MAC30
New
Hi everyone,
I know the topic is covered, but the main question I want to ask here is how can I get a referral for an ENT with experience in diving related problems. I live in Lisbon, but I could also consider Milan as I’m originally from there and I could spend some time there for the necessary follow up. To sum up, after 6 months since my last dive I still have a ringing noise in my ear. I already consulted 2 ENTs in Lisbon who told me, months ago, it would go away eventually. So, does anyone have a recommendation for an expert in Lisbon (or elsewhere in Portugal) or Milan? Or a source I can consult to look for this?
Long version of the story below:
-September 2020 - I went for 7 dives, during the first ones I had some problems equalizing but I didn’t push and stayed in more shallow water. On the last dive I pushed it more and heard a hissing sound in my ears.
-right after coming back home I realized I was feeling a full ear and dizziness, I went to the Emergency where a GP said there was no visible trauma, I was prescribed drops to treat a mild inflammation
-After some weeks the full ear and dizziness were gone but I still had a persistent ringing noise in both ears (mostly left), so I consulted an ENT who just told me to wait and it would pass. I had to fly and my impression is that when I fly it gets worse for some days after
-After other weeks I still had the same symptoms so I consulted another ENT. This time I was prescribed a tympanogram and an audiogram, both gave good results, no problem detected
-in the end the ENT said there was no problem related to pressure, he suggested that I might have had a noise trauma (caused maybe by the noise of waves…??) so I should avoid noise exposition, he prescribed some pills and nose drops to clear the breathing ways, to be used before diving and when flying. The theory of noise trauma though could be supported by the fact that on the way back from an open ocean site I fell asleep for ~2,5 hours very close to the boat engine that was quite noisy.
Now, after 6 months I still hear that noise in my ear. I might not have had any hearing loss, but the quality of my hearing got slightly worse for sure, at the moment I still experience:
-tinnitus-like noise in both ears (mostly left). I’m probably able to hear properly still, but the background ringing is always there and I need to be very close to the source of a sound in order to cover the ringing.
-At times I feel like a sudden drop in my hearing capability in one ear, followed by a ringing on some very distinct frequency and slowly it goes back to “normal” (the whole episode takes ~10 seconds, happened 3-4 times in the past 6 months)
-high pitched sounds (piling up dishes, voices over loud speaker) trigger a strange feeling in my ear like something shrinking/vibrating inside as a reaction to the noise. Never experienced this before
Any insights/suggestion on how to proceed are more than welcome. I’m not focused on diving again, my priority is preserving my hearing and make sure I can start again living as before (attending concerts, playing music with a band, listen to music with headphones…).
Thanks!
MAC
I know the topic is covered, but the main question I want to ask here is how can I get a referral for an ENT with experience in diving related problems. I live in Lisbon, but I could also consider Milan as I’m originally from there and I could spend some time there for the necessary follow up. To sum up, after 6 months since my last dive I still have a ringing noise in my ear. I already consulted 2 ENTs in Lisbon who told me, months ago, it would go away eventually. So, does anyone have a recommendation for an expert in Lisbon (or elsewhere in Portugal) or Milan? Or a source I can consult to look for this?
Long version of the story below:
-September 2020 - I went for 7 dives, during the first ones I had some problems equalizing but I didn’t push and stayed in more shallow water. On the last dive I pushed it more and heard a hissing sound in my ears.
-right after coming back home I realized I was feeling a full ear and dizziness, I went to the Emergency where a GP said there was no visible trauma, I was prescribed drops to treat a mild inflammation
-After some weeks the full ear and dizziness were gone but I still had a persistent ringing noise in both ears (mostly left), so I consulted an ENT who just told me to wait and it would pass. I had to fly and my impression is that when I fly it gets worse for some days after
-After other weeks I still had the same symptoms so I consulted another ENT. This time I was prescribed a tympanogram and an audiogram, both gave good results, no problem detected
-in the end the ENT said there was no problem related to pressure, he suggested that I might have had a noise trauma (caused maybe by the noise of waves…??) so I should avoid noise exposition, he prescribed some pills and nose drops to clear the breathing ways, to be used before diving and when flying. The theory of noise trauma though could be supported by the fact that on the way back from an open ocean site I fell asleep for ~2,5 hours very close to the boat engine that was quite noisy.
Now, after 6 months I still hear that noise in my ear. I might not have had any hearing loss, but the quality of my hearing got slightly worse for sure, at the moment I still experience:
-tinnitus-like noise in both ears (mostly left). I’m probably able to hear properly still, but the background ringing is always there and I need to be very close to the source of a sound in order to cover the ringing.
-At times I feel like a sudden drop in my hearing capability in one ear, followed by a ringing on some very distinct frequency and slowly it goes back to “normal” (the whole episode takes ~10 seconds, happened 3-4 times in the past 6 months)
-high pitched sounds (piling up dishes, voices over loud speaker) trigger a strange feeling in my ear like something shrinking/vibrating inside as a reaction to the noise. Never experienced this before
Any insights/suggestion on how to proceed are more than welcome. I’m not focused on diving again, my priority is preserving my hearing and make sure I can start again living as before (attending concerts, playing music with a band, listen to music with headphones…).
Thanks!
MAC
