Need advice - First dive, blew an eardrum and/or barotrauma. Can I treat myself?

[mxmaniac]

I'm on the first vacation of my life, coming from a cold climate, and finally got an opportunity to scuba dive. One of the basic intro to scuba diving courses that only goes 40 feet deep.

Well I was descending the rope, using the valsalva maneuver plugging my nose and blowing roughly every 1-2 feet. I was advised to do it every 3 feet or so, but my ears seemed more sensitive, 1-2 feet was what was comfortable. Around 30 feet deep, the instructor reached out her hand, and very unexpectedly and suddenly pulled me down around 5-6 feet. I had no time to properly equalize since it was so sudden and unexpected, and I experienced a strong and painful pop in one ear, followed by extreme spinning sensation and disorientation. I could see the seafloor, and other divers, but things were really spinning.

I dizzily swam through it, and the spinning went away after a couple minutes and I completed the 20 minute dive with discomfort and mild pain, but nothing severe, and no more spinning. Now after the dive though my ear has been hurting for hours. It feels plugged and full of pressure, and muffled. Also continues to have various pops, and occasional small amounts of water or fluid coming out.

According to my google searching it seems to be barotrauma and/or ruptured ear drum. Unfortunately I have very inadequate health insurance, and it is after hours, everywhere is closed. So I'm trying to figure out what I should do to treat this? I have a feeling a doctor might not be able to do much, but tell me to take some sort of OTC medicine and rest, so I figured I would ask first on here if there are any steps I should take before considering it serious enough to see a doctor.

 

[gcarter]

First, I would like to say I am sorry to hear of this incident and hope that you overcome it and don't let is sour you on a wonderful pastime.

I would re-post your question to this forum for more qualified responses and probably quicker responses as well:

Diving Medicine

Good luck.

 

[Pedro Burrito]

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A ScubaBoard Staff Message...

Moved to Diving Medicine and the duplicate was deleted

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[Agility]

Yes it is serious enough to see a doctor (preferably an ENT specialist).
And don't put your head under water before it is sorted out.

 

[DocVikingo]

So I'm trying to figure out what I should do to treat this? I have a feeling a doctor might not be able to do much, but tell me to take some sort of OTC medicine and rest, so I figured I would ask first on here if there are any steps I should take before considering it serious enough to see a doctor.

Bummer, 'maniac.

What you sustained most assuredly is barotrauma of the ear of some sort, and very likely more than a minor case. It sounds like it's already serious enough to warrant a look see by a doctor (preferably an ENT), even if you do have to pay for much of the fee, as infection, which can't be prevented or cured by OTC products, is always a concern in these types of injuries.

In the meantime, obviously no more diving, and in fact it would be prudent to keep all water out of the ear until seen. Provided that you tolerate them well, you could take an OTC analgesic, such as ibuprofen (e.g., Advil, Motrin), and perhaps a decongestant such as Claritin-D, but don't expect miracles.

Regards,

DocVikingo

This is educational only and does not constitute or imply a doctor-patient relationship. It is not medical advice to you or any other individual, and should not be construed as such.

 

[doctormike]

I'm on the first vacation of my life, coming from a cold climate, and finally got an opportunity to scuba dive. One of the basic intro to scuba diving courses that only goes 40 feet deep.

Well I was descending the rope, using the valsalva maneuver plugging my nose and blowing roughly every 1-2 feet. I was advised to do it every 3 feet or so, but my ears seemed more sensitive, 1-2 feet was what was comfortable. Around 30 feet deep, the instructor reached out her hand, and very unexpectedly and suddenly pulled me down around 5-6 feet. I had no time to properly equalize since it was so sudden and unexpected, and I experienced a strong and painful pop in one ear, followed by extreme spinning sensation and disorientation. I could see the seafloor, and other divers, but things were really spinning.

I dizzily swam through it, and the spinning went away after a couple minutes and I completed the 20 minute dive with discomfort and mild pain, but nothing severe, and no more spinning. Now after the dive though my ear has been hurting for hours. It feels plugged and full of pressure, and muffled. Also continues to have various pops, and occasional small amounts of water or fluid coming out.

According to my google searching it seems to be barotrauma and/or ruptured ear drum. Unfortunately I have very inadequate health insurance, and it is after hours, everywhere is closed. So I'm trying to figure out what I should do to treat this? I have a feeling a doctor might not be able to do much, but tell me to take some sort of OTC medicine and rest, so I figured I would ask first on here if there are any steps I should take before considering it serious enough to see a doctor.

Hi, mxmaniac...

Sorry to hear about that. It's hard to really say anything without a good examination of your ear. Initial treatment for a perforated eardrum is to avoid water exposure and wait to see if it heals spontaneously. Sometimes antibiotic drops are necessary, sometimes microscopic cleaning of the ear is necessary. Usually, a traumatic perforation (like one from barotrauma) will heal if there is no underlying ear disease, but no way to tell without an exam. If it doesn't heal in a few months, sometimes surgery is necessary. For simple middle ear barotrauma without perforation (blood and/or fluid in the middle ear), the treatment is again time and avoiding diving. Most medications (like decongestants) don't do much, some people use steroids. More complicated problems like inner ear injuries are less likely in the scenario you described, but without an examination and a hearing test, hard to say much.

Here is my sticky on ear disease and diving.

If you PM me with your location, I might be able to suggest someone to see you.

Best,

Mike