Think I suffered ear Barotrauma last Saturday when getting certified.

[Duke Dive Medicine]

There might be hope for me then. Thanks for the info. I'm not exactly sure how to differentiate pressure on the ear drum versus the blocked water in ear feeling that I have. Maybe it's both. Did anything help the drain?

@Weekiman , you probably still have fluid in your middle ears. Drops placed in the external ear canal won't help that. I'd recommend you give it a couple of weeks and see how you feel. An occasional gentle Valsalva maneuver (pinch the nose and blow) can help clear the fluid out by briefly pressurizing the middle ear. Do not force it though, as that can result in serious injury to the inner ear. Here's an article with information on barotrauma.

Best regards,
DDM

 

[Weekiman]

@Weekiman , you probably still have fluid in your middle ears. Drops placed in the external ear canal won't help that. I'd recommend you give it a couple of weeks and see how you feel. An occasional gentle Valsalva maneuver (pinch the nose and blow) can help clear the fluid out by briefly pressurizing the middle ear. Do not force it though, as that can result in serious injury to the inner ear. Here's an article with information on barotrauma: https://www.diveassure.com/wp-conte...s-Eric-Hexdall-RN-CHRN-Duke-Dive-Medicine.pdf

Thanks for the info, for some reason doing the Valsalva maneuver gently blowing into a tissue seems to give it the right amount of back pressure to pop, crack and clear a small amount. Otherwise if I block nose completely I don't get any pop or crack. Reminds me when I have a bad head cold and if I blow hard it's extremely painful. I'm not doing this now. Just remembering when I've done it in the past by accident. When sick gently blowing through a tissue I get a significant amount of pop, crack, wheezing.

 

[Duke Dive Medicine]

Thanks for the info, for some reason doing the Valsalva maneuver gently blowing into a tissue seems to give it the right amount of back pressure to pop, crack and clear a small amount. Otherwise if I block nose completely I don't get any pop or crack. Reminds me when I have a bad head cold and if I blow hard it's extremely painful. I'm not doing this now. Just remembering when I've done it in the past by accident. When sick gently blowing through a tissue I get a significant amount of pop, crack, wheezing.

Sounds like you have a good handle on it. Don't overdo it, and expect it to take at least a couple of weeks for the inflammation to go down, maybe even longer.

Best regards,
DDM

 

[Weekiman]

Sounds like you have a good handle on it. Don't overdo it, and expect it to take at least a couple of weeks for the inflammation to go down, maybe even longer.

Best regards,
DDM

Thanks DDM, appreciate you sharing this info.

 

[Dan]

There might be hope for me then. Thanks for the info. I'm not exactly sure how to differentiate pressure on the ear drum versus the blocked water in ear feeling that I have. Maybe it's both. Did anything help the drain?

Time.

 

[Weekiman]

Doing a search a couple days ago thought I saw someone mention SCUBA ENT Dr list on the board. Does one exist?

 

[Weekiman]

Hey y'all just want to report my ears cleared a couple days ago. Still the last two morning I'd say I was about 20% blocked. Did the Valsalva some pop, crack, and everything cleared again. I'm not sure what the significance of the morning is. Thanks for all the info!

 

[rsingler]

@doctormike

 

[tbone1004]

a formal list does not, however DAN does maintain a list

 

[doctormike]

Hello! I'm not trained in dive / hyperbaric medicine, I'm a pediatric ENT doc who occasionally sees adult divers for minor stuff. But maybe I can either help or point you in the right direction. Feel free to PM me.