Right Ear Blocked/Water in Ear?

[LobstaMan]

Did two dives on Wednesday to 60fsw each(cold). After second dive felt like the hearing in my right ear was muffled. I did have to stop and clear my ears once on descent after right ear wouldn't equalize. At the time it felt like water got in behind my eardrum. Still feels the same way, but I can equalize both ears on land now. Absolutely no pain or discomfort now or then, just an odd sensation like a cotton ball stuck in my ear. This happened once about 12 years ago while diving in CA and it went away by itself(in fact, it was worse that time).

What do I have? Water behind my eardrum? There's no pain now nor was there any at the time, so I really don't believe I have an injury. Can I take one of those ear drying solutions, just wait it out or just see an MD? What about further dives?

Thanks for the advice,

LobstaMan

[SCUBA STEVE]

I am having the same problem right now. Went diving last Sunday everything was fine until Thursday night my left ear felt like it had a lot of pressure on the inside. No pain, still could hear fine. Friday morning woke up for work and started having some pain. Called my ENT, went in and he said my ear canal was starting to close up. So, now I have a wick in my ear can't hear crap, and feels like someone has a knife in my ear turning it. Said it was a nasty case of swimmers ear. MY QUESTION IS- is swimmers ear both the pressure on the inner ear (behind the eardrum) and my ear canal closing up? I have some questions I am going to ask the Dr. when I go back, especially about the mix to wash out your ears. If that will keep this from happening, I will use it after every dive. My advice is go see a ENT.

[RiverRat]

LobstaMan

Yes, go see an ENT. I squeezed my ears during OW dives and it took 3 weeks to heal, no diving. He prescribed Nasonex spray to help open me up. I'm prone to swollen nasal passages from allergies. The idea was the Nasonex "opened me up" to allow better drainage and the ears healed on their own.
Just because you have no pain now and it only feels like water in your ears does not mean you don't have an injury.

SCUBA STEVE
Swimmer's ear is an infection of the outer ear canal. Swelling, itchy, peeling skin. I'm not sure if it can get so bad as to swell the canal closed.
The "mix" you are referring to changes the PH of the ear to kill the infection.
I use 50% vinegar, 50% alcohol. Some folks use peroxide and vinegar. This basically changes the PH of the ear to acidic so the infection can't grow. Commercial products do the same thing.

Ear squeeze is when you fail to equalize properly (unless it's a reverse squeeze) causing pressure on the ear drum resulting in trauma. That trauma in turn causes fluid (plasma) to build up inside the ear causing that "water in the ear" feeling. If you really squeeze your ears bad enough you can rupture the eardrum, causing water to enter. The pain will then go away (you equalized :-)) but you now have a serious problem.

You may have both an infection and a squeeze.

I'm not a doctor so seek out a qualified ENT. There are many posts on the board about this stuff and somewhere there is a link to a good video on ear squeeze and physiology.

Good luck, dive safe

[LobstaMan]

Upon some research on the internet, I believe what I have might be 'Otitis Media w/ effusion'. In other words, water behind the eardrum w/o an ear infection. According to a few web sites, it should go away after two to four weeks or so. That's what happened to me the last time I had this condition.

LobstaMan

[Rick Inman]

Upon some research on the internet, I believe what I have might be 'Otitis Media w/ effusion'. In other words, water behind the eardrum w/o an ear infection. According to a few web sites, it should go away after two to four weeks or so. That's what happened to me the last time I had this condition.

LobstaMan
Ah ha! Me, too. Here is my post in this thread:http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?threadid=68334&s=
Oh, oh. Don't do what I did (and don't show my wife this thread).
I made a shallow dive, 0-25', and we did a lot of up and down to see where we were in the river. After the dive, my left ear was plugged. Didn't hurt, but the hearing was terrible, which was bad news 'cause I spent the next week in the studio mixing with one ear. Not good.
Anyway, the ear stayed plugged about two weeks, and I continued to dive - in fact I did 12 dives like that! You think it's hard to hear with a hood on, try it with one ear plugged!
Finally, after the 12th dive, while driving over a mountain pass at 3200', the ear just cleared right up. That was two weeks ago and I've made several dives with no ill effects.
But, like I said, don't do what I did. Go to a doctor.

[Afraid_of_Fish]

Did two dives on Wednesday to 60fsw each(cold). After second dive felt like the hearing in my right ear was muffled. I did have to stop and clear my ears once on descent after right ear wouldn't equalize. At the time it felt like water got in behind my eardrum. Still feels the same way, but I can equalize both ears on land now. Absolutely no pain or discomfort now or then, just an odd sensation like a cotton ball stuck in my ear. This happened once about 12 years ago while diving in CA and it went away by itself(in fact, it was worse that time).

What do I have? Water behind my eardrum? There's no pain now nor was there any at the time, so I really don't believe I have an injury. Can I take one of those ear drying solutions, just wait it out or just see an MD? What about further dives?

Thanks for the advice,

LobstaMan

This happened to me after my first dive trip to Florida. I went to the doctor and he said (ironicly he is also a diver, so he knows all about it) as long as it wasn't bothering me while I was diving, it was most probably a minor infection (I get those a lot. I have a lot of problems with my ears and diving).
I don't know what your problem was, but it may have been the same thing, as ear infections go away by themselves.

<33 Jess

[fins]

RiverRat,

Nasonex to open up your sinuses?

Just curious, did you ENT say this? The reason I'm asking is I thought nasonex, like flonase is only to block allergens, not to open sinuses.

[LobstaMan]

Rick:

Your story sounds like my last water behind the ear drum experience. If there's no pain, discharge or discomfort in my ear(just an odd muffled feeling), I'll just go with it. But, if I begin to experience one or more of these symptons, I'd go to an MD.

LobstaMan

[fmerkel]

RiverRat,

Nasonex to open up your sinuses?

Just curious, did you ENT say this? The reason I'm asking is I thought nasonex, like flonase is only to block allergens, not to open sinuses.

The allergies cause swelling, thus blocking the sinus passages. The nasal steroids help keep the passages open. I've been using one form or another for years and started using them basicaly for diving.

Fritz Merkel

[SCUBA STEVE]

I CAN HEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Went back to my ENT today (TUES) and he removed the wick from my ear. Told him about the ear wash mix mentioned on here. Said that it was great, gave me a sheet with his on mix on there. I have been in severe pain since FRI., I don't want to go through this again.

[RiverRat]

The allergies cause swelling, thus blocking the sinus passages. The nasal steroids help keep the passages open. I've been using one form or another for years and started using them basicaly for diving.

Fritz Merkel

fmerkel got it. Yes Nasonex is a topical steroid. Does not get absorbed by the body so it does not affect one centrally, although in rare cases it might if for some reason the steroid is absorbed. (stated by the directions in the box) You want to stay away from the over the counter stuff. It affects you centrally and is addicting, requiring more and more of it to even stay normally clear.

[gr8fulr2]

I just got back from the ENT for the same problem. He said it was due to allergies and I would be ok to dive.

[Kaiser]

Something similar happened to me. I think I somehow managed to press water into my inner ear thru the tube during the pressure equalization on descent. Felt like there was a water bubble sloshing around behind my eardrum. I too went to the doc and she just gave a decongestant. The conditions went away after a few weeks.

[fmerkel]

You want to stay away from the over the counter stuff. It affects you centrally and is addicting, requiring more and more of it to even stay normally clear.

Technically, the OTC stuff is not addicting. Afrin has what is called "rebound" and if further overused results in Rhinitis medicamentosa (medication induced rhinitis). It makes the small muscles of the nasal capillaries contract HARD. When it wears off the little muscles are tired, relax, and cause congestion. More Afrin just wears the little things out until they can't handle it any longer. If you keep it up the nose goes crazy. For single day dives I will use Afrin with good results since my major problem is sinuses. It is not suitable for multiple days.

Psuedofed does essentially the same thing but since it goes through the whole body it's effects in the nose are less pronounced and it can cause side effects in some people (I'd rather not get into the theoretical O2 toxicity issue here). It may be a bit more helpful for clearing since it can get to the eustachian canals better than Afrin. Pseudofed can have some rebound effect but it is fairly minor, generally not noticeable except that once it wears off the subject is stuffy again.

Fritz

[fmerkel]

I think I somehow managed to press water into my inner ear thru the tube during the pressure equalization on descent.

Not possible without nearly drowning. The eustachian canal is in the throat so water would have to get down there first.

You didn't equalize properly on descent. The body compensates by leaking fluid from the capillaries and cells into the middle ear (much like a blister). This is actually a kind of good thing since if it didn't happen the eardrum would more likely burst from the pressure. It takes awhile for this fluid to be re-absorbed.

Inner ear problems are one of the most common in diving. I strongly suggest you check out this page and learn how to clear well and easily. http://faculty.washington.edu/ekay/

Fritz

[suthnbelle]

RiverRat,

Nasonex to open up your sinuses?

Just curious, did you ENT say this? The reason I'm asking is I thought nasonex, like flonase is only to block allergens, not to open sinuses.

I have allergies and usually end up with some sort of ear infection/swimmer's ear after diving. The flonase also reduces the swelling of your eustachian tube which helps the fluid in your ears drain. I also see a chiropractor and he pulls on my earlobes to open up my eustachian tube and that helps the fluid drain. He'll then massage the eustachian tube area. While I was seeing him I had no sinus or ear problems. As soon as I stopped seeing him I developed a bad ear infection after diving in June and it took 6 weeks to go away. They also recommend taking the sudafed, as well as the flonase, to dry up the fluid.

[RiverRat]

Technically, the OTC stuff is not addicting. Afrin has what is called "rebound" and if further overused results in Rhinitis medicamentosa (medication induced rhinitis). It makes the small muscles of the nasal capillaries contract HARD. When it wears off the little muscles are tired, relax, and cause congestion. More Afrin just wears the little things out until they can't handle it any longer. If you keep it up the nose goes crazy. For single day dives I will use Afrin with good results since my major problem is sinuses. It is not suitable for multiple days.

Psuedofed does essentially the same thing but since it goes through the whole body it's effects in the nose are less pronounced and it can cause side effects in some people (I'd rather not get into the theoretical O2 toxicity issue here). It may be a bit more helpful for clearing since it can get to the eustachian canals better than Afrin. Pseudofed can have some rebound effect but it is fairly minor, generally not noticeable except that once it wears off the subject is stuffy again.

Fritz

Hey thanks for explaining that in more detail :crafty:
I knew the "addicting" description was not totally clear, just couldn't explain it. Now I know why folks keep blasting more and more of it to no avail.

[WaterWayne]

Originally Posted by RiverRat
Just because you have no pain now and it only feels like water in your ears does not mean you don't have an injury.

SCUBA STEVE
Swimmer's ear is an infection of the outer ear canal. Swelling, itchy, peeling skin. ... The "mix" you are referring to changes the PH of the ear to kill the infection.
Ear squeeze ... causes fluid (plasma) to build up inside the ear causing that "water in the ear" feeling.



Now that I've read this thread over and over, I think I know what I don't have -- no swimmer's ear infection, no squeeze (equalized OK), no pain, no allergies. Symptoms are simply a maddening, muffled feeling in my left ear, consistently after dives and pool swimming. There is also a very real sloshing of liquid inside my ear. Tilting my head at a slight backward angle drains my right ear OK immediately out of the water, and eventually clears my left ear with the same angle. My diving-savvy doctor found nothing wrong with a specific exam a few weeks ago, before my latest dive. One post in this thread mentioned spontaneous clearing in a mountain pass, but altitude changes (flying) have not cleared it for me. In the past for me, the only relief has come by the same tilting angle, even draining when my head is on the pillow. There are a few drops of clear, odorless fluid, which I've always taken to be the diving "souvenir" rather than internally-generated fluid.

So here is my first question: even though I'm pretty sure I'm equalizing OK, could this sloshing fluid be auto-generated by the capillaries, as fmerkel explains? Wouldn't that be generated over time, rather than immediately during the dive? Also arguing against capillary-generated fluid, why does one ear clear so easily, consistently, and the other ear requires several days, but then clears with the same tilting angle?

Second question: I've heard about glycerine as a drying agent -- any comments?

Third question: Probably dangerous, but how about simply using a hair dryer pointed directly into my ear?

Are my ear canals lopsided? Should I buy boots with different-sized heels? :dance:

Thanks!

[RiverRat]

Originally Posted by RiverRat
Just because you have no pain now and it only feels like water in your ears does not mean you don't have an injury.

SCUBA STEVE
Swimmer's ear is an infection of the outer ear canal. Swelling, itchy, peeling skin. ... The "mix" you are referring to changes the PH of the ear to kill the infection.
Ear squeeze ... causes fluid (plasma) to build up inside the ear causing that "water in the ear" feeling.


Third question: Probably dangerous, but how about simply using a hair dryer pointed directly into my ear?



Oh man....I dunno about the hair dryer......... :11:
If you go with the 50% isopropyl alcohol - 50% vinegar solution the alcohol serves to evaporate taking the water with it. :water: It's too drying for some folks so that's why they use other mixes, works for me. Stay away from super-heated air directly into the ear canal. I'm sure as there is no exit point, unless you blast a hole through your brain by mistake, you won't get any cross ventillation of heated air to effectively dry the canal anyway......... :shakehead:

[Kaiser]

An older Diver told me to use Peroxide.
As far as the hair dryer goes, my daughter had to have tubes in her eardrums installed. We were told by the doctor that if she should get water into the ear to just use the hair dryer. I still would not recommend to just hold the hairdryer on the ear and let it rip, since it would probably burn your ear.

[Rick Inman]

Below is my post from page 1. If what you have is what I had, dryers (liquid or hair) will not work. It doesn't take longer than a few days for water to dry from your ear if it is in the open outer channel. What you have (and I had) will not be cured by the swimmer's ear drops. For me, it just took time - two weeks!


Oh, oh. Don't do what I did (and don't show my wife this thread).
I made a shallow dive, 0-25', and we did a lot of up and down to see where we were in the river. After the dive, my left ear was plugged. Didn't hurt, but the hearing was terrible, which was bad news 'cause I spent the next week in the studio mixing with one ear. Not good.
Anyway, the ear stayed plugged about two weeks, and I continued to dive - in fact I did 12 dives like that! You think it's hard to hear with a hood on, try it with one ear plugged!
Finally, after the 12th dive, while driving over a mountain pass at 3200', the ear just cleared right up. That was two weeks ago and I've made several dives with no ill effects.
But, like I said, don't do what I did.

[WaterWayne]

Y'all are great! Rick, I'm not sure if you felt/heard sloshing in your ear? I tried alcohol today with the idea that the alcohol flushes the water (or the capillary-generated fluid, which I don't think it is.) Then the alcohol should evaporate much more quickly than would the water, right? (No vinegar handy.) I tilted my head horizontally to one side, poured in a capful of alcohol, massaged briefly, and straightened up to let the excess alcohol pour out; then I repeated the procedure. So how long now before the alcohol evaporates? I'll keep you posted, 'cause I know you're breathlessly awaiting..., but it's been a few hours and I'm still hearing/feeling apparently equal sloshing. (Good news was that the alcohol did not pour straight through the other ear.)

I've dived with this before without much problem besides extra time for equalization, but since I'm going for a weeklong trip to Los Cabos in ten days, I'm more concerned than usual.

[fmerkel]

Symptoms are simply a maddening, muffled feeling in my left ear, consistently after dives and pool swimming. There is also a very real sloshing of liquid inside my ear. Tilting my head at a slight backward angle drains my right ear OK immediately out of the water, and eventually clears my left ear with the same angle.

So here is my first question: even though I'm pretty sure I'm equalizing OK, could this sloshing fluid be auto-generated by the capillaries, as fmerkel explains? Wouldn't that be generated over time, rather than immediately during the dive? Also arguing against capillary-generated fluid, why does one ear clear so easily, consistently, and the other ear requires several days, but then clears with the same tilting angle?

Second question: I've heard about glycerine as a drying agent -- any comments?
Third question: Probably dangerous, but how about simply using a hair dryer pointed directly into my ear?
Are my ear canals lopsided?


If you are getting it from swimming (and not free diving in the pool then the water is on the OUTSIDE. Tilting the head with sloshing pretty much confirms that. Yes, you can have "lopsided" ear canals. Mine are very crooked and getting water out is a hassle, often one is worse than the other. This is not unusual. Now I use Docs Proplugs (Google it if interested) with the equalizing hole for diving-keeps most of the water out. You can also dry out the canal with the 50/50 alcohol/vinegar mixture. The alcohol cuts the surface tension of the water and helps it drain and dry out. Vinegar is a pretty good disinfectant. This stuff is good to use if you have a tendency to outer ear infections or drainage problems. You can buy [dry ear] klind of stuff at the drug store-it's mostly alcohol and a little glycerine. The glycerine is to soften the harshness of the alcohol's drying effect-a lotion as it were. The pointy applicator is good though for future use. I reuse them.

The capillary leakage is caused by PRESSURE. It happens pretty quick on the biological scale. If it didn't there would be a whole lot more burst eardrums instead of middle ear barotrauma (muffled hearing/pressure/pain). This will not slosh around and will not drain with tilting the head. It's inside and trapped.

NO, no, no on the hair dryer. Use the above mixture. If you are still having problems you can make a pretty safe drying wick by twisting up some toilet paper and carefully working it in. No pencils or paperclips allowed. You want it to be SOFT, just stiff enough to get in, tough enough to not break off in there, and absorbent. This technique should be considered advanced ear digging. I won't be responsible for your ear drums.

Fritz

[WaterWayne]

Fritz says, "Yes, you can have "lopsided" ear canals. "
Dang. I'm genetically not-so-gifted.

For the record, my problem is failure to drain left ear after diving, but no other problems with equalization nor swimmer's ear infection, etc. Here is what I can report:

*Alcohol doesn't work.*
Regarding alcohol, it's been 36+ hrs since I double-dosed with rubbing alcohol (2 successive ear purgings), and there is still the same amount of fluid in my ear. The intent is that the alcohol first flushes the fluid, then evaporates quickly. Bear in mind that vinegar would be slower than alcohol to evaporate, and because this *seems to be* an evaporation/drainage issue, I'm not using the vinegar.

*Medical exam completed, no obvious explanation.*
I was checked pre-last-dive by a diving-expert M.D., who also runs the Dallas Medical City hyperbaric chamber. He grilled my diving knowledge and my body, but I passed both exams.

*Tilting my head almost works, then drains after a couple of weeks.*
In the past this has worked after at least ten days, and works immediately post-dive in my right ear. Presently, I've been tilting my head so much I need to see a chiropractor. The water doesn't drain from my left ear. As of 27Aug, this is six days post-dive.

*Ain't swimmer's ear, nor equalization issues.*
No external infection as with swimmer's ear (itching, scaling, redness). Not a pre-diving problem. Regarding equalization, it takes me a few extra moments on later dives to equalize properly, but I indeed equalize OK. (I'm a low-moderate experienced diver, Adv. OW with ~20 dives, lifetime swimmer in Caribbean salt and chorinated water.)

*Audible sloshing, observable fluid eventually drains.*
Drives me nuts. It's like a piece of broccoli stuck in one's teeth. When it drains, the half-teaspoon of fluid is colorless and odorless. I don't know whether it's water from the dive, or capillary-generated fluid as mentioned in this thread. I suspect it's not the latter (thanks again for the info!)

*No toilet paper, no Q-tips will reach.* An ear wick is essentially a long twist of paper or fabric, huh?

*Talcum powder doesn't work to dry the left-over lake.* (Insert laugh here.)
As of two hours ago, poured at least 1 dry ounce of Christmas-gift Old Spice Powder (insert 2nd laugh here) into my ear, after pouring several ounces of liquor internally. Shook head vigorously, smelled nice, no joy. Note to self: investigate smelling nice around women.

*Best news: still nothing falling directly through the other ear.

*2nd Best News: can still do headstands. Ear still didn't drain, though.

[Rick Inman]

Fritz says, "Yes, you can have "lopsided" ear canals. "
Dang. I'm genetically not-so-gifted.

For the record, my problem is failure to drain left ear after diving, but no other problems with equalization nor swimmer's ear infection, etc. Here is what I can report:

*Alcohol doesn't work.*
Regarding alcohol, it's been 36+ hrs since I double-dosed with rubbing alcohol (2 successive ear purgings), and there is still the same amount of fluid in my ear. The intent is that the alcohol first flushes the fluid, then evaporates quickly. Bear in mind that vinegar would be slower than alcohol to evaporate, and because this *seems to be* an evaporation/drainage issue, I'm not using the vinegar.

*Medical exam completed, no obvious explanation.*
I was checked pre-last-dive by a diving-expert M.D., who also runs the Dallas Medical City hyperbaric chamber. He grilled my diving knowledge and my body, but I passed both exams.

*Tilting my head almost works, then drains after a couple of weeks.*
In the past this has worked after at least ten days, and works immediately post-dive in my right ear. Presently, I've been tilting my head so much I need to see a chiropractor. The water doesn't drain from my left ear. As of 27Aug, this is six days post-dive.

*Ain't swimmer's ear, nor equalization issues.*
No external infection as with swimmer's ear (itching, scaling, redness). Not a pre-diving problem. Regarding equalization, it takes me a few extra moments on later dives to equalize properly, but I indeed equalize OK. (I'm a low-moderate experienced diver, Adv. OW with ~20 dives, lifetime swimmer in Caribbean salt and chorinated water.)

*Audible sloshing, observable fluid eventually drains.*
Drives me nuts. It's like a piece of broccoli stuck in one's teeth. When it drains, the half-teaspoon of fluid is colorless and odorless. I don't know whether it's water from the dive, or capillary-generated fluid as mentioned in this thread. I suspect it's not the latter (thanks again for the info!)

*No toilet paper, no Q-tips will reach.* An ear wick is essentially a long twist of paper or fabric, huh?

*Talcum powder doesn't work to dry the left-over lake.* (Insert laugh here.)
As of two hours ago, poured at least 1 dry ounce of Christmas-gift Old Spice Powder (insert 2nd laugh here) into my ear, after pouring several ounces of liquor internally. Shook head vigorously, smelled nice, no joy. Note to self: investigate smelling nice around women.

*Best news: still nothing falling directly through the other ear.

*2nd Best News: can still do headstands. Ear still didn't drain, though.
We my friend, at least you have a good attitude! Took me 2 weeks (huh?? whadja say??) to clear up. Keep us posted!