Hi,
I've had my PADI certification for 20 years, but I'm an infrequent diver. I grew up snorkeling in a lake, and I love the water and snorkeling/diving. I've noticed that my right ear takes a while to clear, so my decent is slower than other divers. Once I'm down, I'm fine. However, the last couple of years, I've found that my right ear tends to feel funny for several days if not weeks after I'm done. Last year I went diving in Mexico, and I felt that I had a hard time hearing after the trip. I went to an ear specialist, and all the tests came back with my hearing fine. I just got back from Jamaica, and we only went snorkeling/free diving - nothing over 15 feet deep. It's been two weeks and I still feel like my hearing in my right ear isn't normal.
Has anyone else had a similar experience? I've heard that taking Sudafed an hour before a dive can help with the ear clearing. I just read, too, that an audiogram can help diagnose issues:
If you're having lingering hearing loss, ringing in the ears or dizziness after a dive, see a doctor, and insist on an audiogram, a special hearing test to determine the root cause of the problem. "Too often, someone will see a doctor because they are having trouble hearing, and the physician sees that their eardrum is intact, meaning it's not ruptured, or that it's red, so they assume that nothing is really wrong or there's a simple infection," says ear, nose and throat specialist Murray Grossan, M.D. "That's dangerous because those symptoms may indicate perilymph fistula (PLF) or a blowout of the round window of the inner ear, one of the most serious complications of diving," says Grossan. "It's important that any PLF be diagnosed and treated in a timely manner because it can lead to permanent hearing damage."
I just called and scheduled an audiogram, so maybe they can tell me something! Hope I can still dive in Mexico in a couple of weeks!
--Kent
I've had my PADI certification for 20 years, but I'm an infrequent diver. I grew up snorkeling in a lake, and I love the water and snorkeling/diving. I've noticed that my right ear takes a while to clear, so my decent is slower than other divers. Once I'm down, I'm fine. However, the last couple of years, I've found that my right ear tends to feel funny for several days if not weeks after I'm done. Last year I went diving in Mexico, and I felt that I had a hard time hearing after the trip. I went to an ear specialist, and all the tests came back with my hearing fine. I just got back from Jamaica, and we only went snorkeling/free diving - nothing over 15 feet deep. It's been two weeks and I still feel like my hearing in my right ear isn't normal.
Has anyone else had a similar experience? I've heard that taking Sudafed an hour before a dive can help with the ear clearing. I just read, too, that an audiogram can help diagnose issues:
If you're having lingering hearing loss, ringing in the ears or dizziness after a dive, see a doctor, and insist on an audiogram, a special hearing test to determine the root cause of the problem. "Too often, someone will see a doctor because they are having trouble hearing, and the physician sees that their eardrum is intact, meaning it's not ruptured, or that it's red, so they assume that nothing is really wrong or there's a simple infection," says ear, nose and throat specialist Murray Grossan, M.D. "That's dangerous because those symptoms may indicate perilymph fistula (PLF) or a blowout of the round window of the inner ear, one of the most serious complications of diving," says Grossan. "It's important that any PLF be diagnosed and treated in a timely manner because it can lead to permanent hearing damage."
I just called and scheduled an audiogram, so maybe they can tell me something! Hope I can still dive in Mexico in a couple of weeks!
--Kent
