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BTW, several of the posters here telling you to see a doctor are physicians themselves.
Inner Ear Barotrauma Cure
- Thread starter jonsales1973
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OP
jonsales1973
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Thanks for all the help 
We are making plans to go back to the Uk within the next few weeks. I have private medical insurance there which covers everything in the UK.
As soon as the flight is booked for the dogs we will be on our way. Hopefully within the next few weeks.
In the mean time I am going to keep studying the theory and do all my theory exams then at least when my ears are better I can get the dives done and all the practical.
Sound good?
We are making plans to go back to the Uk within the next few weeks. I have private medical insurance there which covers everything in the UK.
As soon as the flight is booked for the dogs we will be on our way. Hopefully within the next few weeks.
In the mean time I am going to keep studying the theory and do all my theory exams then at least when my ears are better I can get the dives done and all the practical.
Sound good?
Sounds like a plan! And in addition to the reading for your DM exam, you can also spend some profitable time on line. Do some reading on decompression -- look up Erik Baker's papers. Go to places like Gareth Burrows' website or NW Grateful Diver's website, and read some excellent articles about buoyancy and other diving skills. Watch the 5thD-X videos on line. You can keep yourself thoroughly amused (and educated!) on line while you are healing.
OP
jonsales1973
Registered
Thanks for all the help and advice guys, much appreciated
Jon,
I read your post a couple of months ago but did not add a reply because I was in the middle of recovering from a Middle Ear Barotrauma that occurred at the end of January this year. I was diving in Phuket Thailand. I had some mild congestion the week before diving but it cleared up. On the second dive I performed a roll and got water in my right ear. This caused some increased force while clearing my right ear along with the same bubbling/cracking sound you had. At the end of the dive my right ear felt full like I had water in it. Everything went seriously down hill from here on in. That night the pain in my ear increased and the flight back to Singapore from Phuket the next evening after the dive was torture. I had to see an ENT the next day in Singapore and he took some pictures of my ear drum. It was bulged out like a heart muscle. He also said that my Eustacian Tube was very swollen which probably caused the equalization problem. My ear drum ruptured the next morning with pink fluid leaking out my ear. The pressure was gone and I did start to feel better but then the hearing problems increased with tinnitus. My Singapore vacation ended and I saw an ENT within 2 weeks of returning to the US. He was not trained in Ear Barotrauma and could not answer my questions other than telling me I had severe hearing loss in the right ear. Over the course of the next 5 months my ear returned to normal, tinnitus went away along with the constant popping. I recently saw a DAN certified ENT who is also a diver. This guy really knew his stuff. He diagnosed seasonal allergies and set me up with a plan and some meds to make my risk of re-injury low. The point I am trying to make is that I was really, really lucky. They performed a hearing test and verified that my hearing had returned to a level matching my left ear. He said most people don't get this lucky. I did not read all the follow-ups in this thread but if you haven't yet done it. I would call DAN and find a doctor that has the extra training to answer your questions. It isn't worth losing your hearing over.
I read your post a couple of months ago but did not add a reply because I was in the middle of recovering from a Middle Ear Barotrauma that occurred at the end of January this year. I was diving in Phuket Thailand. I had some mild congestion the week before diving but it cleared up. On the second dive I performed a roll and got water in my right ear. This caused some increased force while clearing my right ear along with the same bubbling/cracking sound you had. At the end of the dive my right ear felt full like I had water in it. Everything went seriously down hill from here on in. That night the pain in my ear increased and the flight back to Singapore from Phuket the next evening after the dive was torture. I had to see an ENT the next day in Singapore and he took some pictures of my ear drum. It was bulged out like a heart muscle. He also said that my Eustacian Tube was very swollen which probably caused the equalization problem. My ear drum ruptured the next morning with pink fluid leaking out my ear. The pressure was gone and I did start to feel better but then the hearing problems increased with tinnitus. My Singapore vacation ended and I saw an ENT within 2 weeks of returning to the US. He was not trained in Ear Barotrauma and could not answer my questions other than telling me I had severe hearing loss in the right ear. Over the course of the next 5 months my ear returned to normal, tinnitus went away along with the constant popping. I recently saw a DAN certified ENT who is also a diver. This guy really knew his stuff. He diagnosed seasonal allergies and set me up with a plan and some meds to make my risk of re-injury low. The point I am trying to make is that I was really, really lucky. They performed a hearing test and verified that my hearing had returned to a level matching my left ear. He said most people don't get this lucky. I did not read all the follow-ups in this thread but if you haven't yet done it. I would call DAN and find a doctor that has the extra training to answer your questions. It isn't worth losing your hearing over.
I just wanted to update this, I just dove for the first time 11/13/22 since Covid started in 2020, my ear healed completely and with minor loss of hearing. The DAN ENT told me I was very lucky. I will never again dive with any congestion. I learned my lesson the hard way, in the end it doesn't matter how much you spent on the trip or tickets, if your tubes aren't opening easily stop the dive. The aggravation in the short term will never add up to the pain and recovery suffered over a long term recovery from an injured ear drum. In the last 8 yrs I have been doing more snorkel trips than diving trips since my 2 kids aren't cert'ed yet but my tubes have been good.
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