Got a ton of water in my ear, then put rubbing alcohol in my ear and it destroyed me

[Jdesjardins]

Hi everyone, I have a serious horror story for you all and I’m hoping to learn more about if anyone else has had this issue and what can be done to prevent further people from having this issue.

It started with my open water certification. I had emotional problems that I didn’t realize and didn’t think I deserved to be healthy so when me, my buddy and our two instructors were headed back to shore underwater I was terribly nervous because my buddy was behind me and wouldn’t stay by my side. I was trying to keep up with the instructor who was leading the group and it’s low visibility so I had to keep turning my head back and forth to make sure my buddy was still behind me. I got a ton of water in my ears and it’s been almost a year now and most of it’s still in there. I tried an ear dryer and it was very painful and a small amount did eventually come out but.

I didn’t have this idea until recently unfortunately but now I’m thinking I may need to get a surgeon to put a catheter through the hole in my ear to pump the water out. Everyone misunderstands the anatomy of the ear I think. If you watch this video there’s a good demonstration of how the ear actually has a mechanism to block water and how you have to pump the Tragal cartilage to get it deeper .

The problem with this is it gets stuck in there. I know what you all are thinking; it will evaporate. I swear on my life I’ve had lots of water stuck in my ear for about a year and only rare occasions I feel minuscule amounts evaporate.

Now for the really terrible thing. About six months ago I read in a couple posts on ScubaBoard (I think they were really old) that if you put rubbing alcohol in your ear it will help evaporate the water. Well I put one drop of 99% alcohol in my ear and it literally was the most painful thing I’ve ever been through. I was writhing around on the floor for four hours. Now here’s the stupid thing I did. I read online that if rubbing alcohol causes pain in your ears that it’s because you have an infection. So that made me think okay well maybe now I’ve killed off the infection so next time it’ll actually work. Literally again only days later I was writhing around on the floor for four hours. I went to the doctor soon after this and he told me I had zero infection. He also said that because he couldn’t see water in my ears, there was no water. I’m telling you people are wrong about the anatomy of the ear.

The problem with all that is the biological aftermath of that. I’ve had horrible tinnitus since putting alcohol in my ears and my neck is stiffer than you can imagine. The only way I’m going to heal this is with a thousand massages.

I’d feel a lot less bad if I could prevent this from happening to someone else. Both times I put the rubbing alcohol in my ear it was only one drop. So I’m asking: has anyone here had this happen to them or someone they know? I’m guessing it’s a pretty rare occurrence since people on the old ScubaBoard threads really were saying that it helped them not hurt them. I’m also wondering what the hell is so different about the anatomy/physiology of my ear that I would be so affected.

Also I think it’s be great if anyone who’s worried about this would have a way to put only like 1/10th of a drop of rubbing alcohol in their ears at a time. I wouldn’t want to mix that with water because then you get more water trapped in your ear. But then if you only do 1/10th of a drop it might be impossible to get inside your ear. Any ideas for a solution to this?

This is my first post. Nice to meet you all. I do literally plan to become an expert scuba diver within ten years but I need to heal from this trauma first

 

[rjack321]

You need to see an ENT now for a good history, physical and treatment plan. Please don't try anymore home remedies.

 

[Allen-1]

I couldn't say it any better than @rjack321 - GO SEE AN ENT.

 

[Angelo Farina]

I couldn't say it any better than @rjack321 - GO SEE AN ENT.

Agree 100%.
And stop trying to understand ear anatomy based on unreliable information.
Ask the ENT to explain you the real anatomy and why your description is entirely meaningless.
Something is definitely wrong in your ear, but I can ensure you that it is not "trapped water" staying there for months.

PS: the video you posted refers to a case of middle ear bacterial infection.
The middle ear is inside your skull, behind the waterproof timpanic membrane.
For making it possible to evacuate the pus and to allow the antibiotic ear drops to enter in this cavity, the surgeon perforated the membrane, inserting a small plastic port for ensuring a permanent communication with outside.
Then the ear drops are "pumped in" through this small hole. A completely artificial situation, only applicable in this particular case of having an artificial plastic port surgically inserted in the eardrum.
After a few minutes the inner liquids are made to exit through the same open artificial port, by gravity, reversing the head posture.
All this is NOT what happens when you go underwater. Water can only go into the external ear, and stop at the timpanic membrane. There is no hole in it, water cannot enter the medium ear cavity..
Only if you miss equalization and burst the timpanic membrane water can enter, but this is very aching, and the ingress of water usually causes vertigo, due to close semicircular canals.
Water in the external canal flows out spontaneously, just tilting your head or when sleeping. There is nothing impeding water to exit!
And there is no need to inject alcohol in your extenal ear duct: a very bad idea, as alcohol will dissolve the ear wax, which is the natural protection against infections.
Now, let's assume that during that dive you messed up with equalization, so you ruptured your timpanic membrane and water actually entered in the medium ear.
For any reason, you did not realise that it happened and that you needed immediate healthcare from an ENT.
So you did nothing, allowing the ear to heal spontaneously. In 99% of cases the timpanic membrane heals, and is already closed after a few hours. Some water can be still trapped in, but, if it does not cause infection, it is not a big deal, it will come out through the Eustachian tube within a couple of days, as any other fluid developing inside the medium ear. The Eustachian tube is the natural drain of the medium ear.
But in some unfortunate cases, the timpanic membrane does NOT heals perfectly after being ruptured, and so you end up with a permanent hole in it. This is a quite bad condition, with high hearing loss and an open port for infections.
And this could explain the pain when inserting alcohol in your ear channel.
You cannot dive, not even swim, with a perforated eardrum.
So please see an ENT ASAP.
If your timpanic membrane is really perforated, you will need timpanoplastic surgery for fixing it.

 

[NW Dive Dawg]

I agree that something else is going on that you need to resolve with your doc.

I've used SwimEar for the past 30 years and never had any of the issues you are describing.......and its primarily ingredient is isopropyl alcohol....... Not sure if "rubbing" alcohol is the same. Works great for me..

On the side issue of keeping an eye on a trailing buddy.....you might try just bending at the waist and looking straight back between your legs to check on him / her. Takes little effort and does not impact your momentum...

Hope the ear issue gets resolved for you...

 

[Miyaru]

About six months ago I read in a couple posts on ScubaBoard (I think they were really old) that if you put rubbing alcohol in your ear it will help evaporate the water.

Although several medical doctors regularly post on ScubaBoard, not a single doctor will give medical advice based on just a post by another member. Every medical or health treatment is based on a diagnosis and that requires a whole lot more than just a post on this board.

... I had to keep turning my head back and forth to make sure my buddy was still behind me. I got a ton of water in my ears ....

I can imagine that this is indeed your experience. But anatomically it's impossible.

Ear problems are every diver's nightmare. The ear canal gets wet on every dive, but that's not a problem for a healthy ear canal. The trick is to keep the ear canal healthy.
Diving in the sea means salt water. The salt doesn't evaporate, and may dry out the cerumen. A quick and easy remedie is to rinse your ears with clean fresh water right after a dive. If that isn't enough, use eardrops. See DAN's advice and keep in mind that this applies when you have no ear issues.

Cotton buds: absolutely a no-go. Don't stick anything in your ear beyond the point you can reach with your pink.

If you think that you need to put *anything else* in your ear, go see a doctor who can check your ear with an otoscope. Infections can be bacterial or fungal and the wrong medication will make your problem worse -> see a doctor!

 

[MidOH]

Ear infection. See the ENT.

Keep you're head above water in the pools of 3rd world countries. I'll bet you had some pool time?

I try to keep my head level while diving. Turning my head fills my ears with water weirdly sometimes. When I was new it was an issue. That issue has passed. Alcohol before bed every night after diving.

If anchored in deep water, I desend feet first whole clearing my ears early. That way I can stop my descent with a kick of my fins. Once equalized and comfortable past 35', I'm usually good to go for the rest of the dive.

Go easy on the AC in hotels.

 

[Doc Harry]

I didn’t have this idea until recently unfortunately but now I’m thinking I may need to get a surgeon to put a catheter through the hole in my ear to pump the water out. Everyone misunderstands the anatomy of the ear I think. If you watch this video there’s a good demonstration of how the ear actually has a mechanism to block water and how you have to pump the Tragal cartilage to get it deeper .

The problem with this is it gets stuck in there. I know what you all are thinking; it will evaporate. I swear on my life I’ve had lots of water stuck in my ear for about a year and only rare occasions I feel minuscule amounts evaporate.

Wow. Where to begin?

I'll just say that I think you have a very flawed understanding of your problem. I would stop trying to diagnose myself and see a licensed physician.

 

[lowflyer]

The OP sounds like a troll on many points, though I would like to know where he got 99% rubbing alcohol, since it comes as 70% or in some stores 90%.

If not a troll he may just have ears full of wax and needs to see an ENT for sure.