no explanation as to how eardrops could even possibly affect equalizing in the normal ear canal.
• You do not endorse eardrops as a way to help equalizing.
• And you agree with DocV's viewpoint that there is no reason to anticipate that eardrops would in any way facilitate equalization given a normal healthy external ear canal.

Do I have that right now?

I guess what I was looking for is the meaning and purpose of your response to the original poster, so that we can get the best possible information to him and other readers.

When I read your post, it seemed to me that your stated purpose was "To answer your original question, TravelDave". The original poster's questions seemed to be whether eardrops would help him with equalization (and if so, which drops) and whether there were other suggestions to help with equalizing. I thought that other board members had already done an excellent job of answering the questions, and your post seemed (to me) to be contradicting some of those answers.

You seem to have now established that you have no reason to believe that eardops would help his equalization and you provided no other suggestions to help with equalization in your post. Yet you started your post, "To answer your original question, TravelDave"... (as if it had not already been answered?) Now do you see what my problem with your line of reasoning was? Sorry to offend, but frankly it just didn't make much sense to me. I think that it does now. Thanks.

Cheers

 

[BKP]

Now do you see what my problem ...

Absolutely... Now I *do* see what your problem is, Bill... You need need to get a life.

You apparently have nothing better to do than pick apart semantics, when someone relates an experience in direct reference to the original poster's question. Not a solution. Not med advice. Simply answering the OP's question of "...has anyone had any luck with this [using ear drops for equalization, as his instructor had suggested]"...

Happy? If not, feel free to write another novelette.

PS... I notice the great majority of your posts reference diving medicine. I can't tell from your severely anorexic bio... are *YOU* a doctor? Or just a frustrated doctor wannabe? Or perhaps just a self-appointed ScubaBoard Content Editor here to protect all "the other readers" from their own lack of interpretation skills...?

 

[Walter]

BillP is a physician and I believe his posts in this thread have prevented folks from falsely believing that drops for swimmers ear might help them with equalization. He's not picking on you, he's making sure the the solution to the problem is understood by all.

BTW, I've known Bill for about 9 or 10 years now. I first dived with him about 9 years ago. He has a life, he has a delightful family and he is always an asset in diving medicine threads. The only problem I have with Bill is I don't get to dive with him nearly often enough.