Short Notice Ent Brussels Or Advice On Non Equalizing Ear

[feldoh]

My diving buddy had her first dive today at Nemo33, one ear was fine the other wouldn't equalize at just 1.5! We were told to take her to a diving doctor tomorrow before our next lesson on the day after, but we are on holiday in Belgium and so need to find an English diving doc at short notice, any advice on either the problem and or an appropriate doctor would be much appreciated. We have come on holiday specifically to learn scuba here and have spent around $2.5k so to fall at the first hurdle on day one would be so sad.

 

[fmerkel]

Go to this site and watch the video:
Streaming Video in AVI and Flash Formats.
"The Diver's Ear - Under Pressure"

Then read the article below that: Middle Ear Barotrauma: A tutorial on prevention of Ear Squeeze.

More info here if you want diagrams and such.
ENT Problems in SCUBA Diving

Practice on land. If you can't clear on land, you can't clear underwater most likely. If you have problems on land you likely should see a diving physician/ENT

 

[diver0008]

Your buddy should not dive again until the ear clears. As a new diver she may have tried to equalize too forcefully and damaged something. Know that the first few clears (even at only 1.5) are usually the toughest. If she has indeed damaged something in the inner ear, it is likely that some trauma will result, and the problematic ear could be problematic for a long time. Any responsible ENT would most likely at this point suggest to not dive at all presently, so think twice about wasting your time and money on that. Keep an eye on it for an infection, which may follow.

 

[uncfnp]

Feldoh. Hard to diagnose over the internet and Duke Dive Medicine (DDM) may not see this until to late for you so give DAN a call. You don't have to be a member. They can talk to her and maybe get a little more info and then make some suggestions. Here are the numbers a quick search found.

• DAN Belgium National Number: From Belgium: 0800-12382 (toll free number), From Zeeland: +32 (0)2/262 22 82 (normal number)

 

[DocVikingo]

Hi Feldoh,

Suggest you contact:

Center for Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
Military Hospital, Queen Astrid
Bruynstraat 200, 1120 Brussels
Tel.: +32 22644868
Fax: +32 22644861
E-mail: medhyper@smd.be

The director, Dr. Peter Germonpré, will certainly be able to make a referral.

Best of luck.

Cheers,

DocVikingo

 

[feldoh]

Go to this site and watch the video:
Streaming Video in AVI and Flash Formats.
"The Diver's Ear - Under Pressure"

Then read the article below that: Middle Ear Barotrauma: A tutorial on prevention of Ear Squeeze.

More info here if you want diagrams and such.
ENT Problems in SCUBA Diving

Practice on land. If you can't clear on land, you can't clear underwater most likely. If you have problems on land you likely should see a diving physician/ENT

On land she can do it though one ear equalised significantly before the other. She actually managed it underwater the first time but it took several mminutes, she was being careful.

 

[feldoh]

Hi Feldoh,

Suggest you contact:

Center for Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
Military Hospital, Queen Astrid
Bruynstraat 200, 1120 Brussels
Tel.: +32 22644868
Fax: +32 22644861
E-mail: medhyper@smd.be

The director, Dr. Peter Germonpré, will certainly be able to make a referral.

Best of luck.

Cheers,

DocVikingo

Thank you. Emailing him now, with the events in Brussels we have been asked to not use the phone network, and all public transport is shut down :-(

 

[feldoh]

Feldoh. Hard to diagnose over the internet and Duke Dive Medicine (DDM) may not see this until to late for you so give DAN a call. You don't have to be a member. They can talk to her and maybe get a little more info and then make some suggestions. Here are the numbers a quick search found.

• DAN Belgium National Number: From Belgium: 0800-12382 (toll free number), From Zeeland: +32 (0)2/262 22 82 (normal number)

We'll try but with the events in Brussels we have been told not to use the phone network for now.

 

[feldoh]

Your buddy should not dive again until the ear clears. As a new diver she may have tried to equalize too forcefully and damaged something. Know that the first few clears (even at only 1.5) are usually the toughest. If she has indeed damaged something in the inner ear, it is likely that some trauma will result, and the problematic ear could be problematic for a long time. Any responsible ENT would most likely at this point suggest to not dive at all presently, so think twice about wasting your time and money on that. Keep an eye on it for an infection, which may follow.

Thanks for the advice, her ear cleared fine on coming back to the surface, she was being very careful and is fairly certain there is no damage but we will keep an eye on it.

 

[feldoh]

Thanks for all the suggestions. We got hold of a diving doctor at the hyperbaric military hospital, he suggested a basic decongestant and to see if she can evenly equalise before the session. If not we will just have to cancel.