Ears blocked for 5 weeks after SCUBA diving :( help

[Many94]

Hi i went sucba diving 5 weeks ago and my ears have been blocked ever since , ive done some research and it seems to be eustachian tube dysfunction im pretty sure it is ,
My symptoms are : i feel like my ears are full or have water in them and i feel pressure in both my ears also somtimes i feel off balance or abit of dizziness, any over all it just gives me a weird feeling somtimes asif im under water or somthing or asif my heads in a bubble( its both my ears)
I havent seen a ENT yet but ive seen a dr and he perscribed me antibiotics and a decongestant. They havent done anything yet. Ive been on 3 courses of antibiotics now when i see him next which is in 3 days he may refer me to a ENT or he maybe perscribe me somthing else , should i not waste anymore time and go straight to a ENT ?
Ive tried the breathing method how you pinch your nose and blow etc but nothing is working!
Im not a certified diver it was my first ever dive and i done it with a instructor back in Thailand.
My experience of the dive was this and i guess it contributed to my issue:
As we were this descending I had EXTREME pain in my both my ears I guess I couldn't equalise probably and when i got this pain i didn't tell the instructor to go up until about 40 seconds then we went down again and it happened again I had extreme pain and again I didn't tell the instructor to go up until about 30 - 40 seconds i think thats what contributed or caused my issue. After that we descended again and i was under water for about 30 mins but no extreme pain this time and im not sure if my ears were in discomfort i cant remember.

So i have a few questions, do you think i have water stuck in my eustachian tubes ? Or are my eustachian tubes just closed shut? Or could i have water in my middle ear whilst having my eustachian tubes firmly shut there for the water cant pass ? Or maybe mucus build up in my middle ears ?
Honestly this is extremely frustrating me and has turned my life upside down ..

Will this go away on its own ??
Should i see a ENT ASAP ? Or just see what my dr says or gives me next or should i not waste any more time and get to a ENT asap to not make things worse ?

Has any1 experienced this and recovered? How long did it take ?
Any tips ?
Its been 5 weeks now im losing it

 

[CuzzA]

Sounds like middle ear barotrauma. Unless you develop some discharge coming from your ear I doubt there's much anyone can do for you, unfortunately allowing time to heal is the only solution.

Middle-Ear Barotrauma (MEBT) | Ears & Diving - DAN Health & Diving

 

[Many94]

Sounds like middle ear barotrauma. Unless you develop some discharge coming from your ear I doubt there's much anyone can do for you, unfortunately allowing time to heal is the only solution.

Middle-Ear Barotrauma (MEBT) | Ears & Diving - DAN Health & Diving

If there is discharge would i notice it ?
And if there isnt i just have to wait for it to heal ? Nothing i can do ?
So could there be water in my middle ear ? What if the ENT sucks it out with a syringe would that work ?

 

[Pedro Burrito]

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Moved from Basic to Diving Medicine

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[almostDIR]

5 weeks sounds like pretty long time after scuba. But for example the middle ear barothrauma may be pretty easy to get... I got it to my ears when doing the last ow course dives though it was a day after when I noticed it. I had one ear almost full of fluid then. I noticed it from hearing all the sounds very differently. Like the affected ear about 3 times quieter and when testing with a youtube frequency test I could not hear anything over 5Khz with it when I normally hear up to about 12 or 14 kHz. I visited the ear doctor the same day and got prescribed very heavy dose of cortisone pills which helped to clear the inflammation in the following days. Luckily i went there immediately and the middle ear had not come infected...

You may have an infection going on as well. Go to the ear specialist as soon as you can, there may be something other going on as well when your situation has lasted that long and antibiotics did not help. Or some inner ear damage as well?

One can damage ones ears very easily if continuing the descend when having equalizing problems. The damage can be very serious even so listen to your body when diving and never go further down if not able to equalize easily, you can burst a eardrum or permanently damage the inner ear for example

 

[BoltSnap]

Go to a medical specialist, the internet, including SB, isn't the proper place for questions of this type.

 

[doctormike]

Sounds like middle ear barotrauma. Unless you develop some discharge coming from your ear I doubt there's much anyone can do for you, unfortunately allowing time to heal is the only solution.

I agree that the history is suggestive of middle ear barotrauma, but there are other things that could be going on. Here is my page describing the anatomy and how diving related ear injuries happen.

Although most cases of middle ear barotrauma resolve with time, there are things that can be done to help (Valsalva/Toynbee maneuvers, systemic steroids and office myringotomy being three of them). But no one should do anything without a good diagnosis and a hearing test. Different types of ear injury have different treatments, and what works for one may be dangerous for another.

Many94, if you really are in Australia, I can't give you a local referral, but maybe see if you can get in to see an ENT doc to get a good ear exam. I don't mean to sound arrogant, but the ear is a "black box" for many excellent general physicians, it really is something that warrants specialty care.

 

[Many94]

5 weeks sounds like pretty long time after scuba. But for example the middle ear barothrauma may be pretty easy to get... I got it to my ears when doing the last ow course dives though it was a day after when I noticed it. I had one ear almost full of fluid then. I noticed it from hearing all the sounds very differently. Like the affected ear about 3 times quieter and when testing with a youtube frequency test I could not hear anything over 5Khz with it when I normally hear up to about 12 or 14 kHz. I visited the ear doctor the same day and got prescribed very heavy dose of cortisone pills which helped to clear the inflammation in the following days. Luckily i went there immediately and the middle ear had not come infected...

You may have an infection going on as well. Go to the ear specialist as soon as you can, there may be something other going on as well when your situation has lasted that long and antibiotics did not help. Or some inner ear damage as well?

One can damage ones ears very easily if continuing the descend when having equalizing problems. The damage can be very serious even so listen to your body when diving and never go further down if not able to equalize easily, you can burst a eardrum or permanently damage the inner ear for example

I agree that the history is suggestive of middle ear barotrauma, but there are other things that could be going on. Here is my page describing the anatomy and how diving related ear injuries happen.

Although most cases of middle ear barotrauma resolve with time, there are things that can be done to help (Valsalva/Toynbee maneuvers, systemic steroids and office myringotomy being three of them). But no one should do anything without a good diagnosis and a hearing test. Different types of ear injury have different treatments, and what works for one may be dangerous for another.

Many94, if you really are in Australia, I can't give you a local referral, but maybe see if you can get in to see an ENT doc to get a good ear exam. I don't mean to sound arrogant, but the ear is a "black box" for many excellent general physicians, it really is something that warrants specialty care.

Yeah im in Australia,
And thats what im thinking the doctors dont seem to know much , so should i just book a appointment with a ent asap and not delay it any longer even if my dr wants to trail new medication on me lol

 

[Many94]

5 weeks sounds like pretty long time after scuba. But for example the middle ear barothrauma may be pretty easy to get... I got it to my ears when doing the last ow course dives though it was a day after when I noticed it. I had one ear almost full of fluid then. I noticed it from hearing all the sounds very differently. Like the affected ear about 3 times quieter and when testing with a youtube frequency test I could not hear anything over 5Khz with it when I normally hear up to about 12 or 14 kHz. I visited the ear doctor the same day and got prescribed very heavy dose of cortisone pills which helped to clear the inflammation in the following days. Luckily i went there immediately and the middle ear had not come infected...

You may have an infection going on as well. Go to the ear specialist as soon as you can, there may be something other going on as well when your situation has lasted that long and antibiotics did not help. Or some inner ear damage as well?

One can damage ones ears very easily if continuing the descend when having equalizing problems. The damage can be very serious even so listen to your body when diving and never go further down if not able to equalize easily, you can burst a eardrum or permanently damage the inner ear for example

Okay im going to book a appointment with a ear specialist asap im not going to wait around on my dr any longer , the second time i seen him after finshing my first round of meds that didn't do anytning i asked should i just see a ent and he goes no not yet and gave me more meds ...

 

[lowflyer]

Yeah im in Australia,
And thats what im thinking the doctors dont seem to know much , so should i just book a appointment with a ent asap and not delay it any longer even if my dr wants to trail new medication on me lol

I'm not an ENT doc but have some experience with this. Don't waste more time taking yet another antibiotic. As doctormike stated, you need a proper ENT exam and hearing tests for a proper diagnosis. So get thee off to a real ENT physician now.