Ear problem, Tinnitus & Buzzing - Never Diving Again

[Duke Dive Medicine]

I just about to post the same as I agree with this sentiment. It would only stress an area that needs to heal. In fact, I would be careful of blowing my nose or sneezing "the wrong way." However, as I do not have a medical background I would like to see @Duke Dive Medicine 's input on this.

Good luck @Oezkan Thanks for sharing your experience, please keep us updated.

Couv

I wouldn't be doing any equalization practice right now if I was @Oezkan . Gentle Valsalva maneuvers can help clear liquid from the middle ear if there's frank fluid in there, but with the level of damage that could be there in the case of the OP, it's probably not a good idea. @Angelo Farina elucidated the hazards of improper (usually too forceful) Valsalva maneuvers pretty well.

Best regards,
DDM

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

@Oezkan

A friend of mine suffered a similar problem a year ago. He told me about some research for medication at may help him. I believe the initial findings are to be published soon. Even if it is successful, the medication would take several years before release to market.

He has accepted the idea that he may never dive again. We were talking at Warren Magnuson park in Seattle last Sunday and he asked me what I would do in his situation. I pointed to the kite surfers on Lake Washington and said I’d be out there. Instead of opening a dive center in the Kyklades in Greece, I’d open a windsurf/sailing center.

His response? But that isn’t as much fun as diving.

Obviously a personal preference, but our health comes first and there are other activities to enjoy.

 

[Oezkan]

@Oezkan

A friend of mine suffered a similar problem a year ago. He told me about some research for medication at may help him. I believe the initial findings are to be published soon. Even if it is successful, the medication would take several years before release to market.

He has accepted the idea that he may never dive again. We were talking at Warren Magnuson park in Seattle last Sunday and he asked me what I would do in his situation. I pointed to the kite surfers on Lake Washington and said I’d be out there. Instead of opening a dive center in the Kyklades in Greece, I’d open a windsurf/sailing center.

His response? But that isn’t as much fun as diving.

Obviously a personal preference, but our health comes first and there are other activities to enjoy.

You are absolutely right. Health should be first and life has more to offer then only one activity or hobby. But I really don't love anything like diving. If I can't dive again for real I will still accept it of course. I will be depressed for a time but will find another thing to love again I'm sure. But I need to know 100% that I really cannot dive again before I give up my dreams so easily. I at least have to try otherwise I will hate my self for ever. And if my diving doctor is right, then it's only a mild middle ear barotrauma and I can dive next month again. The tests my ent did were all good which is a good sign too.

I will visit the Professor ent surgery in 3 weeks and tell him everything what happened and then I will see what he says. I hope and wish by heart, I don't need to stop diving. Its bit that I lose my biggest hobby but also will have problems with my visa and money here as its connected now to the diving school. And all my future plans are based on diving too

Still dissapointed that my ent said my ear is amazing and I don't even have barotrauma but still need to stop diving though. But at least the diving doctor gave me a bit hope. He's actually pretty sure I can dive in 5 weeks again

 

[Oezkan]

How can a doctor / ent find out anyway, if it's a middle ear or inner ear barotrauma? Is there any specific test that shows it's not the Inner ear?

So far only the audiogram and tympanogram was done. And my ent said those were to see if my inner ear was injured. Otherwise I would have had some kind of at least a small hearing loss. Is that not true??

 

[Chris Ross]

Hey thanks for sharing this with me. I would like to at least check his website if that's OK

The practice website is here: https://www.shirefamilyent.com.au/
the guy I saw was Dr Payten, I thought he was pretty good. You could wait for the specialist mentioned earlier or give him a try, they would likely go through the same things. Tinnitus is poorly understood and mostly you hope it goes away with time and I know it took a month for it to die down for me, you need time for the ear to heal and the inflammation to subside.

I would add that dive centres are big on selling a "career" in diving as a great thing and you do all these courses with them to eventually get your instructor title. The dive centre I use has lots of divemasters doing guided dives with people and as far as I understand they are unpaid slaves - they just get free use of rental gear and air fills. While I'm grateful to be able to do guided dives at new sites, it's beats the hell out of me why people do it. A friend of mine had gone on to be an instructor and eventually gave it up, the work was intermittent and pay was poor and the patrons they were guiding mostly difficult and unapprecaitive.

I know you've paid for the course and everything, but personally I'd be talking to them about the issues you are having so that you can get a proper rest and healing with your ear before commencing the grind. Good luck with it.

 

[lowwall]

Oezkan,

You should read @Scandi Divers book "Confessions of a Divemaster". There's a thread on it here: New Book alert! 'Confessions of a Divemaster' coming this December 1st

Despite the title, it's actually about his whole adult life, including how he ended up as a dive professional and what kind of career options there are if you want to make a life out of it. IIRC, he went through something similar to you, ear trouble while training in Australia that he thought was going to end his career before it even started.

 

[Oezkan]

Oezkan,

You should read @Scandi Divers book "Confessions of a Divemaster". There's a thread on it here: New Book alert! 'Confessions of a Divemaster' coming this December 1st

Despite the title, it's actually about his whole adult life, including how he ended up as a dive professional and what kind of career options there are if you want to make a life out of it. IIRC, he went through something similar to you, ear trouble while training in Australia that he thought was going to end his career before it even started.

Hey sounds really ingesting! Do you know what ear problems he had? I gonna check this out for the 3 weeks waiting time before I see this ENT dr jufas

 

[Oezkan]

The practice website is here: https://www.shirefamilyent.com.au/
the guy I saw was Dr Payten, I thought he was pretty good. You could wait for the specialist mentioned earlier or give him a try, they would likely go through the same things. Tinnitus is poorly understood and mostly you hope it goes away with time and I know it took a month for it to die down for me, you need time for the ear to heal and the inflammation to subside.

I would add that dive centres are big on selling a "career" in diving as a great thing and you do all these courses with them to eventually get your instructor title. The dive centre I use has lots of divemasters doing guided dives with people and as far as I understand they are unpaid slaves - they just get free use of rental gear and air fills. While I'm grateful to be able to do guided dives at new sites, it's beats the hell out of me why people do it. A friend of mine had gone on to be an instructor and eventually gave it up, the work was intermittent and pay was poor and the patrons they were guiding mostly difficult and unapprecaitive.

I know you've paid for the course and everything, but personally I'd be talking to them about the issues you are having so that you can get a proper rest and healing with your ear before commencing the grind. Good luck with it.

Thank you so much for help! I will have look and decide if I go to him or stay with jufas for now

 

[lowwall]

Some people continue their life as professional diving instructors for all their life. I know many of them, but as the age grows, these guys become very strange people. At a certain point of their life they see that they cannot anymore switch back to "normal life"; as there are no more jobs for them. So they are stuck becoming old, skinned diving instructors, but loosing many other opportunities which "normal life" provides.
So it is really a big decision to choose scuba diving as your main activity in your life.
I suggest you to evaluate other possibilities than becoming an instructor....

So, factor your current medical problems in the decision, but please take into account also all the other factors affecting your future life before jumping in the world of a professional diving career. My experience is that this is the proper choice for just a very small number of people, and for most humans it is far better to keep scuba diving as a serious hobby, but not relying on it for sustaining you economically.

There are other options open to dive pros if you decide at some point that you want to spend at least part of your time above water. You can move up to Program Director or Dive Director on a liveaboard or resort and then on to other jobs in the hospitality or leisure management business. And there's the retail side, shop manager/owner, sales reps.

But, yes, I agree you don't want to be a DM/instructor forever. My first job, at age 15, was a more or less unpaid summer internship as a whitewater rafting guide. I was in awe of the senior guide who rafted all summer and worked Ski Patrol in the winters. I was an avid skier and was gushing about how cool he had it and he told me something pretty close to, "Kid. Don't do what I did. It's great when you are young, but when you hit 50 and have no house, no savings, no health insurance, your knees are messed up, and Social Security is 15 years away, you are screwed."

 

[lowwall]

Hey sounds really ingesting! Do you know what ear problems he had? I gonna check this out for the 3 weeks waiting time before I see this ENT dr jufas

I don't remember the details and I let my Kindle Unlimited subscription run out so I can't look it up. Maybe Scandi will check in here or you can PM him.