possible Swimmers ear

[mcf57]

I am new to this board and new to diving (currently taking ceritification course) so sorry about this newbie question.

I just had my 3rd class last night. We did a lot of underwater exercises last night and after class I noticed my ears felt like they still had water in them. I went to bed hoping they would clear up, but the next morning it pretty much felt the same. I proceeded to immediately get some Swimmers ear drops medication at my local drug store and applied a few drops to each. They seem better, but I still have a little dizzyness at times and doesn't feel 100% normal.

Do I need to go see a doctor or is there maybe something else I can do to help. I did also notice that while performing an ascending exercise, I think I might of gotten a slight case of vertigo when I reached the surface. I basically felt some dizzyness, but it only lasted a few seconds. However, I wonder if this incident is related to my ear situation.

I know this has probably been asked many times before on this board, but I'm just a little concerned since I already applied the drops. Do I maybe need to do something else to help the situation? Any suggestions?

 

[Shouden]

This advice coming from a fellow newbie who went through swimmer's ear and a bad ear infection..

I'm now fighting off infection #2 actually.. It's my understanding that some newbie's ear drums that aren't used to equalizing(I live in florida and am a ground hugger) have more trouble adjusting to the flexing necessary for your ear to equalize. So by diving and forcing your ears to do this, they become sore. With that said..

Ear Infection seems to start off as you described..with trapped water in your ear. If left, the bacteria(?) in it starts to cause an infection. Left untreated, an ear infection will only get worse and will not get better on its own.

After my certification class(Ginnie Springs), I made it 2-3 days before I noticed anything was wrong. I woke up one morning with a clogged kind of feeling in my ear, moreso than the water, my ear kind of throbbed a little, and the neck muscles behind my ear were sore. At the time I didn't know what it was or if it was
anything to worry about, so I just took some advil and kept going. The next day it was noticably worse, the pain went down the entire left side of my neck, my ear was very sore to the touch, and the pain was starting to extend down my jawline and into my cheek area. By the third day from when I first felt discomfort, it was a constant throbbing enough for me to want to say "ow" along with occassional very sharp pains that made me actually say "ow" and start hitting my hand on the bed because it hurt so bad. Each sharp pain would cause me to wince, and after awhile my face almost developed a constant wince(tightened muscles). The swollenness felt like it was across my entire neck/head area on one side of the body. My ear was untouchable it hurt so bad. I was popping ibuprofin every 4hrs to keep the pain away and even that wasn't cutting it completely. That was when I decided I better schedule a doctor's appointment.

I ended up missing half a week of work.. That's the most work I've missed in my life as consecutive days.

Needless to say, if you have good medical insurance, go see the doctor just for the heck of getting checked out. If indeed you do have an infection starting, then they can prescribe to you some wonder ear drops that will allow you to fight off the infection. I've heard of two different kinds of drops, one is about $12 and the other about $60.

This time I put the drops the day I started feeling discomfort. So far(day 3) I've only had to eat two ibuprofin. That's a pretty big difference considering I almost ate a whole bottle last time.

From talking to other divers who have the problem of getting ear infections.. It seems many will put several drops in of this wonder ear stuff in their ears after they dive. I guess this helps keep away the infection. I just decided today I'm going to try it out and see how it goes.

Hope this info helps you!

 

[Charlie99]

Swimmer's Ear is an infection of the outer ear canal. Itching and soreness are the symptoms, and they come on over a period of a day or two as the wet skin gets irritated and infected.

Your symptoms, such as dizzyness, are more worrisome, and may indicate problems with your middle ear.

If I had your symptoms I'd see a doctor. Even if it does turn out to just be swimmer's ear, you will have caught it early, and early treatment will keep it from getting too seriously infected.

Never trust medical advice that you get from the internet (other than "go see a doctor" of course).

 

[mcf57]

Yea, I think I may just go to the Doctor tomorrow. If it turns out to be something and they subscriber Wonder Ear for it as suggested here, will they recommend that I can't swim or go in the water for a certain amount of time? Therefore, I will not be able to finish the certification course?

 

[sigourneya]

go to the doctor-you don't want it to get worse. I found as a swimmer and diver that Swimmer Ear drops don't really work and it's expensive. Just use 50/50 % of vinegar and rubbing alcohol which is basically the same thing after each dive.

 

[underwasser bolt]

my son went diving, swimming, etc over a period of 2 weeks with a lot of water time. had a difficult time clearing his ears when diving mostly because he was task loaded (newbie) and forgot to clear his ears until they hurt. this morning he went to the doc and has a middle ear infection;

 

[mcf57]

If there turns out to be an infection (or anything remotely similar), I assume this means I can't go in the water & will probably have to drop the certification class, right?

 

[DivingsInMyBlood]

always carry some ear beer and after everytime you hit the water use it right after, you will not be sorry my friend.

 

[shotthebreeze]

Dizziness and all of that jazz you described can also be set off by wax in your ear. What it does is causes an imbalance in the liquid part of the ear making you unstable and generally irritable. It can also retain water and will leave you feeling like you're still in the pool. What I did before my OW class and cert dives was I put a few drops of hydrogen peroxide in my ears, left them in until the crackeling stopped and flushed them with an ear syringe. I'd see a doctor though before you do any of that just in case its swimmers ear.

 

[ScubaGir1]

If there turns out to be an infection (or anything remotely similar), I assume this means I can't go in the water & will probably have to drop the certification class, right?

That sort of depends on how bad the infection is. I use to be a competitive swimmer (for 13 years). There are these waxy-like ear plugs that will completely seal your ear and not allow ANY water in. BUT you have to make sure that its ok to go down in the water b/c of pressure. Go to the doctor and ask what you need to do, or can do.

If it isn't an ear infection, you may just be having "personal" problems with being in water. Are you comfortable in the water, or do you have any fears? A friend of mine went down a slide at a water park and got vertigo (somehow) just by tumbling in the water after she slide down. So some people are very sensitive to water.