Well, I went and got myself some suspected inner ear barrotrauma. Free diving/spear fishing, hood on in 10 meters of water. Pretty aggressive profile. Basically, dive down to 10 meters, stay for as long as possible then surface. Rinse and repeat. I was on a flat bottom reef, so no gradations to my profile. Very minimal rest time on the surface. I was out for about 1.30 hours.
I did feel some stuffiness in my ears that evening, but thought nothing of it as it has always cleared before from diving, free diving and surfing. 4 days later I woke up with death in my right ear. Phoned 111 told to go to A and E. Doc told me to go home as there was no indication of ruptured eardrum, said he would refer me to audiology. While driving home (9.30 that evening) I actually got a call from audiology telling me to go back to the hospital and pick up some steroids and start taking them immediately. Pretty great if you know anything about the mess the NHS is in at the mo.
40mg a day till I was booked to see the ENT 5 days later. He diagnosed me with SSHL and mentioned barrotrauma. The audiogram confirmed the SSHL. Horrible graph to look at. Profound to severe hearing loss across all frequencies. He upped my dosage to 60 mg and told me that I should have been on that amount the whole time. 60mg for three days and a then 30 mg for another 3 days. 10 days total steroid course.
Went home and spun out a bit. Had hellish tinnitus for two days and then seemed to recover some hearing back. Tinnitus has subsided, but still omnipresent. Feeling a little more hopeful. Pandoras fault.
This the where I am as I write this.
So my queries are these:
• my total dose of steroids is 470 mg over 10 days. Should I have been on more for longer. Especially seeing as they are seeming to work.
• Is it a good idea to have steroid injections direct in the ear after the oral meds have finished. Doc never mentioned this and I am not booked to see him for another 5 weeks.
• did I have inner ear DCS? I know it is unlikely as I was not breathing gas at depth but my profile was pretty wild. The doc did not seem to investigate this. I’m now getting what feels and sounds like tiny bubbles escaping from my ear. Could have implications for treatments. HBOT?
• should I push for and investigation of a tear in the fistula?
• Can anyone suggest any other treatments. I’m on high dose omeg 3 (cod liver oil) vitamins (zinc, magnesium. B12…). Fruit and veg, high strength turmeric tea, spirulina, CBD gummies, Sleep, Nature sound baths and non-linear prayer (seriously). I have have also been eating a lot.
• Lastly . Does anyone know of a diving or related specialist ENT in the South West of England?
I realise specific madical advice is beyond the remit of a of scuba forum, but any insights, background info might be useful when organising my continuity care.
Thanks for taking the time to read this.
I just wish I knew more about all this before.
Look after your ears!
B
I did feel some stuffiness in my ears that evening, but thought nothing of it as it has always cleared before from diving, free diving and surfing. 4 days later I woke up with death in my right ear. Phoned 111 told to go to A and E. Doc told me to go home as there was no indication of ruptured eardrum, said he would refer me to audiology. While driving home (9.30 that evening) I actually got a call from audiology telling me to go back to the hospital and pick up some steroids and start taking them immediately. Pretty great if you know anything about the mess the NHS is in at the mo.
40mg a day till I was booked to see the ENT 5 days later. He diagnosed me with SSHL and mentioned barrotrauma. The audiogram confirmed the SSHL. Horrible graph to look at. Profound to severe hearing loss across all frequencies. He upped my dosage to 60 mg and told me that I should have been on that amount the whole time. 60mg for three days and a then 30 mg for another 3 days. 10 days total steroid course.
Went home and spun out a bit. Had hellish tinnitus for two days and then seemed to recover some hearing back. Tinnitus has subsided, but still omnipresent. Feeling a little more hopeful. Pandoras fault.
This the where I am as I write this.
So my queries are these:
• my total dose of steroids is 470 mg over 10 days. Should I have been on more for longer. Especially seeing as they are seeming to work.
• Is it a good idea to have steroid injections direct in the ear after the oral meds have finished. Doc never mentioned this and I am not booked to see him for another 5 weeks.
• did I have inner ear DCS? I know it is unlikely as I was not breathing gas at depth but my profile was pretty wild. The doc did not seem to investigate this. I’m now getting what feels and sounds like tiny bubbles escaping from my ear. Could have implications for treatments. HBOT?
• should I push for and investigation of a tear in the fistula?
• Can anyone suggest any other treatments. I’m on high dose omeg 3 (cod liver oil) vitamins (zinc, magnesium. B12…). Fruit and veg, high strength turmeric tea, spirulina, CBD gummies, Sleep, Nature sound baths and non-linear prayer (seriously). I have have also been eating a lot.
• Lastly . Does anyone know of a diving or related specialist ENT in the South West of England?
I realise specific madical advice is beyond the remit of a of scuba forum, but any insights, background info might be useful when organising my continuity care.
Thanks for taking the time to read this.
I just wish I knew more about all this before.
Look after your ears!
B