Ears all plugged up

[diverrick]

I have been diving weeklong dive boats for tha last few years, and seem to have developed a trend.

After about half a weeks diving (IE 4 or more dives a day) One or the other ear quits working. That's is to say, it sounds like it is full of water even when it isn't.
I have had it washed out once in Roatan which fixed it fine. lots of ear wax came out. BTW I am 50 Y/O.

Next trip I went to the Dr. ahead of time and asked him to clean it out. He said it was already clean, so he did nothing. The same thing occured on the next trip. All plugged up.

I use all the OTC stuff, and home made alky/ vinigar/OTC ear drying stuff, etc, but the problem still occurs.

Does ayone have any idea how to prevent this from occuring?? It's getting old, saying "HUH" or "sorry I didn't hear you" for the whole week.

The doc says the presuure of diving drives the wax against the ear drum, but last time I checked, my whole external ear was exposed to current water pressures... so that explainantion doesn't wash with me.
Any ideas?

 

[doctormike]

I have been diving weeklong dive boats for tha last few years, and seem to have developed a trend.

After about half a weeks diving (IE 4 or more dives a day) One or the other ear quits working. That's is to say, it sounds like it is full of water even when it isn't.
I have had it washed out once in Roatan which fixed it fine. lots of ear wax came out. BTW I am 50 Y/O.

Next trip I went to the Dr. ahead of time and asked him to clean it out. He said it was already clean, so he did nothing. The same thing occured on the next trip. All plugged up.

I use all the OTC stuff, and home made alky/ vinigar/OTC ear drying stuff, etc, but the problem still occurs.

Does ayone have any idea how to prevent this from occuring?? It's getting old, saying "HUH" or "sorry I didn't hear you" for the whole week.

The doc says the presuure of diving drives the wax against the ear drum, but last time I checked, my whole external ear was exposed to current water pressures... so that explainantion doesn't wash with me.
Any ideas?

Hard to say without examining your ear, but it is common to confuse two completely different things, since they can cause similar symptoms.

A clogged ear from wax is treated by cleaning out the wax, preferably by an ENT doctor using a microscope and a curette or suction. External pressure can sometime displace wax or other debris deeper into the ear canal, but you are correct that this isn't that common.

A clogged ear from middle ear barotrauma and the accumulation of fluid behind the eardrum is treated by persistent ventilation of the ear through the various maneuvers (see the classic video). Rarely, it may be necessary for an ENT doctor to actually drain the fluid by making an incision in the eardrum (which ususally heals in a few days).

These two things have nothing to do with each other, apart from causing similar symptoms, so you need a good exam by someone who knows about ears. The fact that you had symptoms when someone said there was no wax suggests to me that it is more likely middle ear fluid.

Also, the alcohol and vinegar solution is more for swimmer's ear (bacterial infection of the ear canal skin after water exposure) than for ear wax. It has no effect on middle ear fluid.

If you tell me where you are writing from, I may be able to give you a local referral...

Good luck!

Mike

 

[diverrick]

I am in Vacaville CA. I have Kaiser medical.
The hearing like I have water in my ear, only occurs after I dive. It does go away after a few days. No pain. no trauma. No issues with equalizing. It seems to be water or wax on the outside of the ear canal. not an inner ear thing. i keep trying to shake the water out, but it woun't clear. Use of alvohol after the dive seems to speed up the process. I

 

[doctormike]

I am in Vacaville CA. I have Kaiser medical.
The hearing like I have water in my ear, only occurs after I dive. It does go away after a few days. No pain. no trauma. No issues with equalizing. It seems to be water or wax on the outside of the ear canal. not an inner ear thing. i keep trying to shake the water out, but it woun't clear. Use of alvohol after the dive seems to speed up the process. I

Sorry, I don't know anyone in your area... but good luck! Maybe you can find and ENT doctor through the Kaiser system.

Mike

 

[DandyDon]

I am in Vacaville CA. I have Kaiser medical.
The hearing like I have water in my ear, only occurs after I dive. It does go away after a few days. No pain. no trauma. No issues with equalizing. It seems to be water or wax on the outside of the ear canal. not an inner ear thing. i keep trying to shake the water out, but it woun't clear. Use of alvohol after the dive seems to speed up the process. I

Yeah, I know the feeling. Having your ears clean of excess wax is a good prevention, and treating the ears to prevent infection is good, but barotraumas can still happen. It may feel like water trapped in the outer ear but that's just your body's mistake. Your body was not designed to endure what we do in scuba, nor recognize the problems. Did you watch the video?? Here it is again: Doc's Diving Medicine Home Page