Inner Ear

[Jax]

The sensation of fullness and muffled hearing, with crackling or popping sounds, which is persistent for more than a few hours after diving, is almost always middle ear barotrauma, with fluid accumulation there. It takes days to weeks to resolve. This is a very common problem for new divers, who get distracted by the demands of buoyancy management and forget to clear their ears as often as they should.

Would a "hiss" form of Tinnitus also be an indicator of barotrauma? Non-diving ENT says nothing wrong with the ears.

 

[Davemohio]

I am not a physician, but I experienced a middle ear barotrauma 6 weeks ago. Took about a month for my ear to clear up. The crackling sounds TSandM mentioned where there throughout. I was on two 5 day Z packs. A week off in between. The hissing of Tinnitus was very pronounced in the problem ear and have since subsided. The tinnitus is still there, though much less noticeable.