ears

[blubberboy]

G'day there's a bunch of info on the DAN website:

http://www.diversalertnetwork.org/medical/articles/index.asp

The ENT stuff is about half way down.

Also this was asked about recently on the Dive-Oz forum:
http://www.diveoz.com.au/discussion_forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=10249

 

[CDFDiveMaster]

You may experience some minor ear problems as a first time diver. After your ears have become used to the procedure. You may want to equalize your ears as your watching TV, etc., this will aid in stretching your tubes, thus allowing for less problems in the water. Also, clean and dry your ears after every dive with specific drops.

JC

 

[Lisa0825]

I just got my OW cert last weekend, and my left ear is still in a fog. No pain, but it feels like it needs to pop, or like it is full of water. I did use swimmer's ear drops right after both days of diving, and continued a couple days afterwards, but it didn't improve. I went to the doc this morning, and she cleaned it out and said the drum looks OK. She said there is inflammation and that my ear probably hasn't equalized properly yet. She gave me cortisporin and said if it isn't better in a few days, to fill the 'scrip she gave me for Medrol.

I hope this isn't a sign of things to come. Is it a bad sign when you have ear problems on your first dive? Oh, and for the record, I did equalize as soon as I hit the water, and often. On day two, however, equalization of my left ear was difficult, and I had to take quite a while to descend.

 

[Tengai]

Hi Lisa!

I am recently certified also , Oct 2nd. I had similiar issues with my right ear. Now 9 dives later I do not experience discomfort anymore. The advice from StevenDavens;

'Ensure you are able to clear your ears and do it often. Practice beofre the dive, and try to do it a couple times a day anyways, to strencthen your muscles to help valsalva easier on dive days............'

was one of the things I did and it seemed to help.

I also tried Aerodri drops from a local CVS which seemed to help, now they are not necessary.

Best of luck and keep safe!!

Greg

 

[Lisa0825]

Thanks for the reply! That definitely makes me feel better about diving!

 

[cleung]

I get the popping and crackling too at times. It goes away after a few days so don't worry about it. Just don't equalize too forcefully.

 

[Lisa0825]

Ugh... my ear is still bothering me

I am on my 4th day of a Medrol Pak. there has been some relief of the pressure, but it still sounds foggy. I *feel* like I am popping it, but it doesn't relieve the feeling.

I know I am being impatient, since I still have 3 more days on the pak, but I was hoping to have more improvement by now, since I am now tapering off of the medication.

Is it time to see an ENT? Or do I need to be more patient?

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Ugh... my ear is still bothering me

I am on my 4th day of a Medrol Pak. there has been some relief of the pressure, but it still sounds foggy. I *feel* like I am popping it, but it doesn't relieve the feeling.

I know I am being impatient, since I still have 3 more days on the pak, but I was hoping to have more improvement by now, since I am now tapering off of the medication.

Is it time to see an ENT? Or do I need to be more patient?

That's up to you and your insurance co. I would not rush it though. Finish out the medrol and wait a day or two. If there's not some marked improvement then I'd recommend seeing an ENT. Why take chances if you don't have to? Plus it's early in the week and you still would have time to salvage the weekend if the ENT ok's it if you planned on diving. I would not dive however if it has not improved and you don't have an ok. There's nothing down there worth risking your hearing or future dive career over.

 

[Lisa0825]

That's up to you and your insurance co. I would not rush it though. Finish out the medrol and wait a day or two. If there's not some marked improvement then I'd recommend seeing an ENT. Why take chances if you don't have to? Plus it's early in the week and you still would have time to salvage the weekend if the ENT ok's it if you planned on diving. I would not dive however if it has not improved and you don't have an ok. There's nothing down there worth risking your hearing or future dive career over.

Thanks for the reply

My insurance is pretty good, so it won't be a problem. I requested infor from DAN on local ENTs just in case I decide to make an appointment. I don't have any dives planned right now. I was supposed to go to Cozumel in a couple weeks, but I have changed those plans already due to the hurricane. I'm glad I already made that decision, since I'd be feeling more impatient about my ear if I had diving planned soon.

Thanks for the reassurance!:10:

 

[Daryl Morse]

Ugh... my ear is still bothering me

I am on my 4th day of a Medrol Pak. there has been some relief of the pressure, but it still sounds foggy. I *feel* like I am popping it, but it doesn't relieve the feeling.

I know I am being impatient, since I still have 3 more days on the pak, but I was hoping to have more improvement by now, since I am now tapering off of the medication.

Is it time to see an ENT? Or do I need to be more patient?

I'll preface this by stating that I'm not a doc and you should be seeing an ENT that understands diving.

That said, for many years, I've been a frequent traveller on long overseas trips with multiple segments. Sometimes it works out that I end up flying with congested sinuses. More than a few times, I've had problems with my ears not equalizing on their own during descent and after landing.

The first time this happened, long before I started diving, the pain was so severe that I had to check into an ENT in Copenhagen for help. Both of my ears were full of fluid and the eardrums were collapsed. He showed me how to do the valsalva maneuver to equalize my ears. I had to blow so hard and I experienced so much pain that I thought I'd be deaf afterwards, but he convinced me to persevere until I got both ears equalized, which allowed the fluid to drain and my hearing to begin returning to normal. Based on the help I got from that ENT, I was able to make it through the rest of the trip by continually equalizing my ears on the way down, just like diving.

Since then, I've been able to keep on top of this problem, and it helped a lot when I started diving. I don't dive when I'm congested, but even if I have to fly when I'm congested, I never allow my ears to remain unequalized. If you haven't been able to equalize your ears after even one day, you should see an ENT (preferably one who is a diver, get a reference from DAN if necessary) and get help with this. It may just be that you need to have an ENT work you through the process so you have the confidence to do it yourself.