Ear Pains..

[scuba newbie]

I went diving two weeks ago with my father-in-law, we are scuba newbies and decided to do a quarry dive, max 25ft. We went to practice our skills. During our dive he was having trouble with bouyancy. He would descend, not equalizing enough but not causing trouble during dive. After the 2 dives that day, he said he had water in his ear he couldn't get out which we thought was just swimmer's ear. A couple of days past and he still had trouble with his ear, and a little pain. He went to the local doctor and was told that he had an allergy that acted up and his ear canal closed(along those lines) which trapped a bit of water inside. He was given some drops and was told it would clear up in a while. This weekend he wants to go diving but I'm a little aprehensive because his ear is still a bit sore. He told his doctor he was diving when the problem started and the doctor cleared him to dive anyway. I found that odd since his problem is still there. So I was hoping to get your opinions on the issue. Thanx for the response

PS I'm thinking not to take him diving till his ear is fine, but he wants to dive

 

[SteveDiver]

I went diving two weeks ago with my father-in-law, we are scuba newbies and decided to do a quarry dive, max 25ft. We went to practice our skills. During our dive he was having trouble with bouyancy. He would descend, not equalizing enough but not causing trouble during dive. After the 2 dives that day, he said he had water in his ear he couldn't get out which we thought was just swimmer's ear. A couple of days past and he still had trouble with his ear, and a little pain. He went to the local doctor and was told that he had an allergy that acted up and his ear canal closed(along those lines) which trapped a bit of water inside. He was given some drops and was told it would clear up in a while. This weekend he wants to go diving but I'm a little aprehensive because his ear is still a bit sore. He told his doctor he was diving when the problem started and the doctor cleared him to dive anyway. I found that odd since his problem is still there. So I was hoping to get your opinions on the issue. Thanx for the response

PS I'm thinking not to take him diving till his ear is fine, but he wants to dive

When I first started diving I had the same issue. Actually, I had water in my ear for several days. I kept diving and it eventually went away. Each person is different. It sounds as if you already consulted with the Doc and he was cleared to dive. This is a decision that your father in law will have to make. If he wants to dive and the Doc says OK then he should dive...It would not keep me out of the water. Been there done that..

 

[Wildcard]

I second that. Doc says yes then it's his call.

 

[Canadian_Diver]

PS I'm thinking not to take him diving till his ear is fine, but he wants to dive

I'm going to go against the grain here..... there will be plenty more opportunities to dive. It's not like you're on a trip and spending a bunch of money to go diving. There's nothing to lose, and nothing to warrant the risk of futher injuring the ear. I would take the time off until the ear is feeling up to par, regardless of what the doctor is telling me.

It just isn't worth it to run the risk of damaging an ear for one or two dives.

The alternative is, to get in the water and see how it feels. At the first signs of pain, abort the dive. I don't condone this, but it is an alternative if he's dead set on going diving.