Chris Walrod
Contributor
- Messages
- 112
- Reaction score
- 0
- # of dives
- 50 - 99
Just returned from four days in Cabo. On my first dive (of many planned), we dove the Corridor. Dropped down to ~60 feet. Vis wasnt too great, about 30 feet, but warm water nonetheless. About thirty minutes into the dive, as we were up and down a lot, 55 feet, then 45, then 50, 40 and so on, I felt some pressure on my ears and in normal, routine fashion, cleared them, only to hear a tearing sound followed by a lot of pain in my right ear. Also felt like water was running into my head. Enough pain to cause my right eye to tear-up. What really freaked me out and caused panic, was the fact that I was very disoriented and for a minute or so, didnt know which way was 'up'. Started breathing heavy. Very scared as I was starting to regain my bearings. I remember telling myself, 'okay, breathe easy (as possible), DONT SURFACE YET, look at my air pressure gauge and note reading (still over 1100lbs at that point), look straight ahead, try to relax, note where the other 6 divers are, breathe easy, think, think, think this through.'
I slowly ascended to ~35 feet to see if that eased the pain, no luck. Tried reclearing, no dice, still hurts like an SOB. Closed-off right ear with finger to minimize the cold, water running-in feeling, seemed to help slightly. By this time, thankfully, we all were about done and heading-up for our safety stop. Still somewhat dizzy and disoriented, three minutes were complete and we surfaced. I was relieved to be on the surface.
Back on the boat, I discussed what happened with the dive master and other divers. Nobody really knew what to advise. Needless to say, I sat out the second dive. I pretty much knew my diving for the four days was over. Very sad, but glad to be on the surface!
Back at the hotel, I saw a Doctor. He looked into my ear, yep, burst Tympanic membrane! Ouch, it still hurts, only more-so now that an hour has elapsed. Doctor also said, no more diving this trip, in fact, no snorkeling, nothing. Bummed to say the least.
Anyhow, back to my question: Has this happened to anyone here? I would like to learn more about this and how to prevent it from happening again. I have never had any problems with my ears, clearing or the like. Needless to say, I will now be apprehensive about diving again, but would like to learn more about this subject. Any advice as well?
Many thanks!!
I slowly ascended to ~35 feet to see if that eased the pain, no luck. Tried reclearing, no dice, still hurts like an SOB. Closed-off right ear with finger to minimize the cold, water running-in feeling, seemed to help slightly. By this time, thankfully, we all were about done and heading-up for our safety stop. Still somewhat dizzy and disoriented, three minutes were complete and we surfaced. I was relieved to be on the surface.
Back on the boat, I discussed what happened with the dive master and other divers. Nobody really knew what to advise. Needless to say, I sat out the second dive. I pretty much knew my diving for the four days was over. Very sad, but glad to be on the surface!
Back at the hotel, I saw a Doctor. He looked into my ear, yep, burst Tympanic membrane! Ouch, it still hurts, only more-so now that an hour has elapsed. Doctor also said, no more diving this trip, in fact, no snorkeling, nothing. Bummed to say the least.
Anyhow, back to my question: Has this happened to anyone here? I would like to learn more about this and how to prevent it from happening again. I have never had any problems with my ears, clearing or the like. Needless to say, I will now be apprehensive about diving again, but would like to learn more about this subject. Any advice as well?
Many thanks!!