Ear issue even in very shallow water

[cordalette]

I think the reason you are not getting a lot of advice here is that your symptoms are quite odd, and nobody knows quite what to make of them. A sudden release of pressure sounds like either sudden equalization or eardrum perforation, and from what you have said, and the results of the pressure test, it isn't the latter. So it makes me think you aren't equalizing, and then suddenly, your ear does it itself. Have you, in the past, needed to do anything in particular to equalize your ears? Maybe you used to be able to equalize without a specific procedure, but now require one?

Yes this is very true they do seem to be unique symptoms. In the past i would have to equalize every 7 feet or so utilizing the Valsalva maneuver. Someone recomended that i try doing the the second i go under water, but i have not yet tried it. The problem with that though is many times in my activities such as surfing when i duck dive a wave i dont have the chance to equalize like that otherwise i would loose my board from taking my hand off it. I did however try a plug and not one of those special ones with the hole that a few folks have mentioned. It seemed to help when i went swimming at the beach this week but i didnt really go to far under, because the pain that ensues if i have the problem i have been explaining is absolutely awful!

 

[cordalette]

I have been using the Valsalva maneuver and i would do so approx every 5-7 feet or so. But i have never scuba dived, only free dive with snorkel gear and the furthest ive gone was approx 25-30 feet. as a child I never was able to swim deep because of the pressure build up in my ears. So at camp part of the advanced swimmers test was swim to the bottom of a 10 foot pool and retrieve a rubber brick, i could barely do it and it hurt. When i was about 15 i was on vacation in the Bahamas and was on a snorkeling trip when i watched a boat crew member dive down about 30 feet to tie off the boat to an pre placed anchor. I asked him how he did this without hurting his ears and thats when i learned how to do the Valsalva maneuver and have been using it since until i ran into this recent problem which first presented itself after diving into a pool and feeling a sudden pressure release and immense pain in my right ear.

 

[cordalette]

I'm a big fan of the vented proplugs but for the OP I think they really need to figure out what's going on first. I too was wondering, what technique are you using to equalize, when and how often?

I have been using the Valsalva maneuver and i would do so approx every 5-7 feet or so. But i have never scuba dived, only free dive with snorkel gear and the furthest ive gone was approx 25-30 feet. as a child I never was able to swim deep because of the pressure build up in my ears. So at camp part of the advanced swimmers test was swim to the bottom of a 10 foot pool and retrieve a rubber brick, i could barely do it and it hurt. When i was about 15 i was on vacation in the Bahamas and was on a snorkeling trip when i watched a boat crew member dive down about 30 feet to tie off the boat to an pre placed anchor. I asked him how he did this without hurting his ears and thats when i learned how to do the Valsalva maneuver and have been using it since until i ran into this recent problem which first presented itself after diving into a pool and feeling a sudden pressure release and immense pain in my right ear.

 

[Taylor1988]

I HAVE THE EXACTLY SAME PROBLEM FOR A GOOD FEW YEARS NOW.... few days ago I was swimming with my kids and having this really annoying problem when going down 2-3 feet of water..... Were you able to find a solution for your problem???? Pleaaaaaase let me know if you did.... Thanks and have a great weekend!
Taylor

I have been a swimmer all my life im 27 and for the last few years i have been experiencing problems every time i go under water 2 feet or more. I am not a scuba diver although i used to be able to dive about 20 feet or so while snorkeling. But now whenever i attempt to go under water my right ear has a sudden realease of pressure which i can both hear and feel and then i have sudden pain and the sensation of water in my ear. Sounds like a ruptured or preforated ear drum, but every time this has happened i have gone to an ENT and they have said that i am fine. They even performed a pressure test one time because i refused for them to tell me i was fine by just looking at my ear and the test came out clear. They say give it a couple of months and you will be fine so i gave my ear 10 months with the only water exposure in my shower and then i swam down two feet and right away the same problem! Im trying to figure out whats my next move because its heartbreaking fro me not to be able to swim, surf, snorkle, and hopefully dive one day. Has anyone experienced an issue like this or know whats my best plan of action to take? Thanks so much for reading!

 

[Z Gear]

I HAVE THE EXACTLY SAME PROBLEM FOR A GOOD FEW YEARS NOW.... few days ago I was swimming with my kids and having this really annoying problem when going down 2-3 feet of water..... Were you able to find a solution for your problem???? Pleaaaaaase let me know if you did.... Thanks and have a great weekend!
Taylor

I had trouble equalizing for a while before scuba diving. I always thought it was just me and that some pain was normal. Thankfully I was wrong. It was only after really learning how to equalize properly was I able to actually enjoy diving without worrying about my ears hurting. I suggest you start all over again and this time approach equalizing your ears with an easy yet very confidence building method.

First try this out in the pool when you are relaxed and have no one else to worry about.
It would be good if you were next to the pool ladder on the deep end so that you can hold on to it while you are equalizing.

One of the most important things you can do is before you start to descend pinch your nose and get a puff going from the start. As you descend "SLOWLY"
you should be doing these puffs at the same time. At this stage your goal should be to equalize as you descend in other words don't go any deeper if you feel pain just hold or go up slightly try some more gentle puffs and give your ears time to equalize. Because you are taking your time and are care full not to stress out your ears you will be able to dial this technique down. At first I would always have to descend really slow because my ears where still getting USED to this activity. But gradually my ears got accustomed to the feeling of equalizing and diving as a result I am able to now equalize without any problems and not take forever to equalize.

Just know that some of us who dive have had ear equalizing problems. Ever since I was a kid I didn't know why I could not dive down to the bottom of the pool with out my ears hurting, I was unaware of how easy it was to actually equalize my ears. Since then I have shown my kids how to equalize there ears , I didn't want them to go through what I did.

Frank G
Zgear.org

 

[chillyinCanada]

Are you able to equalize when flying?

I find it interesting that OP had redness and swelling in the ear yet the ENT didn't seem more curious.

 

[Nasser]

I realize this thread is a few years old now but to the OP or anyone else who is having similar issues... I would advise that you try to get a second or even a third opinion from a specialist. Perhaps locate an ENT who works a lot with athletes (i.e. swimmers ) and specializes in sports/water related ENT issues.

DAN network is an excellent source as suggested and may be able to point you in the right direction. Maybe if there is a State swim team or people who compete professionally in your area, then the coach/trainer may be able to recommend a good physician for you as well.

 

[Hintermann]

I have done nearly 500 dives and am always aware of 'ear issues' which seem to affect some divers more than others for reasons not always easy to explain. In my case, I have had problem with earwax since my teens (I am 59 now) and heed to get it cleared periodically. I use Arachis Oil drops every week to try and minimise the build-up but despite that I have to get the wax remnants cleared before each dive trip. During diving, I am all right as along as I remember to equalise every 2 minutes or so, which I now do automatically without thinking about it. Any problems usually start during the second half of the dive; if I have come up to say, 15 metres and decide to drop down a metre or two to see something better, I feel an immediate tightening in my left ear and have to equalise. This is not always easy later into the dive and I have to ascend a few metres to be able to do so. There have been instances where I have abandoned the idea of a closer look at a depth where I was only 20 minutes earlier (and deeper) without problems but cannot drop back a couple of metres later in the dive.

I have had my ears checked and apart from the aforementioned wax problem, they are fine. As I said, I ensure that my ears are clear of wax a few days before a dive trip and so that is unlikely to be the problem anyway. I suspect that I might have a tendency for a mucus plug in my left Eustachain tube which can also affect equalising while diving. But there is not a lot I can do about it.

 

[TSandM]

I have also had significant problems with re-descending, especially if it's the second or third dive of the day, or we have spent a lot of time wandering up and down in the shallows. (I've had to get out of the pool while teaching, because I simply couldn't equalize any more.). I think, even when we equalize early and often, there is still minor barotrauma that occurs and can be cumulative over a dive or dives.

 

[hongrace]

I am also having issue with equalizing. Normally I am fine with the first descent. The issue comes usually when I surface for a few minutes, say for de-breifing, and then go down again. After a couple of hours of SI, the first descend again will be fine. So the issue is almost always when I surface and re-descend again. Can it be due to my minor rhinitis that my ENT found out with endoscope?