water in inner ear

[rbyeab]

My first post. Just got my open water. After my last certification dive, I ended up with water in my right inner ear, according to my ear doctor. He wasnt able to give me much of an explanation of how that happened ( dont think he is very familiar with diving) other than to say I did not have barotrauma but was not clearing properly. Not sure I got great instruction, but after reading up I think I know more about the ear and clearing properly, but I am concerned about how I got this and whether it will happen again. Other symptoms were a little bloody nose and bloodly mucus, and tinnitus. Already had tinnitus a bit but it is somewhat worse. I am just over a week later and tinnitus a little better. I can inflate the ear now and it is not blocked, but still seems a little full. Any ideas out there? Thanks. If I need to see a dive oriented ear doc, where do I find one?

Rick in Seattle

 

[trigfunctions]

Don't mess with your ears. Call the Divers Alert Network (DAN) at 1-800-446-2671.

 

[Green_Manelishi]

My first post. Just got my open water. After my last certification dive, I ended up with water in my right inner ear, according to my ear doctor. He wasnt able to give me much of an explanation of how that happened ( dont think he is very familiar with diving) other than to say I did not have barotrauma but was not clearing properly. Not sure I got great instruction, but after reading up I think I know more about the ear and clearing properly, but I am concerned about how I got this and whether it will happen again. Other symptoms were a little bloody nose and bloodly mucus, and tinnitus. Already had tinnitus a bit but it is somewhat worse. I am just over a week later and tinnitus a little better. I can inflate the ear now and it is not blocked, but still seems a little full. Any ideas out there? Thanks. If I need to see a dive oriented ear doc, where do I find one?

Rick in Seattle

Water? Or FLUID?

Inner ear or middle ear?

Fluid is constantly being produced in the middle ear and it is supposed to flow down the eust-tubes and into your throat; it helps keep the area free of nasties. If your eust-tubes are blocked the fluid will not flow out. Over-enthusiastic equalization can cause problems as well.

It's possible to have damage to your eardrum that is not visible. I know because I've had the damage due to middle ear infections. Even though the eardrum looked intact it was found to be not intact when further tests were conducted.

I recommend contacting DAN and locating an ENT in your area that knows ears and diving.

 

[DandyDon]

It's very common for a newbie to equalize poorly and have ear problems. PipeDope has a link to a great video about this. [-]I'll try to find it for you...[/-] Found it: http://faculty.washington.edu/ekay/index.html

 

[jjdub]

My first post. Just got my open water. After my last certification dive, I ended up with water in my right inner ear, according to my ear doctor. He wasnt able to give me much of an explanation of how that happened ( dont think he is very familiar with diving) other than to say I did not have barotrauma but was not clearing properly. Not sure I got great instruction, but after reading up I think I know more about the ear and clearing properly, but I am concerned about how I got this and whether it will happen again. Other symptoms were a little bloody nose and bloodly mucus, and tinnitus. Already had tinnitus a bit but it is somewhat worse. I am just over a week later and tinnitus a little better. I can inflate the ear now and it is not blocked, but still seems a little full. Any ideas out there? Thanks. If I need to see a dive oriented ear doc, where do I find one?

Rick in Seattle

I forced some ocean water into my middle ear a couple of months ago when I didn't notice that I had a small puddle in the nose of my mask. I forced water from my nostrils and some ended up in my middle ear (it was a very loud arrival). I dealt with a wonderful ear infection/sinus infection combo for about 6 weeks. I haven't talked to anyone that has experienced this, but my doctor had another diving patient do the same thing about a year ago.

 

[rbyeab]

Thanks to all responders. I called DAN and got some great advice. Dandy Don's post led me to the right doctor here in Seattle that I can see if I think I still need to.

 

[DeltaWardog]

That was a fantastic video. Thanks for linking it. I think my wife and I finally know how to equalize now!

 

[Ed Jackson1]

My first post. Just got my open water. After my last certification dive, I ended up with water in my right inner ear, according to my ear doctor. He wasnt able to give me much of an explanation of how that happened ( dont think he is very familiar with diving) other than to say I did not have barotrauma but was not clearing properly. Not sure I got great instruction, but after reading up I think I know more about the ear and clearing properly, but I am concerned about how I got this and whether it will happen again. Other symptoms were a little bloody nose and bloodly mucus, and tinnitus. Already had tinnitus a bit but it is somewhat worse. I am just over a week later and tinnitus a little better. I can inflate the ear now and it is not blocked, but still seems a little full. Any ideas out there? Thanks. If I need to see a dive oriented ear doc, where do I find one?

Rick in Seattle

Nope. You probably have inner ear barotrauma. What the doc meant was you do not have an ear drum perforation. Not clearing properly is barotrauma.