What is wrong with my ear?

[Father]

I did a search for "ear" and found a lot of results but most seem to be pain or other things.

Probably 50% of my dives, usually about halfway through, I get a "squealing" in my left ear. Kind of like I have congestion and it's making this noise while trying to clear. But I'm not always congested. This has been going on for a while... I just have been too busy to go to the doctor.

I haven't been able to figure out what causes it. I can be at the same depth for the majority of my dive and it'll just start screaching for no apparent reason.

I've tried dripping isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol in my ear after a dive but it doesn't seem to work.

It generally doesn't cause me any pain, but it can be very "loud" and annoying most times.

Any idea what this is?

And yes... I'll probably be going to get it looked at soon but wanted to see if anyone has an experience with it.

 

[TSandM]

Generally, a sound like that is air squeaking its way through the Eustachian tube. You may THINK you are at the same depth, but you might be changing just a wee bit -- either that or you hadn't quite equalized for that depth, and your ear is finally getting it done.

As long as you can equalize, there is no discomfort, and you don't end up with a full or muffled feeling in your ear at the end of the dive, this is no big deal. It's just how your anatomy works.