Stopped up ears after certification dive

[mallbritton]

Last weekend (the 2nd and 3rd) to took my open water certification classes, and passed, in Monterey Bay. However for the past week I've had water draining from my ears and clogged up ears; I've felt like I've had earplugs in. In went to the doctor this past Friday and was diagnosed with "otitis externa" also known as eustachian tube congestion. I was prescribed some ear drops to clear up the problem. Hopefully it will be less than another week.

Since the NP is not an expert in dive medicine she wasn't able to tell me the best way to prevent this from happening again. I really like this new hobby and have invested not only time but a bit of money into it and want to continue.

So what might be some options I have to prevent this type of thing from happening on a regular basis. I already am going to miss a fun dive sponsored by my LDS this month. Any advice would be appreciated.

Regards,
Michael

 

[DandyDon]

Good that you went to the doc. I have been known to wait until I couldn't stand the pain any more; ended up in any doc's office on the verge of tears.

Swimmer's Ear was never a problem for me before Scuba, but developed. The best prevention is to rinse your ears early & often with a mix of 1/3 alcohol, 1/3 white vinegar, and 1/3 water, or half and half 50% alcohol and 4% vinegar. There are commercial products but they don't contain vinegar as it breaks down in this solution; the mix you make is good for 30 days or so, and it's virtually free to make. The Navy requires divers to treat each ear 3 minutes a day but I'm too lazy so I just rinse after ever dive or shower of a dive trip.

My favorite treatment as a patient has been oral antibiotics and ear drops with antibiotics & steroids, but follow your doc's order if they work.

It's a shame that more Insts don't warn about this, or the other common ear problem: watch this video

 

[mallbritton]

I will definitely do what the Doc says.

I haven't had any pain, except on Saturday night, all week. Fortunately. I just sound like I'm in the bottom of a barrel.

Thanks for the tip about the ear wash. I'll look into that a bit more.

Regards,
Michael

 

[flots am]

Last weekend (the 2nd and 3rd) to took my open water certification classes, and passed, in Monterey Bay. However for the past week I've had water draining from my ears and clogged up ears; I've felt like I've had earplugs in. In went to the doctor this past Friday and was diagnosed with "otitis externa" also known as eustachian tube congestion. I was prescribed some ear drops to clear up the problem. Hopefully it will be less than another week.

First, I'm not a doctor.

Your eustachian tube opens to the inside of your ear and is connected to the air space in your head, near the upper back portion of your throat, while "otitis externa" is an infection of the outer ear canal (the part that faces the water while diving.)

The inner ear is separated from the outer ear by the eardrum, and they are not connected unless you managed to rupture your eardrum.

If your doctor said they were the same thing, he's wrong (or you understood him incorrectly, which is more likely). In any case, you might want to check back with him for clarification.

You can avoid this in the future by learning how to equalize the pressure on the outside of your ear with the pressure on the inside. Doc's Diving Medicine Home Page is a great reference on how to avoid the problem that you're now experiencing.

SCUBA should never hurt.

flots.

 

[TSandM]

I agree; either the practitioner was confused, or you are confused about what was said to you. The Eustachian tube connects the middle ear with the back of the throat, or pharynx; it's the tube that permits equalization of pressures. The external auditory canal goes from the outer, visible ear to the eardrum, and can get irritated or infected from diving. This condition is called otitis externa, and is quite painful. If the swelling is severe, you CAN get some diminished hearing from it, but when it is that bad, they generally have to place a wick to get the antibiotic drops into the canal. Did they do that?

I have a little essay (which I ought to revise and make clearer) on the difference between the two conditions.

Dr. Kay's video (already linked) is very good, as is THIS DAN article.

If this is otitis externa, then making sure your ears are as dry as possible after diving is a good preventative measure, as is an earwash (there are many recipes, but don't use pure alcohol or pure peroxide, because they are too corrosive). If it is barotrauma (which is far more likely with a new diver and only a couple of dives) then better equalization technique is the prevention.

 

[knowone]

Allow your body to become accustomed to having the head spaces pushed and pulled and flushed utilising the ocean's natural ingredients before becoming overly reliant on other foreign concoctions

 

[DandyDon]

Allow your body to become accustomed to having the head spaces pushed and pulled and flushed utilising the ocean's natural ingredients before becoming overly reliant on other foreign concoctions

I think that's exactly how my instances with Swimmers Ear became more common. I never had a problem swimming or snorkeling, but the more I got into Scuba - the more frequent they became. There is nothing natural about Scuba.

Now, whether he actually has Swimmers Ear or deeper problems, or the physician knew what he was doing, is between him and his doc. Since he had the technical name, I accepted that's what his doc said.

 

[mallbritton]

It is certainly possible I have misinterpreted the diagnosis. I am reading off the sheet of paper I was given on which the diagnosis is written "otitis externa, eustachian tube congestion." The NP told me my eardrums are intact.

I know I can get some ear plugs that don't let the water in as fast. Would it be worth me looking into that?

Regards,
Michael

 

[knowone]

Your problem is inside your head. No plugs.
Do somersaults in a pool to flush the bog out.
Go diving.

 

[TSandM]

Well, again, the combination of those two phrases makes me wonder if the physician who examined you made a correct diagnosis. They do not necessarily go together.