Just completed my PADI Open Water and Advanced back to back - now have vertigo and blocked ear

[Rizalata]

Hi all, I am completely new to diving and this forum and would be grateful for the thoughts of experienced individuals here!

I completed an OW and AOW course in Malta which saw me do 9 dives in 5 days, with a maximum descent of 30m. I did have some equalization issues and for the last two dives my left ear was painful as I ascended from the 6m point to the surface and when I reached the top I had loud crackling/fizzing noises coming from my ear.

A day after the dive I started experiencing vertigo and dizziness and when I finally went on my flight back to the UK from Malta my left ear was in a lot of pain as the plane ascended. As soon as I landed I called my local hospital which has a decompression unit and a special dive department and they said I should come in for an immediate decompression in case it was DCI causing it. I had a 5-hour decompression and the issue of the crackling/fizzing noise came back again as the decompression was coming to an end and I was ascending.

It did not solve the issue of my vertigo and the pain in my left ear, however, the doctor said as the 5-hour decompression did not improve anything it does not seem to be a DCI issue. I have been given meds for the vertigo and told to visit a ear specialist in 2 weeks to assess how I am doing. Just a bit nervous as this was my first dive and all of this is totally new to me and I am not quite sure what to do.

When I was diving we had a slow ascend and we did a 3 minute stop at 6m for dives. Any thoughts on what this might be and whether I should get someone else to look at my ear? A check by the doctor said that he saw no damage to the ear drum so I am not sure what is causing this and the vertigo issues!

Thanks for reading!

 

[Duke Dive Medicine]

Rizalata, I'm assuming that this just happened. If so you need to be worked up immediately by an ENT physician who specializes in diving injuries. 2 weeks is too long to wait. You may be suffering from inner ear barotrauma, and rapid surgical intervention may be indicated if your symptoms don't resolve. The facility you were treated at should have a recommendation for a specialist.

Best regards,
DDM

 

[Dan]

Common newbie diver problem:
Common Ear Injuries While Diving — DAN | Divers Alert Network — Medical Dive Article

Need to get a habit of equalizing your ear every 1m descent, regardless you feel the pressure or not.

After a couple of weeks you should slowly feel better as the water slowly draining out of your middle ear chamber. I had the same problem in my first deep dives up to 30m. I had no more problem after doing the equalization every 1m descent.

If I can't equalize during a descent, I'll cancel the dive. Otherwise I'll get your kind of problem, paint in the ear on ascent.

The article above mentioned that if your ear drum is still intact, the doctor should be able to see fluid behind the ear drum. Apparently the ear drum tissue is thin enough to see through.

 

[drmwc]

Contact London Diving Chamber as soon as practicable. It's NHS, based in St John's Wood.

How to make contact, Contact London Recompression & Hyperbaric facilities - The London Diving Chamber

 

[iamrushman]

i feel bad for you....keep us informed of your progress....good luck at the ENT that it is nothing serious.