Inner Ear Squeeze

[helen67]

Hi,
I've been reading posts on this board for the past year and found alot of great information. I'm currently on a dive trip and went to a Dr. who said I have inner ear squeeze, basically my eustuchian tube is swollen w/ fluid. He put me on Doxycillin and Otrivin nasal spray. He also said to keep taking Sudafed and no diving for 2-3 days.

Would it be okay to at least go snorkeling? Or is this condition something where you don't want water in your ears period? I wouldn't dive down, just regular snorkeling.

Also, is 2-3 days realistic for something like this to clear up? I was able to pop my ears before entering the water and up until 20 feet. Afterwards, I would have trouble popping my ears by pinching my nose so I'd swallow, move my jaw, and the other techniques I saw recommended.

If this is something that normally takes more than 3 days, no problem, but I was hoping to at least change my dive package if I can't dive Any information would be greatly appreciated or if you had a similiar condition, how long before you could dive again? This is a first for me so I'm unfamiliar with how long, reasonably, it should last and as much as I'd love to get back in the water...I'll wait until it's completely cleared up.

Thanks again!

 

[don Francisco]

Helen-

I'm not a doc, but what you have sounds more like middle ear barotrauma, and the chamber behind your eardrum where the eustachian tube ends is partially filled with fluid. The only real danger is that fluid filled ears are more prone to infection than normal, so if things get worse it'll be time to revisit the ENT.

Otherwise as the doc told you it tends to clear up in a few days as the fluid drains. You'll know it's clear because your hearing will be back to normal and things will sound like they used to.

No prroblem snotkelling, showering, etc since water isn't your problem, but pressure changes.

As to diving, you'll have to wait until it's at least near normal feeling, and then be carefull about your descents and equilization. Like if they were bruised, you're ears will be more sensitive to pressure changes and be harder to equalize, so don't push it and give them a chance to recover.

One indicator of when it's OK to dive is if you can pinch your nose and swallow and feel the telltale ear pops equally in both ears, and they rebound quickly to normal without a lingering sensation of pressure.

As a side note, your problem started because you were waiting to long to equalize during your descents, and then forcing the issue. Start equalizing earlier and do it more often during the descent so any ear pops that you feel are only slight. A big ear pop means you built up a big difference in pressure before equalizing. Long term, unless you treat your ears nicer you'll only be able to do one dive every three days, and have to wait for your ears to recover in between.

Lastly, while you're recovering, search scubaboard for ear problem threads, and you'll find a link to an informative video, plus get more advice on clearing and ear care during diving. If you cna't dive you can read about it.

 

[helen67]

Thanks so much for the information! I was equalizing but at about 20 feet I would have problems. So I would ascend and try again and the pain went away but I very slowly went deeper, still trying to pop the ears the usual way. I then tried the swallowing, moving my jaw, etc and I didn't feel pressure and I did this continuosly even though I didn't hear a pop. I think that was my mistake, you need to hear that pop. This is my 100th dive and never had a problem but this is a first and a lesson learned. I'm glad that I can at least snorkel

Again, thank you for the information and I'll be checking the scuba board for more information