Lightheaded for too long!!

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Hello all. I was hoping to pick your brains. Been doing some internet searching that keeps bringing me to this forum as the best place to get diving related information.

I was doing some free diving in my pool to clean out my filter drain. 8 screws to be unscrewed and screwed back and some cleaning to be done had me up and down in only about 6 feet but many many times (30x?). Ears felt clogged so I did a valsalva and heard a little pop sound in left ear only. No pain. no issues continuing to get the job done. No hearing issues etc.

All good until about 4 or 5 days later when I woke up seriously dizzy. Hearing fine. But really dizzy. Long story short. It’s been a YEAR and I have constant light headedness and fullness in that one ear. Hearing fine, balance fine. Just always feel kind of “off” and lightheaded. Like my head could just pop off my shoulders.

ive been scanned (all clean) and been to ENTs. I’ve been told is a virus. Another said it’s barotrauma. I’ve been given betaserc. I’ve been given low dose Valium. It’s getting pretty annoying and I figured I would go to the guys who know. The divers. Any advise/experience/information would be greatly appreciated. A year has been too long!!!

Thanks,
Reuby
My wife had similar problems for about 18 months after a dive trip to Cozumel in 2018. Eventually it got better, but we were kind of freaking out about it after a while. She was getting dizzy as well which caused nausea, treated that with regular meclizine doses.

I like @arew+4's suggestion. I don't think we ever went to a cardiologist for my wife's issue.
 
Hello all. I was hoping to pick your brains. Been doing some internet searching that keeps bringing me to this forum as the best place to get diving related information.

I was doing some free diving in my pool to clean out my filter drain. 8 screws to be unscrewed and screwed back and some cleaning to be done had me up and down in only about 6 feet but many many times (30x?). Ears felt clogged so I did a valsalva and heard a little pop sound in left ear only. No pain. no issues continuing to get the job done. No hearing issues etc.

All good until about 4 or 5 days later when I woke up seriously dizzy. Hearing fine. But really dizzy. Long story short. It’s been a YEAR and I have constant light headedness and fullness in that one ear. Hearing fine, balance fine. Just always feel kind of “off” and lightheaded. Like my head could just pop off my shoulders.

ive been scanned (all clean) and been to ENTs. I’ve been told is a virus. Another said it’s barotrauma. I’ve been given betaserc. I’ve been given low dose Valium. It’s getting pretty annoying and I figured I would go to the guys who know. The divers. Any advise/experience/information would be greatly appreciated. A year has been too long!!!

Thanks,
Reuby
Had a similar experience after a benign pool dive (it was a 20’ deep pool though, lots of up/downs over 2 hours). Had some issues equalizing but felt like I managed it fine during the dive. No “pop” or pain. However, when I got out, I had immediate fullness in the right ear and lightheadedness (not dizziness which is how people describe vertigo). The constant fullness went away after a week, constant lightheadedness only lasted a day. After that the fullness and lightheadedness only occurred when physically exerting myself (strength training) or being in a head-down position. This lasted for a about 6-7 months, on/off tinnitus as well. ENT had no answers after the usual treatment options didn’t help (decongestants, anti inflammatories, etc). I’m diving again without issues but even 3 years later my right ear doesn’t feel quite “back to normal”. Short story long, your issue is from barotrauma and will hopefully get better on it’s own with time. Symptoms and recovery times seem to be more variable than most “information sources” would have you believe (in my experience and talking to others who have had similar injuries diving). Unfortunately, it’s not likely any medical intervention will make a difference at this point. I’ve looked into things like eustachian tube balloon dilation and such but the risks didn’t seem worth it (although to be fair your symptoms are worse than mine were). Good luck and let us know how things work out.
 
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