Hearing loss after diving

[Landau]

My ears often get a bit clogged after multiple dives. Definitely middle ear and not from over forceful valslva asI equalize very easily often with no action necessary on my part.

Mine always clears by the next morning or evening latest.

 

[Boaty McBoatface]

Typically clears up on its own. Occasionally doesn't or takes weeks. To aid clearing, you might try some Sudafed (original recipe, not the reformulated crap - might be behind the counter at the pharmacy) and some simultaneously Flonase or similar nasal decongestant spray. You need to get the liquid to drain out of your middle ear from your eustacian tube. Sometimes these products can open that up and thin the liquid for easier draining.

 

[Clark Fletcher]

I only have a few logged dives since I've returned to diving. However, I did experience this once. I was diving at Blue Grotto. When I came out of the water, I experienced the "muffled" hearing and felt like I had water in my ear. I don't know if it was just a coincidence but, it was my deepest dive to date (around 91 feet).

For me, it was very disconcerting because, I had an ear infection about 6 years ago which resulted in me being completely deaf in my right ear. So, when I came out of the water and my hearing in my left ear was muffled to the point of not being able to understand any conversation, it scared the crap out of me. Fortunately, it cleared up within a few minutes.

Contrary to popular believe, ear infections don't ALWAYS come with pain. When I had the ear infection that resulted in hearing loss, it happened over night and there was absolutely no pain. There was apparently enough swelling in my inner ear that it cut off blood flow to my auditory nerve but, not enough to cause any pain. The rest is history. Lesson learned is to always take situations with your hearing seriously and seek medical attention if it doesn't clear up in a very short period of time after diving.

Many folks are prone to swimmer's ear, especially when diving in lakes, quarries, and springs where there frequently isn't a free flow of water (i.e. where bacteria can concentrate). And, others will get swimmer's ear even when diving in environments where bacteria doesn't tend to concentrate (i.e. open ocean).

Since I was introduced to ear beer, I always keep a bottle with me and, as a minimum use it at the end of every diving day, regardless of where I'm diving. I can't risk getting another ear infection in my one good ear.

 

[cambrann]

My suggestion - if the fullness in your ear does not improve, visit an ENT. In my limited experience, an ENT that has training or experience in dive related ENT conditions is best. Why not call DAN on the non-emergency hotline and ask for recommendations for ENT docs in the area. Best of luck...

That's the plan. Going to see my physician today to get a referral so I can see an ENT.
Im really just trying to get an answer on whether or not I can dive this weekend. If it will just set an ear infection back a few days im fine with that but if it will damage my hearing...i'd rather wait.

 

[charlier]

That's the plan. Going to see my physician today to get a referral so I can see an ENT.
Im really just trying to get an answer on whether or not I can dive this weekend. If it will just set an ear infection back a few days im fine with that but if it will damage my hearing...i'd rather wait.

Great to hear that you will get a referral to an ENT. My only experience with an ENT was mixed. Although the ENT was very well-trained, he did not fully understand middle ear barotrauma from a diving perspective. He suggested a non-conservative treatment, so I asked DAN for a second opinion. The DAN recommended doc suggested an alternative treatment that was successful. Thus, for many dive-related medical issues, I try to find a doctor that has a background in diving-related illnesses.

 

[cambrann]

Great to hear that you will get a referral to an ENT. My only experience with an ENT was mixed. Although the ENT was very well-trained, he did not fully understand middle ear barotrauma from a diving perspective. He suggested a non-conservative treatment, so I asked DAN for a second opinion. The DAN recommended doc suggested an alternative treatment that was successful. Thus, for many dive-related medical issues, I try to find a doctor that has a background in diving-related illnesses.

Just got back from the physician. Writing this to let you, and anyone who may stumble across this thread, what happened.
My physician was luckily PADI AOW certified so she had some knowledge about diving injuries. She said she didn't think I had swimmers ear or barotrauma because I had dived deep. So she said she will try to flush the ear wax from my ear. Oh boy when that blockage came loose it was a magical moment. She said the pressure condensed all my ear wax against my ear drum which made me not be able to hear.

 

[GreggS]

Just got back from the physician. Writing this to let you, and anyone who may stumble across this thread, what happened.
My physician was luckily PADI AOW certified so she had some knowledge about diving injuries. She said she didn't think I had swimmers ear or barotrauma because I had dived deep. So she said she will try to flush the ear wax from my ear. Oh boy when that blockage came loose it was a magical moment. She said the pressure condensed all my ear wax against my ear drum which made me not be able to hear.

Great news. Glad it wasn't anything more serious.

 

[charlier]

Just got back from the physician. Writing this to let you, and anyone who may stumble across this thread, what happened.
My physician was luckily PADI AOW certified so she had some knowledge about diving injuries. She said she didn't think I had swimmers ear or barotrauma because I had dived deep. So she said she will try to flush the ear wax from my ear. Oh boy when that blockage came loose it was a magical moment. She said the pressure condensed all my ear wax against my ear drum which made me not be able to hear.

Excellent news. Nice to find out the issue was just condensed ear wax. Best news of the day.

 

[fmerkel]

Did any of those physicians use an otoscope (the gizmo you can look in the ear with)?
This is not medical rocket science. If you dive, and end up with muffled hearing you have either:

1. Gotten barotrauma - the most likely especially for new divers.
2. Gotten water in your ear - not that hard to get out, but it helps if you know to use [dry ears] or something equivalent.
3. Gotten swimmers ear (outer ear infection) - usually only after a good number of dives, generally in warm water and done nothing to treat the ears after diving. Unlikely on OW1 cert dives, the exposure is too short. Unless this is really bad, and therefore probably really painful you should not get much decrease in hearing....unless you also have #2 and or #4 concurrently.
4. Pushed a wax plug up against your eardrum. (FWIW I've done that 2x in 1500 dives). Unusual but obviously possible.

Pretty much ANY of these should respond to a differential diagnosis of a physician who takes the time to ask a few questions and actually LOOKS in your ears. If they didn't even look, well, that's a damn poor physician.

 

[cambrann]

Did any of those physicians use an otoscope (the gizmo you can look in the ear with)?
This is not medical rocket science. If you dive, and end up with muffled hearing you have either:

1. Gotten barotrauma - the most likely especially for new divers.
2. Gotten water in your ear - not that hard to get out, but it helps if you know to use [dry ears] or something equivalent.
3. Gotten swimmers ear (outer ear infection) - usually only after a good number of dives, generally in warm water and done nothing to treat the ears after diving. Unlikely on OW1 cert dives, the exposure is too short. Unless this is really bad, and therefore probably really painful you should not get much decrease in hearing....unless you also have #2 and or #4 concurrently.
4. Pushed a wax plug up against your eardrum. (FWIW I've done that 2x in 1500 dives). Unusual but obviously possible.

Pretty much ANY of these should respond to a differential diagnosis of a physician who takes the time to ask a few questions and actually LOOKS in your ears. If they didn't even look, well, that's a damn poor physician.

Yeah I went to a Patient First because it was Sunday and my doctors office was closed. She looked in reallyyyyy quickly and diagnosed it as Swimmers Ear. I'm not a doctor (yet) so I just went with what she said and figured i'd go to my regular physician if the drops didnt help.

Today when I went in, the PA looked in my ears and said yeah theres a bunch of wax on your ear drum, we will see what the doc says. She comes in and asks questions about my dives and if i flew and all that good stuff. She figured it wasnt anything major so it must have been the ear wax issue. She got the PA to flush my ears and bam, fixed.

Also wanted to add that I suspected it wasnt swimmers ear because i had no pain whatsoever. My physician immediately said i didnt have swimmers ear when she examined my ear and i didnt complain of pain.