Ear pain

[Tatakai]

I was doing that safety accent yesterday in the pool for the first time. When we went to drop down to the bottom of the pool (12') I cleared several times and had no problem. I started to do the accent and I got a terrible pain in my right ear that hasn't went away yet. I feels like when I was a kid and had a ear infection. Was told that it is swimmers ear more than likely and that it will go away. I didn't get to finish my dives and finish up the skills that I wanted to complete. I was planning on finishing all my skills test yesterday and then do them one more time before my first OW dive that is scheduled for next week. What can I do in the mean time and also be able to stop this from happening again in the future? Thanks and I have learned from this site as well as in class.

Tatakai

 

[eponym]

Tatakai,

Post this in the "diving medicine" forum and you'll get some advice, I think.

Sounds more like a reverse block than swimmer's ear. Swimmer's ear takes some time to develop, as it's an infection picked up from the cooties in pool water.

Bryan

 

[Sideband]

Yup. Sounds like a block to me as well. Swimmers ear is an infection and you wouldnd't feel it happen during an ascent. I'm not a Dr. but I'd try Sudafed for a day and see if that helps. More than a day though and I'd go see a Dr.

Joe

 

[liberato]

...I started to do the accent and I got a terrible pain in my right ear that hasn't went away yet. I feels like when I was a kid and had a ear infection. Was told that it is swimmers ear more than likely and that it will go away...

It is to be hoped that your instructor is not who told you that (because his general competence would then be in question). As Bryan said, it was a barotraumatic event, more specifically a somewhat rare reverse squeeze. The fact that the pain remains means some damage has been done somewhere. It is good news if you are not hearing a ringing in your ears and do not feel dizzy or nauseous (related to inner ear damage).

Assuming no acute damage, rest and time do wonders but the fact that you are still complaining of pain should send you to a dive-aware physician because there may be a middle ear infection that should be treated. The fact you had childhood problems may indicate that your Eustachian tubes may not be right. They normally should not offer much in the way of resistance to escaping pressure (ascent). I have heard of a reverse squeeze also happening when someone has nasal congestion and takes medication to counter the symptoms and the meds wear off while still diving.

Assuming eventual recovery, if confronted with a similar situation, immediately stop ascent, return to painless depth, and do a "reverse Valsalva" (carefully inhale with nose stopped until pressure equalizes) while slowly ascending. In any case, you need to immediately address the continuing pain by seeing a physician (it is hard to examine your own ears). There is much info already here worth seaching for on ears and their problems in diving. Try "barotrauma".

 

[RocketMan]

Go see a doctor. You have probably bruised your middle ear, so have it checked out by an ENT. The last time I had such a problem, it took about 4 weeks to heal before I could dive again. Also you can find more info by doing a seach as stated above or visit the DAN site http://www.diversalertnetwork.org/medical/articles/article.asp?articleid=45 for a discription of common ear injuries. Hope things clear up soon

 

[spectrum]

That does not sound anything like the onset of swimmers ear.

Time may be your friend if you have some sort of congestion going on. Otherwise see a dive savvy doctor so that delays don't get compounded.

Above all do not let your check-out dives occur until you have had the prescribed pool time and feel comfortable with the whole thing. This is not a race that there are seldom rewards for rick takers.

Pete

 

[WasWild]

I agree that you should see a doctor. Both my son and I had similar experiences and it turned out to be fluid in the middle ear for both of us. Antihistimines did the trick.

Don't get discouraged...you'll figure it out...

 

[Divin'Papaw]

I would also concur with the others. I was a competitive swimmer growing up and swimmers ear doesn't just hit you. It is an infection that gradually develops. While I'm fairly new to diving, it does sound exactly like what I've read a reverse block feels like. I'd encourage you to see your doctor. You could also try calling the Divers Alert Network, DAN, or checking on their website for info that might help.

http://www.diversalertnetwork.org/index.asp

 

[SharkRider]

I was doing that safety accent yesterday in the pool for the first time. When we went to drop down to the bottom of the pool (12') I cleared several times and had no problem. I started to do the accent and I got a terrible pain in my right ear that hasn't went away yet. I feels like when I was a kid and had a ear infection. Was told that it is swimmers ear more than likely and that it will go away. I didn't get to finish my dives and finish up the skills that I wanted to complete. I was planning on finishing all my skills test yesterday and then do them one more time before my first OW dive that is scheduled for next week. What can I do in the mean time and also be able to stop this from happening again in the future? Thanks and I have learned from this site as well as in class.

Tatakai

Pain on ascent is called reverse squeeze or reverse block. It can be caused by underlying conditions or by the use of decongestants (stimulants) such as Sudafed. Some underlying conditions are "cheezy ear," a build up of ear wax, a small polyp or cyst in the ear, an ear infection, and an improperly functioning eustation tube.

If you cleared (forced) your clearing to hard during descent you could also have ruptured an eardrum which would also cause pain on ascent... but that is unlikely. Most likely source is an ear infection. My recommendation would be to go see an ENT familiar with dive medicine.

People havinf trouble clearing on the way down during pool training is normal. Having trouble with pain on ascent is not the norm. As an Instructor, I will tell you to discontinue training until you've been examined.

 

[Tatakai]

Thanks everyone for the information. It wasn't my instructor that said it could be swimmers ear it was someone else that isn't a diver. The good news is that the pain is gone and I have had no more problems yet. I am going back to the pool on Monday to try to finish my pool dives and finish the skills test. I did have my ears checked and the doc said that everything looked ok. But he didn't check the Eustachian tube, that is my fault for not asking though. Thanks again everyone and I will keep you informed too.

Tatakai