Ear Problem Did The Doc. Do The Right Thing

[Ed66]

Well its been 11 days and my ears feel great and I can hear (always a good thing The only thing is I hear a little crackling sound in it when I swallow . I guess time and Zyrtec D are doing the trick. I have a check up visit on Mon. so I will let you know what the Doc. has to say. Thanks Ed

 

[Robert Phillips]

The same thing happened to me on my first dives. The situation is this: The Cavity behind the eardrum retains the same volume, when outside pressure is increased, one of three things happen. The normal thing is the pressure is equalized through your eustachian tubes.
Or your eardrum ruptures, but before that happens the surface tissue in the cavity will split and fluid will fill up the space to equalize the pressure.
That is the sloshing you feel when you move your head. It is normally absorbed back into the tissue in a week or so.
Antibiotics are good to take during this time because you never really know what stuff you blasted up there on your attemps to equalize normally.
The best lesson to learn from this is: Equalize early, equalize often!

 

[CincyBengalsFan]

Doctors say that you can only have a few Z-packs per year. However; in the commercial diving world they hand Z-packs out like it's candy to keep there ears nice and clear. Z-packs can cure about everything. Doctor made a good choice.

And listen to JBD about the equalizing.

 

[BigJetDriver]

merricksmom once bubbled...
Hi guys, you all sound just like me. I am a vet who's allergic to cats and dogs, so just imagine my sinuses. I had no idea it was a problem until my OW dives, where I had pain and tremendous difficulty EQ, and felt like I took half the spring home with me in my ears. Here's what I think about all this.

I truly thought I could not be a diver due to my crappy ears, but here's what I've found works for me (and I think I win the "worst ears award" for the year so far). The night before dive day I take a benadryl. The morning of the dive I spray Afrin before I leave the house, and depending on the drive, take 2 Sudafed about 2 hours before I plan to go down. If it's an all day trip, I take 2 more at lunchtime. This has made a WORLD of difference for me. If I still have any trouble, I lay my head from side to side when I blow to EQ, stretching the eust tube out within my head as I lean, which allows the air to get up there more easily. I still have tight tubes, and I know when my equalization blow worked because I can literally hear the air squeal in (and out when I'm ascending). I have to blow every few feet on the way down and if I'm still the slowest one, then the rest of you can just wait for me at the bottom.

Hope this helps, happy diving!

Wendy

I would like to be the first to offer the unofficial award of: "Person MOST Committed to Becoming a Diver!"

With that kind of dedication, I know she will become a very good diver. I would be happy to stand by and wait for her to finish her descent!

As a Vet I am sure that you will know about, and hopefully have investigated some of the long term solutions that are available for those with allergies. It seems that one type or formulation will work for one person, and not for another. It takes a little experimentation.

Have fun with your diving!