Yet another ear thread

[Baconated]

Hi all,

On March 23th I did a single slow dive to about 65 feet. I felt fine and didn't have any problems clearing. The next day I woke up and my right ear would crackle and pop whenever I yawned or swallowed but there was no pain or ringing or anything else. If I yawned just right it would sound like my head was in a bucket. After a week I saw my doc who looked in my ear and said the drum looked fine and to try Sudafed for a few days, and if things didn't clear up to see an ENT.

I saw an ENT (who dives) about a week later and he looked in the ear and, again, said the drum looks fine and couldn't see any inflammation or fluid buildup. He diagnosed it as a "dysfunctional eustation tube" and put me on Nasonex, with an appointment to stick a probe up my nose in a few weeks if it didn't get better.

So, here it is just over a month after the incident and the crackling is no worse but no better either. The Nasonex hasn't really done anything as far as I can tell. Tomorrow is probe day.

I haven't been in the water since it happened. Since I've had two doctors say the drum is OK but the crackling hasn't gotten any better or worse what could I be looking at here? What should I be asking the doctor tomorrow?

Thanks
Nathan

 

[Aussie scuba chick]

Mate, it sounds like you've done some damage regardless of what the ENT suggests.

Try an anti-histamine (24 hour non-drowsy) for a day or two to see if there's any improvement. If there's not, then it's unlikely that it's related to congestion, and the Nasonex definitely won't work. If it's still playing up after the anti-histamine, then get a second opinion. Don't go diving again until you know for sure, because you could do irreversible damage.

Good luck!

 

[DandyDon]

I see that you're both kinda new to diving. Sometimes antihistamines help; sometimes they don't much. I have no idea what the air was like in Martinez, CA on March 23 but springtime does bring woes to some of us. I've been dealing with an acute hay fever attack for 24 hours now, starting to break up as these always do, and I always get these in the spring.

My dive bud and I take generic sudafed combined with antihistamines the night before and morning before diving except for the last day of the last practice weekend when he forgot - then could not equalize to get to 20 ft. I was on his butt, too: "How can anyone who has ever had an ear problem diving possibly forget to take his allergy meds for diving?!" He pushed his ears too much trying to get down and his ears crackled for a while that I know of.

Also see the link to Equalizing below...

 

[micklock]

I have trouble with my ears also, I use ear candles you can get them at any health food store. You just light one end and stick the other end in your ear and it sucks the wax right out of your head.

 

[DandyDon]

A physician did teach me how to irrigate my ears to remove excess ear wax that I am prone to develope.

Some consider ear candling a hoax. See Ear Candles Exposed

 

[frankc420]

Welcome to my world before Claratin.

Before I started taking it, after a dive my years would clog up the next day, sometimes the same day. I guess the mess in the water irritated my ears.

Hi all,

On March 23th I did a single slow dive to about 65 feet. I felt fine and didn't have any problems clearing. The next day I woke up and my right ear would crackle and pop whenever I yawned or swallowed but there was no pain or ringing or anything else. If I yawned just right it would sound like my head was in a bucket. After a week I saw my doc who looked in my ear and said the drum looked fine and to try Sudafed for a few days, and if things didn't clear up to see an ENT.

I saw an ENT (who dives) about a week later and he looked in the ear and, again, said the drum looks fine and couldn't see any inflammation or fluid buildup. He diagnosed it as a "dysfunctional eustation tube" and put me on Nasonex, with an appointment to stick a probe up my nose in a few weeks if it didn't get better.

So, here it is just over a month after the incident and the crackling is no worse but no better either. The Nasonex hasn't really done anything as far as I can tell. Tomorrow is probe day.

I haven't been in the water since it happened. Since I've had two doctors say the drum is OK but the crackling hasn't gotten any better or worse what could I be looking at here? What should I be asking the doctor tomorrow?

Thanks
Nathan

 

[micklock]

My girlfriend said the same thing. My first dive of the year was 10 min of pain, then I used some candles and have not had a problem since. But thank's for the link I will do some reading up on them.

 

[DandyDon]

Welcome to my world before Claratin.

Before I started taking it, after a dive my years would clog up the next day, sometimes the same day. I guess the mess in the water irritated my ears.

Which Claratin/Claritin do you use? It's a brand name applied to different combinations involving Loratadine antihistamine.

 

[DocVikingo]

Hi micklock,

If you're interested in reading up on ear candles, which IMHO are an incredibly bad idea, here is a more extensive treatment of the issue:

From QuackWatch:

Why Ear Candling Is Not a Good Idea


And a couple of works published in respected medical journals:

1. "Laryngoscope. 1996 Oct;106(10):1226-9.

Ear candles--efficacy and safety.

Seely DR, Quigley SM, Langman AW.

Spokane Ear, Nose, and Throat Clinic, WA 99204, USA.

Ear candles are a popular and inexpensive alternative health treatment advocated for cerumen removal. A hollow candle is burned with one end in the ear canal with the intent of creating negative pressure and drawing cerumen from the ear. If effective, significant savings could result from the use of ear candles. This study evaluates the efficacy and safety of this alternative method for cerumen management. Tympanometric measurements in an ear canal model demonstrated that ear candles do not produce negative pressure. A limited clinical trial (eight ears) showed no removal of cerumen from the external auditory canal. Candle wax was actually deposited in some. A survey of 122 otolaryngologists identified 21 ear injuries resulting from ear candle use. Ear candles have no benefit in the management of cerumen and may result in serious injury."

2. J Laryngol Otol. 2004 Jan;118(1):1-2.
Ear candles: a triumph of ignorance over science.Ernst E.

Complementary Medicine, Peninsula Medical School, Universities of Exeter & Plymouth, Exeter, UK. Edzard.Ernst@pms.ac.uk

Ear candles are hollow tubes coated in wax which are inserted into patients' ears and then lit at the far end. The procedure is used as a complementary therapy for a wide range of conditions. A critical assessment of the evidence shows that its mode of action is implausible and demonstrably wrong. There are no data to suggest that it is effective for any condition. Furthermore, ear candles have been associated with ear injuries. The inescapable conclusion is that ear candles do more harm than good. Their use should be discouraged."

Regards,

DocVikingo

 

[Baconated]

A month of problems is pretty different from a day. I've had the occasional day or two of crackling after a dive but nothing like this. Anyway, I had the nose probe and a hearing test and some kind of pressure test and a few other things checked yesterday. Everything is fine, the drum is still fine, but I'm still crackling. I'm on a 6 day course of an oral steroid to try and cut down on any inflammation that might be going on, but if that doesn't clear things up the ENT is stumped. I'll see how it goes.

I thought about allergies as someone had suggested, but this would be the first time I've suffered from them. I've lived in the area for 26 years, so maybe it is time. On the other hand for it to hit the day after a dive is odd. Since the ear is clearing OK (just crackly) I've been given the OK to try a dive after the course of roids finishes.

Oh, and if you ever get a several inch rod of rigid metal shoved up your nose it will tickle, slightly hurt, and make you want to sneeze. The thought came to me though that if I sneezed I would end up with a metal rod popping out of my eye, so I refrained.

Nathan