Ear infections

[joe27march]

should a 13 yo say hurt like hell. Wait I said worse, but still........ One of the last dives I did in FL was a little rough in that I had to stop at just over 20 ft because of ear pain. Then suddenly it cleared and I could join the dive. Then last year I learned it is due to TMJ because I grit my teeth (little stress in life).

 

[Fishpie]

As a dive pro you are doing 3 or 4 dives a day 5 or 6 days a week it is almost inevitable that you will get ear infections even with the alcohol/vinegar rise and dry.
If you're not diving it's filling tanks and mending gear...no fun and no tips.
Those little red pills are your best friend. They'll get you diving but won't be a cure. Get your hands on some antibiotics and keep a 5 to 7 day course on hand...cipro works well for me, but see if get your doctor to prescribe some extras.
Use common sense...if it doesn't feeol like a normal infection or you start running a high fever get some expert treatment.

 

[JDMerk]

Im lucky enough to have never had an ear infection, however if I did I would thumb the dive. There is no sense in risking your hearing for a dive. Seeing that you dive for a living however I would see an ENT as soon as I saw trouble coming in hopes of keeping me in the water or getting me back ASAP.

 

[Crowley]

Have to agree with Daphne, er, kiddies! (Nice guitar by the way!)

If you've got an ear infection - stay out of the water (don't even wet your ear in the shower). Get on the antibiotics, see a doctor/ENT as soon as possible if it doesn't go away. Ear infections can lead to permanent damage and hearing loss and may be contraindicated to diving in certain circumstances.

I'm an instructor also, and I sympathise - so I know time off costs you money - but three days off in bed with super toxic antibiotics is waaaaaay better than a potential two months or more out of the water with perforated ear drums.

...advice from experience...!

Dive painlessly,

C.

PS As always if you have any questions feel free to PM me... here to help

 

[Kupu]

Crowley is correct, ignoring persistent ear pain will cost you. See a doctor and get treatment if necessary. The quicker antibiotics are applied, the sooner the problem can be resolved. A few days can make the difference between 1 week of no diving vs 2 months no diving.

 

[mgmonk]

Anyway, I took most of your advice without reading it. I took myself out of the water for three days and stuck to academics only, then went on a visa run to Malaysia. By the time I got back to Lanta, the antibiotics and the rest had done it's toll. I'm back in the water today and it felt great to be diving again and back to work.

Cheers for all the helpful comments.

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

This topic probably belongs in Marine Science - Dive Medicine. The OP's problem does not sound like the typical instructor/guide ear infection problem. In Hawaii many people (not just dive instructors) who spend a lot of time in or on the water experience sporadic ear infections. The prevalence seems to go up as the amount of contaminated run-off goes up.

I have had chronic swimmers ear since at least my early teens. My ear infections might almost be called continuous events during summer aau seasons as a youngster and for the last 7 years as an instructor. Before becoming an instructor I spent enough time in the water to have many individual bouts.

In all cases, the most knowledgeable doctors have stressed NOT jumping the gun on the use of antibiotics. The more you use them the less effective they become. With regard to full time working divers with chronic swimmers ear I can attest to the fact that working hurt is a fact of life for many instructors.

When I lived on the North Shore of Oahu my doctor was also the doctor for many pro surfers, career lifeguards, freedivers and paddlers, and was an avid participant himself. His advise was to treat mostly based on PH.

The infection requires a narrow range of PH to live; if you maintain a PH outside that range it can't thrive. The infection also likes a warm wet environment; all we can do is make it drier. This is a fine line, as the ear drum is not supposed to be "dry" per say. The ear beer mix of 50/50 vinegar/isopropyl alcohol is a very popular solution.

I can feel the ear infection most of the time, threatening to be painful. I am a notorious procrastinator; I hope my immune system can handle it. My understanding is that by letting my immune system do it's job it gets better at it. On the rare occasion when the pain approaches uncomfortable, I can spend 2 nights soaking each ear twice with my ear beer and it retreats to the edge of my radar.

I have known many who use the beer each time they go in the water, some who even use it before & after each exposure.

 

[Jmarsland]

I'm not a doctor, but I do have a minor in audiology and spend a great deal of time testing hearing and looking at the inner ear. The past few months I've had a serious head cold and burst my eardrums just by coughing 3 times and I know I can't get in the water.

Past of the problems that can be presented with inner and outer ear infections include:

Outer ear, can become blocked and any increased pressure in a blockage can cause perforation, small or large. Not to mention the hearing impairment (though with a blockage it is usually temporary) that goes along with blockages.

Inner ear: Constant and or re-occurring infections can cause scaring on the tympanic membrane (ear drum) and other inner ear structures, this leads to permanent hearing loss and can be quite uncomfortable. The inner ear is a structure of bones and tissues and hair, there is a tube in the back that in adults drains down into the throat. This is the tube that is associated with many childhood infections, usually needing "tubes" inserted into the ear drum to provide drainage. As we get older our tubes dip more downwards towards out throat.
With that said, an infection can get so severe that it can travel to the throat, (very uncomfortable) or it can even travel to the brain causing a severe infection, that infection can be fatal if not treated immediately.

So, that wasn't to scare anyone, most ear infections are minor to moderate and brain infections caused by them is very rare, but it can happen.

At my LDS they have ear plugs that prevent water from entering the canal, they do allow for hearing though which we know is important.

Remember: Don't use q-tips to clean the ear, it can perforate the tympanic membrane or it can cause a blockage of ear wax or whatever else might be in there. And, do try and keep the cavity dry when out of water.

Other than that, I hope the information helps and Safe Diving all!

 

[stingray70]

Your post reminded me of a time a few buddies and I were down in the Caribbean. On the last night (after last dive before next day's flight), I was in screaming pain from an ear infection. As soon as I got home, I went to the MD. He cleaned it out, prescibed some intensed antibiotics and some fine pain-killers. Then he asked me: "If you were a bacterium, which thrives in warm moist places, could you think of a better place to live than a diver's ear in the tropics?" Well, duh, I guess roger that, good MD. Then he advised me, "Use some of that swim-ear or other alcohol based product after each dive, and use you hotel room's hair dryer on your ear to dry it out. Good Doctor! I've never suffered since. Hope this helps.

 

[Dtaine]

If one were younger and hipper...
you might just say that we've been schooled

Anyway - I had an ear infection this year that I got right before going to Roatan for a diving vacation. Took some antibiotics, and they were clearing it up, but I still got a reverse block on one of my early dives. Painful, but I didn't rupture anything and it cleared up about two days into the trip. My feeling on the issue is that everyone should gauge their own level of comfort but be careful not to push the ear too far.

Being out a week with an infection still beats being out a month with a ruptured eardrum.