amajamar
Contributor
I have read many of the previous posts regarding people who have had issues with sinus pressure, pain, nasal bleeding and other symptoms of sinus problems while diving. I have similar symptoms that have occurred and seem to be getting worse on subsequent dives, so I thought I would post my specific issue and see what the general consensus is. I am growing increasingly concerned for my diving future.
I have made just over 100 dives over a span of around three and a half years. One thing that I noticed from very early on, was that my sinuses did not agree with making an ascent then re-descending on any given dive. Upon re-descending I would get a very sharp pain, usually just above my right eye and sometimes further up on my forehead. That pain would generally dissipate after a few minutes at depth and would not be of further problem. My diving is usually relatively shallow (around 25') and I usually do not have any problem with equalization. On repetitive dives after an appropriative surface interval I would not have any problem descending, no pain and no problems with equalization. Even during a vacation with 22 dives in eight days in Bonaire, the only symptoms I had was that my eardrums were a little sore by the end of the trip; equalization was a little painful, but never forced or difficult. But that went away as well.
So, no problem, it was easy to circumvent the problem. Descend, stay down for the entire dive, send my GF up to look around if need be (she has no problems with that), and make a normal ascent to end the dive.
Until recently. For the past couple of months I have noticed ever increasing issues with this problem, culminating in a two dive trip yesterday. Before I describe yesterday's issue, I will describe another event from a couple of months ago, in case it is relevant.
About two months ago, I made what I consider one of our normal shallow dives, but I had considerable problems equalizing. I was not aware of any predive conditions such as congestion, headache or colds or allergies so I thought it was really strange. Upon making a repetitive dive that day, the condition was even worse, equalization was really difficult and painful (in my eardrums) and after the dive I had a lot of pain just above my right eye, which subsided in a little while (I'm can't remember if it was an hour or so or a few hours). I noticed the next day, that the area above my right eye actually was tender to the touch, especially right in the exact spot that the sharp pain I get when re-descending is. Over the next two weeks I had a lot of fluid in my left ear that I could hear crackling, and some very minor hearing loss, although I had no cold like symptoms, or excessive congestion. However, equalization (on land) was still very painful, and there was much crackling, gurgling in my left ear. I figured I had some head congestion, maybe a head cold, and I attributed the problems with the dive to it and didn't pay much attention to it as it was essentially gone over the next couple of weeks. I did not dive during that time.
Three weeks later I returned to diving. I recall being cautious while descending and equalizing often. I did not have any problems on either of the two dives done on that day, however later in the day I had the same problem with soreness above the left eye.
Which brings me to yesterday's diving. The first dive was a dive to 83' in relatively cold water (48 degrees). The total dive time was around 35 minutes, we made a slow ascent with an appropriate safety stop. I had no problems equalizing, and no pain during the dive, even while ascending. There was an hour and a half SI prior to the second dive which was to around 30'. However, on that dive I had quite a bit of pain above my right eye while descending (a first) that dissipated during the dive which was around 45 minutes, but I did not have any trouble equalizing. Returning from that dive was equally painful and when I got on the boat I noticed that there was a descent sized drop of blood on my glove where I had wiped my nose and I was bleeding slightly from my nose. That bleeding stopped in a short amount of time, however I could taste blood in the back of my throat for the rest of the evening. I had the sensitivity as I had before, above my right eye, and it is still sensitive this morning, although, a couple of a Tylenol have helped.
So, there you have it... I'm sorry for the lengthy post, but I am concerned and didn't want to leave out any pertinent info.
Your advice would be most appreciated.
Thanks in advance, you all are the best!
I have made just over 100 dives over a span of around three and a half years. One thing that I noticed from very early on, was that my sinuses did not agree with making an ascent then re-descending on any given dive. Upon re-descending I would get a very sharp pain, usually just above my right eye and sometimes further up on my forehead. That pain would generally dissipate after a few minutes at depth and would not be of further problem. My diving is usually relatively shallow (around 25') and I usually do not have any problem with equalization. On repetitive dives after an appropriative surface interval I would not have any problem descending, no pain and no problems with equalization. Even during a vacation with 22 dives in eight days in Bonaire, the only symptoms I had was that my eardrums were a little sore by the end of the trip; equalization was a little painful, but never forced or difficult. But that went away as well.
So, no problem, it was easy to circumvent the problem. Descend, stay down for the entire dive, send my GF up to look around if need be (she has no problems with that), and make a normal ascent to end the dive.
Until recently. For the past couple of months I have noticed ever increasing issues with this problem, culminating in a two dive trip yesterday. Before I describe yesterday's issue, I will describe another event from a couple of months ago, in case it is relevant.
About two months ago, I made what I consider one of our normal shallow dives, but I had considerable problems equalizing. I was not aware of any predive conditions such as congestion, headache or colds or allergies so I thought it was really strange. Upon making a repetitive dive that day, the condition was even worse, equalization was really difficult and painful (in my eardrums) and after the dive I had a lot of pain just above my right eye, which subsided in a little while (I'm can't remember if it was an hour or so or a few hours). I noticed the next day, that the area above my right eye actually was tender to the touch, especially right in the exact spot that the sharp pain I get when re-descending is. Over the next two weeks I had a lot of fluid in my left ear that I could hear crackling, and some very minor hearing loss, although I had no cold like symptoms, or excessive congestion. However, equalization (on land) was still very painful, and there was much crackling, gurgling in my left ear. I figured I had some head congestion, maybe a head cold, and I attributed the problems with the dive to it and didn't pay much attention to it as it was essentially gone over the next couple of weeks. I did not dive during that time.
Three weeks later I returned to diving. I recall being cautious while descending and equalizing often. I did not have any problems on either of the two dives done on that day, however later in the day I had the same problem with soreness above the left eye.
Which brings me to yesterday's diving. The first dive was a dive to 83' in relatively cold water (48 degrees). The total dive time was around 35 minutes, we made a slow ascent with an appropriate safety stop. I had no problems equalizing, and no pain during the dive, even while ascending. There was an hour and a half SI prior to the second dive which was to around 30'. However, on that dive I had quite a bit of pain above my right eye while descending (a first) that dissipated during the dive which was around 45 minutes, but I did not have any trouble equalizing. Returning from that dive was equally painful and when I got on the boat I noticed that there was a descent sized drop of blood on my glove where I had wiped my nose and I was bleeding slightly from my nose. That bleeding stopped in a short amount of time, however I could taste blood in the back of my throat for the rest of the evening. I had the sensitivity as I had before, above my right eye, and it is still sensitive this morning, although, a couple of a Tylenol have helped.
So, there you have it... I'm sorry for the lengthy post, but I am concerned and didn't want to leave out any pertinent info.
Your advice would be most appreciated.
Thanks in advance, you all are the best!
