Sinus Pressure

[Madwand]

I've been searching all over the place trying to fuigure this out. I have sinus pressure when I go under while snorkeling, as little as a couple of feet. I do not need to pinch my nose and clear anything, that doesn't help and it is not normally my ears that bother me. My head feels like it's gonna explode.

In '07 I was snorkeling in St. Thomas and at some point, my left ear stopped up and would not pop. I was essentially deaf in that ear til the flight home, at which point it cleared in the air, but upon landing, I went deaf again. A trip to the Dr. showed it to be a plug of wax that he sucessfully removed and my hearing returned. I guess the tremendous pressures at 2 feet under compressed the wax into my eardrum.

Don't know if that's related or not because I hadn't had the opportunity to dive after the Dr. appointment. I did dive in a pool last week to test out some new fins and again, my head felt like exploding, but it was just for a minute and no deafness or popped ears. I did go down to 12 feet, which I've never done before, but it was painfull.

I mention it because I am going to Barbados in November and wonder if I should visit the Dr. for another earwax session and could this make my exploding head problem go away or be the cause of it?

 

[zider]

If the pain is in the left or right side of your forehead, it is probably a block to your frontal sinus. A small mucus plug or swelling in the lower part of the sinus is probably preventing the sinus cavity from equilibrating. This is quite common and discussed quite frequently on the boards. Try doing a search in the diving medicine thread for sinus and/or block. You should find all the info you need. I have suffered from this during diving, mainly around 20-25 ft, and can attest to how bad it really does hurt. Best of luck.

 

[PerformanceFreediving]

Hi there-
I agree with zider- this sounds like a sinus squeeze. Unfortunately there's not much you can do in the moment for a sinus squeeze, but w/ a little planning you may be able to prevent it. Before you know you're going to go snorkeling/freediving take Mucinex (ONLY the blue labeled bottle) for a few days. It helps loosen congestion and can knock loose blockage like that. Stay on it until you won't be diving anymore during your trip. The drug you're looking for is Guaifenesin, which has no noticeable side effects. Also stay hydrated. That keeps the fluids in your body so things like mucus are more runny than thick and hard to clear.

Let me know how that works for you!

 

[AfterDark]

Sinuses either equalize or don't nothing you can do. Avoid dairy it helps produce mucus. You can also go to a ear nose throat MD. I have no experience with Mucinex just make sure it doesn't wear off during the dive or it could be very painful ascent.

 

[Madwand]

Well like I said, I am only trying to go down 10-12 feet because I only snorkel and don't have the air for diving. But I get this pressure as soon as I go under, just a few feet. I will see a Dr. about it because I need to know if it is wax plug or sinus plug, different treatments, or maybe it's neither.

BTW, the subscription feature of this forum does not work. I got three replies here and no notification to my email. I thought my question was ignored til I came back and looked.

Thanks for the help.

 

[ae3753]

Well like I said, I am only trying to go down 10-12 feet because I only snorkel and don't have the air for diving. But I get this pressure as soon as I go under, just a few feet. I will see a Dr. about it because I need to know if it is wax plug or sinus plug, different treatments, or maybe it's neither.

BTW, the subscription feature of this forum does not work. I got three replies here and no notification to my email. I thought my question was ignored til I came back and looked.

Thanks for the help.

Everyone should feel squeeze after a few feet. Equalization is necessary if you do not want to suffer any squeeze related injuries.

Freediving or scuba diving makes no difference with regards to the equalization requirement. Pressure impacts the air spaces (ears, sinuses, etc) in the body.

 

[Madwand]

I get that, but the answer to it is to pinch the nose and "blow" and that doesn't do anything.

 

[Hank49]

Try pinching your nose and sucking in. I'm no doctor but I've had the same symptoms that you're describing and it happened after I'd had a sinus infection. If I blew my nose, I would lose hearing as my eardrum bowed outward but my eustacian tube was too clogged to allow the pressure back down to my throat. I'd have to pinch my nose and suck in so I could hear.
But the main thing is, get rid of the sinus block.

 

[AfterDark]

I get that, but the answer to it is to pinch the nose and "blow" and that doesn't do anything.

Only for the ears. The sinus either equalize or don't, you can't make them equalize.

 

[Madwand]

Just to follow up, I went to the ENT today. He cleaned a pile of wax out of each ear which I expected, so at least I won't have that problem again.

For the sinus thing, he said to do both Afrin and Mucinex while on my trip and said if that doesn't help, he'll do a CAT scan to see if I anything can be done inside. That may be something for the long run as I don't do these snorkeling trips but once every few years.

Thanks for your ideas.