Ear issues - new diver

[lunula]

I am currently undergoing my open water diver certification, and this past Sunday was our first day to go down to the 15' depth of the pool. I had terrible issues with pain in my ears (mainly my right ear) - the instructor was fantastic and helped me come up/down really slowly, equalizing over and over until the pain stopped, but it took a couple minutes for me to make it down to 15'.

I honestly have problems with popping/equalizing my ears because I have tinnitus, and it makes me a little anxious because any issues with my ears can also cause spikes in the already somewhat distracting ringing I hear all the time.

After class (4 hours in the pool, but maybe 15 minutes at 15') - I had water clogging both ears. I used to be a swimmer, so I am not unfamiliar with the feeling. I got home and put drops in my ears, my left ear cleared right away, but my right ear didn't clear until last night (and 3 rounds of drops). Today, I am still congested and my right ear, though not clogged anymore, still doesn't feel 100% back-to-normal (it still sounds *slightly* muffled). I did purchase some Zyrtec-D last night to help clear the congestion.

My questions are:

1. Is this normal?
2. Should I "practice" equalizing outside the pool to make it easier, or is it really something that must be practiced as it is happening? It was really painful at just 15' -- I worry about how I will make it down any deeper when we are on real dives.
3. Is there any way to prevent these "deep" water clogs in my ears?
4. Should I go to my doctor to see if I have ear-wax blockage or something making it worse?
5. In your experience, will these issues "go away" with time and practice? Or is this a routine (rounds of ear drops, decongestants, living with the muffled sound, etc.) I will just have to accept if I want to dive?

Thank you kindly for any advice!

 

[fjpatrum]

I'm not a doctor and I have limited diving experience so I hope someone else with more experience will also answer. (They usually do.)

1) Normal is a broad range. I typically have some water in my ears for a couple days after a day of diving. Congestion would make me a little more concerned but only if it was really bad or accompanied by pain in my ears or a loss of hearing.
2) Practicing is always good. just be careful "clearing" your ears when you're not actually changing pressures. It can hurt.
3) I have no idea or experience with this...
4) I did some minor damage to my ear on a dive and went to the doctor. It certainly won't hurt, especially if it's covered by insurance.
5) My issues haven't gone away, per se. If I do more dives in a short period of time, though, they do decrease. I don't dive often enough to see consistent improvement after long breaks, though.

 

[eponym]

From your description it could have been minor bruising (barotrauma) of the tympanum, but that ought to have resolved itself within a day.

I've asked for this thread to be moved to the Diving Medicine forum, where you can get replies from professionals.

-Bryan

 

[PatW]

1) Is it normal? Again, that is almost irrelevant. Who cares if you are one of 70% or one of 1%? It does not change the problem. By the way, I had similar pain issues and difficulty equalizing when I started diving.
2) Practicing helps. I found that what worked for me, was to tilt my head all the way back (like I was trying to look straight up or even up and behind) while tilting my head, holding my nose and blowing. The tilt of the head would clear the ear that was tilted "up", if I was lucky. Oddly enough, as I worked on this, clearing became progressively easier. Now, a light pinch of the nose and a slight puff is all I usually need to equalize. Also, you do not have to worry so much about deep dives. Remember your dive charts. You hit 2 atmospheres of pressure which halves the air volume at 32'. In order to halve the air volume again (4 atm), you need to go down to 96'. The thing is on deep dives, the pressure changes are slower and that gives you more time to equalize. It is that first 15' that gives you the biggest pressure changes.
3) I am not sure about what you are referring to. I don't get to much in the way of problems like this. My wife gets them. You can get a form of ear plug that is often available in scuba shops. I think it is called "Doc's". They really do not plug the ear but they do help keep out the water to a degree. My wife says they help quite a bit. Failing that there is a little device that used to be called "Sahara Dry Ear", I forget what it is called now. It is a little ear dryer. It blows a very mild breeze of heated air into your ear. I think it drys out the parts of the ear it can reach. Water deeper in the ear kind of wicks out to the now dry parts. Using it repeatedly usually gets most of the water out of the ear. It is an alternative or supplement to ear drops.
4) Seeing a specialist in ear, nose and throat, might help. It would help even more to talk to a physician who has dealt with SCUBA related problems. However, one would be hard to find.
5) As I said, with practice, I managed equalize far faster. It took about 30 dives and working on it.

 

[Hashsaz]

My questions are:

1. Is this normal?
2. Should I "practice" equalizing outside the pool to make it easier, or is it really something that must be practiced as it is happening? It was really painful at just 15' -- I worry about how I will make it down any deeper when we are on real dives.
3. Is there any way to prevent these "deep" water clogs in my ears?
4. Should I go to my doctor to see if I have ear-wax blockage or something making it worse?
5. In your experience, will these issues "go away" with time and practice? Or is this a routine (rounds of ear drops, decongestants, living with the muffled sound, etc.) I will just have to accept if I want to dive?

Thank you kindly for any advice!

1) It's normal with painful ear if you force yourself to go deeper without equalise well, not a good practise for forcing yourself anyway. Your instructor did the right thing but you should inform early before you feel the pain.
2) practise gain experience. Good but it's not related with types of water when you got that problem. Means, you will face the same problem no matter in pool or salt water.
3) We can sense pressure and try to equalize more often as you could before you feel any pain (just try to pop it as long as you feel any pressure, light pressure). there's no one will laugh at you for pressing your nose up to thousand time and if anyone does, just don give a damn since they won't pay back your "ear" if thing get worse. Remember, never compare with others as everyone is physically different.
4) if you are still suffering the pain after a week, consult doctor and ask for his advice and recommendation if you are good to go, however, the doctor always says better not .
5) problem means problem, it always there and just try to accept you got the problem. never accept any pain when diving. Diving is an exciting sport, but not for suffering. So, don be too shy to take longer period to get to the bottom as long as your ear is comfortable Never feel shy to show your "problem sign" underwater. When you go for any diving trip, tell the div op honestly that you're having tinnitus problem and ask them to take more care of you. Just remember, never try to equalize only when you feel the pain else it might gone worse when you force it.


So, again..my advice is equalise as often as you can, make it as habit like what i did no matter there's any pressure or not. It helps! If you fail to equalise in certain depth, remain at the same depth and not going deeper. Get yourself a stick for every dive in case you're left behind, hit the tank with the stick to alarm your dive op to wait for you, show the hand signal telling them you havin problem with ear.

good luck!

 

[DandyDon]

Hi Lunula and welcome to SB.

I guess the ears are the most common issue to new divers as well as many of experience. Pseudoephedrine & antihistamines like in the Zyrtec-D you purchased are commonly used by divers, altho not commonly discussed here. There are pros & cons to the use, but honestly - many of us can dive without those meds, along with many other helpful remedies. First, to your questions...

My questions are: Is this normal?

It's a common challenge many of us deal with.

Should I "practice" equalizing outside the pool to make it easier, or is it really something that must be practiced as it is happening? It was really painful at just 15' -- I worry about how I will make it down any deeper when we are on real dives.

15 feet is the usual problem area. It's not that practicing dry will help, but early & often clearing does. A few times before diving, followed by several times as you descend - stopping if you hit a block, ascending a little, and clearing until it works.

Is there any way to prevent these "deep" water clogs in my ears?

Yeah, don't over do it.

Should I go to my doctor to see if I have ear-wax blockage or something making it worse?

Not a bad idea. May help, may not, but good idea to try.

In your experience, will these issues "go away" with time and practice? Or is this a routine (rounds of ear drops, decongestants, living with the muffled sound, etc.) I will just have to accept if I want to dive?

Nope, probably won't go away, but you can learn to deal with it better - and avoid ear injuries as well as muffled sound.

So what ear drops are you using afterwards? Alcohol dries the ear, white vinegar restores pH, and there are various mixes many of us use to dry ears and prevent "Swimmer Ear" infections, but muffled sound ears sounds more like barotrauma.

There is a 45 minute video at Doc's Diving Medicine Home Page that can help greatly. I wish more Instructors would ask their students to study it.

 

[lunula]

Thank you all so very much for your thoughtful replies, it is greatly appreciated! I have wanted to dive for a long time and I've enjoyed the training so far, didn't even mind the mask-clearing (as a lot of people have told me is the "worst" thing!) and I love the time in the water. I have my next class this weekend, and I'll make sure to equalize frequently and to take it slow. Again, you have all helped put my mind at ease and have given some great suggestions.