Ear Hell – comments & advice REALLY appreciated

[Bob3]

Dang, how did you manage to get in to see a Doc that fast?
We were just lucky with the guessing, as you really can't get a "diagnosis" over the internet (no matter what the viagra & vicodin spammers say).
When you're having drainage, sleep with that ear down. Otherwise I find I have less problems sleeping with the "offending" ear pointing up, as that allows the eustation tube to drain.
Mixing up a nice ear rinse brew helps me quite a bit, you should give it a try. I'd suggest equal parts alcohol, vinegar & distilled water. Use that to flush your ears out afert the dive, followed by a good 5 minute soaking. Just adding a couple drops won't really do much, it needs to soak.

 

[AndrewR]

Simple, I'm in Cyprus. IMO they have an excellent system here. You don't waste time going to see a family doctor/GP and waiting for a referral, you just go and see the specialist of your choice. As a foreigner (I'm British), you pay of course, but 15 pounds is a small price to pay for a quick and thorough examination.

I made the phone call at 10am this morning and had an appointment for 11:30am. If I was back in the UK, I wouldn't have seen anyone yet and probably wouldn't have done for at least 3-4 days. WELL DONE CYPRUS!

Bob3 once bubbled...
Dang, how did you manage to get in to see a Doc that fast?

 

[page.crow]

Dear Andrew:

Please note the post I made dated Oct 1st, regarding equalization disorders and cervical manipulation. You may very well find the answer you are seeking.

Regarding bacteria and pus in the ear. Pus buildup, be it green, yellow, red in color-many health care professionals spend a great deal of energy diagnosing WHICH distinct microbe is present.
The name of the bug is not nearly as important as WHY you get it.

Blockage leads to stagnation. Stagnation leads to rot. Pus buildup with bacteria is a SECONDARY effect-not the cause, worthy of energy spent diagnosing which bug it is and subsequently which antibiotic to use.

Blockage of fluid tissue drain from your Eustachain tubes will create the condition that allows bacteria to grow out of control. The reason it is oozing OUT your ear instead of down your throat is because your Eustachain tube is not open and draining correctly.

When the Eustachain tube becomes compressed, it will not let the fluids drain correctly from your inner ear. This can cause equailization disorders and pain, pressure imbalance, fluid buildup, bacteria infection secondary to stagnation.

The E tubes drain nicely for most people after a series of specific and effective cervical spine adjustments. This action releases nerve irritation and impingement, which causes muscle spasms. The muscle spasms often affect the spiral muscles of the E tubes. It can affect one, the other, or both sides.

Hope this helps! I wish you well. Please report your results.

page.crow dc

 

[AndrewR]

Dear page.crow

Thanks for the info. I can equalise without difficulty (and have always been able to), even in my current condition. Also, the purulent discharge from my ear has ceased.

Nonetheless, your work sounds interesting. Have you published on this? If so, please post the PubMed URLs as I'm having trouble locating them and would like to read the abstracts.

Thanks in advance.

 

[page.crow]

Andrew,

I hear you that you say equalization is normal. Good. I also understand that currently you do not have the infection and pus coming out of the ear now.

The problem is not fixed.

Rather, I suggest you are currently not expressing or demonstrating the ear symptoms. That doesn't mean your ears are "cured". It's just that right now, you are in remission.

My experience is that people develop ear disorders over and over again. It may be months or years before you have this happen again. It may happen the next time you dive. This is an example of a health imbalance that only shows up when the conditions are right (or wrong). Dig it?

A previous post regarding this situation talked about the perforated eardrum. Certainly, if you have a hole in your eardrum, contaminants can get in. But wait! You have an immune system. It's job is to wipe out infection, even in your ear drum. (Most people have poor immune function.)

Bottom line: Eustachain tube patency (open-ness) is ever changing and variable, affected by many conditions. When that tube is not flowing well, equalization disorders arise. Also, infections can set in.

It is important to consider this: infection is not the cause of middle and inner ear disorders-rather the result of stagnation and blockage. Infection is secondary. This concept is where western medical thought is bass ackward (respectfully submitted). You must have low health condition, stagnation, blockage, etc. for infection to want to grow. You have to have the right (poor) health condition for bacteria to want to grow.

The idea that outside bacteria came inside your ear and caused your pus infection is close, but no cigar. I suggest that you had a pre-existing condition (chronic blockage-even undetectable by yourself) that set the stage for the pus event.

Another example: If you own a dump, you will eventually have rats (bacteria) as guests. You can poison the dump (antibiotics) to kill the rats. But if you keep your dump, the rats will come back. Get rid of the dump, you get rid of the rats. Kapiche?

Food for thought. Have a great day everyone.

dr page crow

 

[John Reinertson]

Your ENT has sorted out the problem, I think. Sometimes, when healing after placement of ear tubes, an abnormally thin (Monomeric membrane for the researchers) repair develops which is very easily ruptured. If you equalise easily, the only other likely problem is an banormally thin membrane.

Since each time you rupture this, the body must repair it again, and the entry of sea water into the middle ear space is not a normal or healthy occurrence, many diving docs would disqualify you from diving.

As you are unwilling to stop diving, a ratioanl alternative might be to always dive with a pro-ear mask or other mask designed to keep water out of the ear, and to always use some form of ear drop after each dive, to reduce likelihood of problems from any possible water intrusion.
Since there are relatively few ear drops that are safe for a ruptured ear drum, you'll need to check with your ENT or diving doc and use prescription drops intended for ruptured ear drum only, not the widely available drops for prevention of swimmer's ear.

Good luck.

John

P.S. I'm a GP. We're not all uninformed about diving medicine.

 

[RichLockyer]

John Reinertson once bubbled...
Since there are relatively few ear drops that are safe for a ruptured ear drum, you'll need to check with your ENT or diving doc and use prescription drops intended for ruptured ear drum only, not the widely available drops for prevention of swimmer's ear.

My thoughts exactly. As common, popular, and effective as the homebrew drops are, I would seriously reconsider putting anything into my ear that is not sterile if there is a possibility that it will reach the middle ear.

 

[Bob3]

Yep, for a holy ear drum, your Doc will prescribe something that's got a name longer than I can type here, possibly a mix of antibiotics w/steroids.

 

[diverws]

AndrewR once bubbled...
Hey guys, spot on with the diagnosis.


I've just seen an ENT doctor who was very thorough and has at last come up with a plausible explanation. To cut a long story short, it's a perforated ear drum....

Hi Andrew,

I encountered similar problems during my past dive trips. Have seen the same ENT for about 5 times and he just told me to rest and allow the eardrum to heal before I start to dive again. According to the ENT doc, there is a surgery that can resolve this problem, but will reduce hearing significantly. Would rather let it heal and descend slowly the next time round.

Have tried both doc's proplugs and proear dive mask together, but still getting this problem. The mask does keep water out if worn properly.