Ear issues after pool dives

[Samson]

I had my confined (pool) dives for my OW cert this past Sunday and I was unable to equalize. Past a certain depth (pool depth was 10 ft), I kept getting pain in both ears and nothing I could do other than ascending would relieve the pain. I also felt pain ascending the last few feet as my ears opened up.

It wasn't excruciating pain in any way but after multiple attempts I stopped and ultimately cut the course short around noon. For the rest of the day, I had a feeling of fullness in my left ear with random throbs of pain in either ear every several minutes or so. Both ears popped/clicked/opened as I moved my jaw.

Monday, my left ear was cleared up although a bit itchy and the pain had more/less dissipated from both ears, but I was pretty groggy throughout the day (unsure if that was dive related).

Tuesday (today), everything is fine although I'm getting some pain, more so in my right ear, when I exert pressure (tensing to lift weights, for example).

Any idea what's going on? What kind of barotrauma I've encountered? Should I visit an ENT to be safe and rule out any major damage?

 

[inquis]

Should I visit an ENT to be safe and rule out any major damage?

Yes.

 

[kaylee_ann]

Yeah, you need to see a specialist. This is not normal.

 

[Marie13]

Next time you dive, if you begin to feel ANY pain in your ears, STOP and don’t go deeper.

 

[boulderjohn]

When equalizing, for most people first 10 feet is the hardest, so it is not unusual to have trouble in a pool, especially for students who are not used to it.

When equalizing, do not let yourself feel pain. If you feel anything like pain, ascend and work on equalizing at a shallower depth. It is not just a matter of toughing out the pain--if you have descended far enough to feel pain, then it will be harder to equalize because of a closing down of the eustachian tubes from the pressure.

When I was a student and new diver, equalizing was a major problem for me. I even had an instructor tell me that diving might not be in my future because of it. I eventually learned to equalize early and often. By early and often, I mean while sitting on my sofa in the days before a dive trip, on the plane heading for the dive location, in the hotel room once I arrived, on the boat on the way to the dive site, on the edge of the boat before entering the water, on the surface before descending, and in the first few feet of the descent. I also used things to help clear the passages--eucalyptus oil picked up at a flea market in Australia worked great.

Today I don't have any trouble,and that is simply because my ears have gotten used to it.

 

[Nemrod]

Do not do this if you have a cold or infection but otherwise several times every day exercise your escutcheon tunes by (gently) blowing against your pinched nose (valsalva).

 

[Samson]

I appreciate all the replies, thank you. Woke up this morning feeling much better with respect to applying pressure but will still make an ENT appointment.

I should have definitely stopped the course and not listened to the instructor when he told me to keep going Not sure I'll be diving at the center any more, hopefully I can get my money back.

 

[kaylee_ann]

I appreciate all the replies, thank you. Woke up this morning feeling much better with respect to applying pressure but will still make an ENT appointment.

I should have definitely stopped the course and not listened to the instructor when he told me to keep going Not sure I'll be diving at the center any more, hopefully I can get my money back.

your instructor knew you were having that many issues with your ears and told you to continue??? yeahhhh never go there again.

 

[Samson]

your instructor knew you were having that many issues with your ears and told you to continue??? yeahhhh never go there again.

My fault for not listening to myself, especially when red flags like that were going off. Let's just hope I didn't come away with any major damage from this stint of foolishness.

 

[kaylee_ann]

My fault for not listening to myself, especially when red flags like that were going off. Let's just hope I didn't come away with any major damage from this stint of foolishness.

my point is, an instructor is supposed to know better and make those rational, well thought-out decisions when the student can't or isn't. imagine if someone really thought this was normal and kept going, or had a pain tolerance high enough to ignore it. they're supposed to be the ones keeping the new divers out of trouble, not potentially in it.
basically when someone with a lot more experience and knowledge tells a brand new diver something, they'll be inclined to listen because "they're more experienced than me, so they know better". they'll ignore their gut feelings too. i did something like this and it didn't work out too well for me.