SouthSideScubaSteve
Contributor
In the summer of 07 our family took a cruise/land tour of Alaska; at one of the ports we did a helicopter trip that took us out and landed on 2 separate glaciers (if you get the chance, I highly recommend it) The next morning, my wife woke up with a bump behind her left ear that was sensitive to the touch and accompanied by severe headaches that came and went a few days alter we were back home in the south Chicago suburbs and it still hadn't gone way, so she went to an ENT who was recommended by a friend. They did a CT, MRI, X-rays and never came up with a diagnoses, all the while she did 2 rounds of antibiotics over an 8 week period. Then almost as quickly as it appeared, it faded away over a couple of days
Fast forward to March/April of 08 when we both, along with my daughter, did our open water classes and pool work. With all the time we spent in the pool, she didn't have a hint of a problem. Then in mid-June we went to the quarry to do our checkout dives, she descended, along with me to the platform at 25 ft; but our daughter couldn't get past 10ft because her ears wouldn't clear. Because our daughter was only 11 at the time, we decided one of us would sit out with her that day and try again another weekend (being fathers day weekend, and given that getting certified was my idea, I got to dive and she sat out). The next morning when she woke, the bump behind her ear was back, along with the sensitivity to ouch and the headaches!! Same drill as the summer of ?7, with a different ENT and our family Dr; batteries of tests and no firm diagnoses, but after a while it just faded away. The weird thing is, now if she puts her head underwater, even only a few inches when in our hot tub, the swelling is back the next day! I would really like to see her find resolution for this issue, first because it's extremely painful for her and secondly because I really would like to have a permanent dive buddy (it will make it easier to justify the vacations!)We think it's related to a problem with the mastoid, but the 2 ENTs she's seen seem to be grasping at straws; and so am I
Any thoughts as to what may be causing the bump behind her ear and why does it seem to just suddenly fade away without correlation to treatment or activity (at least that we can find)?? Or better yet, is there an ENT in the South Chicago Suburbs who also understands "Dive medicine" that someone can refer us to?
Fast forward to March/April of 08 when we both, along with my daughter, did our open water classes and pool work. With all the time we spent in the pool, she didn't have a hint of a problem. Then in mid-June we went to the quarry to do our checkout dives, she descended, along with me to the platform at 25 ft; but our daughter couldn't get past 10ft because her ears wouldn't clear. Because our daughter was only 11 at the time, we decided one of us would sit out with her that day and try again another weekend (being fathers day weekend, and given that getting certified was my idea, I got to dive and she sat out). The next morning when she woke, the bump behind her ear was back, along with the sensitivity to ouch and the headaches!! Same drill as the summer of ?7, with a different ENT and our family Dr; batteries of tests and no firm diagnoses, but after a while it just faded away. The weird thing is, now if she puts her head underwater, even only a few inches when in our hot tub, the swelling is back the next day! I would really like to see her find resolution for this issue, first because it's extremely painful for her and secondly because I really would like to have a permanent dive buddy (it will make it easier to justify the vacations!)We think it's related to a problem with the mastoid, but the 2 ENTs she's seen seem to be grasping at straws; and so am I
Any thoughts as to what may be causing the bump behind her ear and why does it seem to just suddenly fade away without correlation to treatment or activity (at least that we can find)?? Or better yet, is there an ENT in the South Chicago Suburbs who also understands "Dive medicine" that someone can refer us to?
