Finally happened-ear troubles

[StreetDoctor]

Well after close to 80 dives I've finally had some troubles with my ears. (I say it like this because as a kid my ears troubled me a LOT while flying) strangely enough though I never had a problem with equalizing.

Last weekend I was diving my new drysuit and was a bit underweighted. On 3 dives I ascended faster than usual. The next day I felt like I still had water in my left ear. I left it alone and slept on my left side to try and facilitate drainage. I also used "swimmers ear" ear drops, both to no avail. Wednesday I still had the feeling and got a bit aggervated. I tried equalizing (valsalva manuever) quite a few times throughout the day. By the end of the day I believe I irritated the ear enough to cause some barotrauma.

I went to my general physician the next morning. He couldn't see my eardrum due to wax buildup so he flushed my ear with room temp. saline in a giant syringe. He was then able to see the ear drum and stated it looked inflamed and irritated. He wasn't sure if it was due to an infection or barotrauma. My symptoms include the feeling of water in my ear, shooting pain after my valsalva attempts, also accompanied by a clogged ear feeling. The doc prescribed me 10 days of floxin otic ear drops twice a day for 7 days, and also an Amox Clav 875mg twice a day for 10 days. The pain today is pretty bad and if it wasn't for the Norco 10/325 I have from a recent pilonidol cyst removal I think I'd be calling him for some pain management. The doc told me to follow up with him if the ear hasn't cleared in approximately a week and that I should wait at least two weeks to dive again. He did not say anything about seeing a hole in the eardrum so I'm hoping it's just inflamed.

This comes at a great time, I'm signed up for Intro to Tech this weekend and Rescue next weekend. I understand I'm out for both of these classes, I don't want to jeopardize my hearing or more importantly my ability to continue diving Has anyone been in a similar situation and how long did it take you to get back into the water.

 

[mts0628]

Hey StreetDoctor:

I suffered barotrauma to my ear but it was a total perforation and it hurt like a mofo! I actually saw and emergency room physician and then an ENT physician. In the end I stayed away from diving for six months and am so glad I did (but remember I had a total perforation). We only have two ears and accompanying parts and I would not risk losing half of my hearing. Well, from a physical standpoint- I already had some auditory nerve damage from yesteryear so I did not want to potentiate any further damage because of my antsy-ness.

You know that these aren't the last time classes. They'll be available when you get back into action and until then, hit the honey-do list for future tokens. And finally, before returning to diving, get another ear checkup and by a physician (I know the deal), before hitting the water and if your physician isn't versed in diving, maybe call DAN. Nothing in diving is worth losing or impairing our hearing over. Do you hear me? Yuk yuk yuk.

Kind regards,
Thomas

 

[StreetDoctor]

LOL ya ya I hear ya. This summer has sucked for me so far. I've dropped a boat load of money into diving but feel like my body is falling apart... and I'm only 24!!!

Hoping I'll be back in the water in august, I think I'll definitely get a follow up before I get back into the water though. I've also looked into some preventative stuff that I think I'll start doing once I do get back in the water.

 

[CalgaryDF]

I had the exact same problems you are describing a two weeks ago and am still trying to get completely over it (granted I didn't use the drops quite as long as I probably should have).
My doctor said that I had to keep my ear dry for three weeks and that things should clear up in about a week. I found that the pain cleared up pretty quick once I got started on the drops (within a day I didn't really feel any pain). My ear felt clogged for 2 or 3 days after I started using the ear drops then it mercifully went away.

I'm just waiting now for the last lingering symptoms to go away then I will probably wait another week till I start diving again. I'll also be drying my ears as best I can for the first dives after this infection.

Hopefully you will heal faster than me.

 

[StreetDoctor]

Sounds like you're progression was about equal to mine. How do you feel now? I'm 8 days since my last dive and the symptoms are pretty much gone. I'm still taking the antibiotics (pills and drops). There's still a little pain when I pull on my ear, and an occassional very minor popping, but it isn't bothering me at all like it was. I'm hoping to be cleared up by this weekend. I'm going to check with the doc on thursday and see what he says.

 

[DandyDon]

This 45 minute video has helped many with equalizing: Doc's Diving Medicine Home Page

The most popular ear treatment to prevent "Swimmers Ear" Infection is 1/3 alcohol, 1/3 vinegar, 1/3 bottled water. I use 1/2 - 50% alcohol and 50% vinegar - close enough. You actually cannot find this in commercial brands as the vinegar seems to break down after a month, but it's virtually free to make yourself.

 

[StreetDoctor]

I watched that video in your other thread, very informative! I'm definitely going to start rinsing the ears. It was strange though, first time I had the water in the ear feeling in almost 80 dives, and I had a hood on.

 

[DandyDon]

Actually, hoods seem to cause ear problems - more difficult to equalize.