My ear is stopped up??

[tridacna]

If you haven't been there yet, go to;
http://faculty.washington.edu/ekay/index.html
and watch the streaming video.

The video is great. I watched it several months ago. My favorite thing is the person signing the lecture for the "hearing impaired". I know that this is probably big-time PI but...why.....? If you're already deaf, why worry about clearing your ears? What's the worst case scenario here? Losing your hearing? Wait, they're already deaf!!!

OK..ok...I'm being facetious. No hate mail please.

 

[DandyDon]

The video is great. I watched it several months ago. My favorite thing is the person signing the lecture for the "hearing impaired". I know that this is probably big-time PI but...why.....? If you're already deaf, why worry about clearing your ears? What's the worst case scenario here? Losing your hearing? Wait, they're already deaf!!!

OK..ok...I'm being facetious. No hate mail please.

The Pain, man - the pain...

 

[Andrew Richardson]

Don't be dumb - see a doctor experienced in dive medicine.

I came up from diving & had a bit of congestion in my ears. No big deal I thought. Next weekend I took the kids to the pool. I did some free diving to 12ft. Again, no big deal. Felt a squeeze - inflated my ears. No big deal, I thought.

Turned out I developed labrynthitis from barotrauma. Best you look these up if you don't know what they mean. Symptoms- fullness in my ears - I felt a strong need to keep equalizing. Deafness. pain - ache on the outside & around the ear like someone hit me. NO dizziness - everyone kept asking. Tinnitus (loud enough to keep me awake). But worst of all - anxiety - it was almost incapacitating. Definitely interfeared with sleep. Turns out this is a symptom of labrynthitis. 4 weeks and its all gone - Yeah.

In the first week I went to my regular doctor who said "ear infection" steriods & antibiotics. Alass - I should have been referred to an ENT to assess for more serious issues. The history alone should have suggested barotrauma. I guess doctors don't know everything.

I contacted DAN after a week & saw a doctor with a diving specialty the next day & he referred me to an ENT by the end of the week.

I took the info back & gave it to my family doctor.

My point - ears are way more important and mucking with them can cause some really nasty symptoms. Don't take chances.

 

[Babs-Would-Be-Diver]

Andrew

I do agree with you. This is the reason my husband can't dive with me. He had an accident snorkelling comin back up from 14 ft. Came up and couldn't equalise when back on the surface. Same symptoms, feel of earblock, water in ear tinitus and he has lost some of the upper frequency hearing in his ear. He is, amongst other things, a musician. Over the years the brain has adjusted but he nearly gave up music in the first year of problems because it had affected his senses so much.

So, I am without my spouse as a buddy. This is a real shame for both of us.

 

[rjpv]

I had a wax problem in one ear - tried the OTC stuff and it cleared up within a couple hours.

 

[Andrew Richardson]

I managed to recover the first time, went to Barbados for Easter weekend to complete my check out dives - successful & no ear problems.

On the way home, I got caught unprepared by the descent into Pearson (Toronto) and hurt my ears again. Just in the final stages of recovering again.

Without meaning disrespect - wax in the ear is a whole lot different from middle ear barotrauma. Laymans language - you bruise your middle ear. That said, even this is mild compared to inner ear trauma, namely a rupture of the windows. Just FYI - a rutured ear drum is also on the mild end of ear problems.

I am lucky - just bruised and no ruture but in case your ever thinking about just risking it - don't. Even with this it is horrible. Think ear infection that lasts for months. Oh yeah, and the symptom that no one told me about was acute anxiety in the early stages.

Good news for me is I should be able to dive as long as I am really careful about equalizing. Hardest part for me is the first few feet while my ears are getting wet. Also prefer to be below 30 ft as the pressure changes are not so quick.