Right Ear Blocked/Water in Ear?

[RiverRat]

The allergies cause swelling, thus blocking the sinus passages. The nasal steroids help keep the passages open. I've been using one form or another for years and started using them basicaly for diving.

Fritz Merkel

fmerkel got it. Yes Nasonex is a topical steroid. Does not get absorbed by the body so it does not affect one centrally, although in rare cases it might if for some reason the steroid is absorbed. (stated by the directions in the box) You want to stay away from the over the counter stuff. It affects you centrally and is addicting, requiring more and more of it to even stay normally clear.

 

[gr8fulr2]

I just got back from the ENT for the same problem. He said it was due to allergies and I would be ok to dive.

 

[Kaiser]

Something similar happened to me. I think I somehow managed to press water into my inner ear thru the tube during the pressure equalization on descent. Felt like there was a water bubble sloshing around behind my eardrum. I too went to the doc and she just gave a decongestant. The conditions went away after a few weeks.

 

[fmerkel]

You want to stay away from the over the counter stuff. It affects you centrally and is addicting, requiring more and more of it to even stay normally clear.

Technically, the OTC stuff is not addicting. Afrin has what is called "rebound" and if further overused results in Rhinitis medicamentosa (medication induced rhinitis). It makes the small muscles of the nasal capillaries contract HARD. When it wears off the little muscles are tired, relax, and cause congestion. More Afrin just wears the little things out until they can't handle it any longer. If you keep it up the nose goes crazy. For single day dives I will use Afrin with good results since my major problem is sinuses. It is not suitable for multiple days.

Psuedofed does essentially the same thing but since it goes through the whole body it's effects in the nose are less pronounced and it can cause side effects in some people (I'd rather not get into the theoretical O2 toxicity issue here). It may be a bit more helpful for clearing since it can get to the eustachian canals better than Afrin. Pseudofed can have some rebound effect but it is fairly minor, generally not noticeable except that once it wears off the subject is stuffy again.

Fritz

 

[fmerkel]

I think I somehow managed to press water into my inner ear thru the tube during the pressure equalization on descent.

Not possible without nearly drowning. The eustachian canal is in the throat so water would have to get down there first.

You didn't equalize properly on descent. The body compensates by leaking fluid from the capillaries and cells into the middle ear (much like a blister). This is actually a kind of good thing since if it didn't happen the eardrum would more likely burst from the pressure. It takes awhile for this fluid to be re-absorbed.

Inner ear problems are one of the most common in diving. I strongly suggest you check out this page and learn how to clear well and easily. http://faculty.washington.edu/ekay/

Fritz

 

[suthnbelle]

RiverRat,

Nasonex to open up your sinuses?

Just curious, did you ENT say this? The reason I'm asking is I thought nasonex, like flonase is only to block allergens, not to open sinuses.

I have allergies and usually end up with some sort of ear infection/swimmer's ear after diving. The flonase also reduces the swelling of your eustachian tube which helps the fluid in your ears drain. I also see a chiropractor and he pulls on my earlobes to open up my eustachian tube and that helps the fluid drain. He'll then massage the eustachian tube area. While I was seeing him I had no sinus or ear problems. As soon as I stopped seeing him I developed a bad ear infection after diving in June and it took 6 weeks to go away. They also recommend taking the sudafed, as well as the flonase, to dry up the fluid.

 

[RiverRat]

Technically, the OTC stuff is not addicting. Afrin has what is called "rebound" and if further overused results in Rhinitis medicamentosa (medication induced rhinitis). It makes the small muscles of the nasal capillaries contract HARD. When it wears off the little muscles are tired, relax, and cause congestion. More Afrin just wears the little things out until they can't handle it any longer. If you keep it up the nose goes crazy. For single day dives I will use Afrin with good results since my major problem is sinuses. It is not suitable for multiple days.

Psuedofed does essentially the same thing but since it goes through the whole body it's effects in the nose are less pronounced and it can cause side effects in some people (I'd rather not get into the theoretical O2 toxicity issue here). It may be a bit more helpful for clearing since it can get to the eustachian canals better than Afrin. Pseudofed can have some rebound effect but it is fairly minor, generally not noticeable except that once it wears off the subject is stuffy again.

Fritz

Hey thanks for explaining that in more detail
I knew the "addicting" description was not totally clear, just couldn't explain it. Now I know why folks keep blasting more and more of it to no avail.

 

[WaterWayne]

Originally Posted by RiverRat
Just because you have no pain now and it only feels like water in your ears does not mean you don't have an injury.

SCUBA STEVE
Swimmer's ear is an infection of the outer ear canal. Swelling, itchy, peeling skin. ... The "mix" you are referring to changes the PH of the ear to kill the infection.
Ear squeeze ... causes fluid (plasma) to build up inside the ear causing that "water in the ear" feeling.



Now that I've read this thread over and over, I think I know what I don't have -- no swimmer's ear infection, no squeeze (equalized OK), no pain, no allergies. Symptoms are simply a maddening, muffled feeling in my left ear, consistently after dives and pool swimming. There is also a very real sloshing of liquid inside my ear. Tilting my head at a slight backward angle drains my right ear OK immediately out of the water, and eventually clears my left ear with the same angle. My diving-savvy doctor found nothing wrong with a specific exam a few weeks ago, before my latest dive. One post in this thread mentioned spontaneous clearing in a mountain pass, but altitude changes (flying) have not cleared it for me. In the past for me, the only relief has come by the same tilting angle, even draining when my head is on the pillow. There are a few drops of clear, odorless fluid, which I've always taken to be the diving "souvenir" rather than internally-generated fluid.

So here is my first question: even though I'm pretty sure I'm equalizing OK, could this sloshing fluid be auto-generated by the capillaries, as fmerkel explains? Wouldn't that be generated over time, rather than immediately during the dive? Also arguing against capillary-generated fluid, why does one ear clear so easily, consistently, and the other ear requires several days, but then clears with the same tilting angle?

Second question: I've heard about glycerine as a drying agent -- any comments?

Third question: Probably dangerous, but how about simply using a hair dryer pointed directly into my ear?

Are my ear canals lopsided? Should I buy boots with different-sized heels?

Thanks!

 

[RiverRat]

Originally Posted by RiverRat
Just because you have no pain now and it only feels like water in your ears does not mean you don't have an injury.

SCUBA STEVE
Swimmer's ear is an infection of the outer ear canal. Swelling, itchy, peeling skin. ... The "mix" you are referring to changes the PH of the ear to kill the infection.
Ear squeeze ... causes fluid (plasma) to build up inside the ear causing that "water in the ear" feeling.


Third question: Probably dangerous, but how about simply using a hair dryer pointed directly into my ear?

Oh man....I dunno about the hair dryer......... :11:
If you go with the 50% isopropyl alcohol - 50% vinegar solution the alcohol serves to evaporate taking the water with it. :water: It's too drying for some folks so that's why they use other mixes, works for me. Stay away from super-heated air directly into the ear canal. I'm sure as there is no exit point, unless you blast a hole through your brain by mistake, you won't get any cross ventillation of heated air to effectively dry the canal anyway.........

 

[Kaiser]

An older Diver told me to use Peroxide.
As far as the hair dryer goes, my daughter had to have tubes in her eardrums installed. We were told by the doctor that if she should get water into the ear to just use the hair dryer. I still would not recommend to just hold the hairdryer on the ear and let it rip, since it would probably burn your ear.