Restricted eustachian & phenylepyrine

[bigsnowdog]

I have some difficulty equalizing the pressure in my ear when scuba diving. Years ago when I first took the class, one of the drills was to jump in the deep end, swim to the bottom where your mask, fins, and snorkel were lying, put on the mask and clear it, then begin breathing from the regulator on a tank that was down there, put on the tank [pre-BCD], and then your fins.

I had a huge problem with ear equalization due to the rapid descent required to do that. Now, when I took the class again, we did not do that and I find I can equalize when I descend slowly.

Having said that, given quite a few flooded mask drills, I got water into my middle ear [as per my GP's look through my ear drum] which will, I am advised, come back out. It leaves that full sensation, but he indicated after examining me that I had no infection, just some liquid. Apparently the ear drum is transparent, I come to learn.

Researching the web I find all the information on saline nasal irrigation and what it can do for you. A few proponents of this talk about using a mix including added phenylepyrine from 4-way nasal drops. The idea as presented is not just to do the rinse, you also hold the water in your sinuses and rotate your head through four positions, holding each for 10 seconds, and finally do something similar to what you do to equalize and force this mix up your eustachian tubes.

Other sources I find indicate that forcing water up your eustachian tubes could cause infection. The reality of it seems to be that if you are in a lake or river, get a head full of water for whatever reason, and cough to any extent, you will force lake or river water [which has to be teeming with living organisms] up your eustachian tube, and we all seem to survive that just fine.

What are your thoughts on this procedure to deliberately cause a saline and phenylepyrine mix to enter your eustachian tubes? The added phenylepyrine is said to shrink eustachian tissue, and that even from drug references regarding phenylepyrine.

 

[TSandM]

Snow Dog, the "water" seen behind your eardrum is almost certainly not water that got in through your Eustachian tubes. Much more likely is that it is edema fluid, pulled out of the tissues of the middle ear because of late or inadequate equalization. This is one of the most common complaints of new divers. They equalize when they feel discomfort, and they often don't pick it up early, because they are so distracted by all the other things that are going on with diving. As a consequence, fluid gets drawn into the middle ear, and the diver ends up with a feeling of fullness and muffled hearing, sometimes with some crackling or popping as well.

The fluid will reabsorb with time. Some people believe that decongestants (pseudoephedrine or Afrin) and/or NSAIDs like ibuprofen can hasten the process.

Rather than begin an aggressive program of medication, I would rather suggest that you watch THIS video, and do some practice with early and frequent equalization. There are a few people who seem to need to do something in order to clear their ears, but I would recommend working on technique before adding medications.

 

[gotwake]

In the past, I had a lot of problems equalizing my ears. Watch the video that TSandM linked and practice several of the techniques until you find one that works for you. The only way I can equalize is to pinch, pressurize and swallow at the same time. None of the other techniques would work for me. Once you find the best way for you, practice it before you go diving. Once you realize you can equalize, you will relax and have a much better diving experience.