Barbados Easter 2006

[Andrew Richardson]

My wife & I just returned from completing our open water certification in Barbados. Wow! Great experience. Really like the island, the people, & the diving. It is still sinking (ha ha) in that we are certified.

We dove with DiveProBarbados (Padi). They are located in the Gap. Very nice operation & they get are full recommendation.

Pictures to follow once I pick them up from Costco (yeah, bought a regulator instead of a UW digital, c'est la vie).

PS. Those who recognize me - posted a number of comments about barotrauma of the middle ear. Well I can tell you that it took the full eight weeks to get better but I had no problems underwater. I followed Dr. Kay's advice. PPS. I did have problems with the airflight home but so did a number of people - pressure went up really fast & I got behind on the equalization coming back down into Toronto. Now I know - no big deal.

Next time out we'll be diving in Southern Ontario as real divers!

 

[NCSCUBADOOBA]

congrats to you and your wife. i missed your posts about barotrauma, but am really curious to see what dr. kay told you???? i seem to have gotten a middle ear barotrauma this past friday in my quarry, cold, ow cert dive. it feels like water is stuck in my ear and nothing works. i'm taking decongestants, but am going to belize a week from saturday and going just to DIVE. i wasn't sure if i could dive with this going on... any info you have is greatly appreciated.
my boyfriend and i have been looking so forward to this, hope my ear doesn't ruin it for us!
thanks..
angela

 

[DandyDon]

congrats to you and your wife. i missed your posts about barotrauma, but am really curious to see what dr. kay told you???? i seem to have gotten a middle ear barotrauma this past friday in my quarry, cold, ow cert dive. it feels like water is stuck in my ear and nothing works. i'm taking decongestants, but am going to belize a week from saturday and going just to DIVE. i wasn't sure if i could dive with this going on... any info you have is greatly appreciated.
my boyfriend and i have been looking so forward to this, hope my ear doesn't ruin it for us!
thanks..
angela

Since he hasn't been back to respond, I'll try to help. He posted on 3 different ear related threads here recently; you might want to read thru all of them.

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=5772

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=87098

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=134201

I've had a few cases of ear infections and barotrauma and I suggest you go sit in a doctors office until they work you in. (a) They can become very painful, (b) You don't have much time to heal.

Newbies have more problems with equalizations, so do a lot of study on that here. See Dive Medicine forum for many discussions. Mostly, equalize 3 times before you get off the boat, then every few feet during the first 30 ft, then more as needed going deeper.

Pick up a couple of bottles of Swimmers Ear drops - one for your lavatory bag, one in your mask box, and treat each ear after every dive, after each shower, get those ears dried quickly. Actually, I buy the bottles for the bottles, pour out what's inside, replace it with 50/50 alcohol and white vinegar, both either solution is good.

Today, your doc will probably give you antibiotics and steroid drops. If he doesn't suggest drops, ask for them - great pain relief, and the pain can be bad. Kept this former cowboy/Marine in bed for 3 days once.

If your ears still hurt in a week, I hope you have trip insurance and can reschedule the trip. I have flown and dived with ear pain, but it's not a good idea at all.

 

[Andrew Richardson]

DandyDan - thanks for answering.

Basically - your ears feel congested & you need to equalize all the time while on land. Mine lasted 8 weeks. If in doubt, see a doctor or call DAN. Mine took 8 weeks to get better. I was able to dive - no problems but coming back to Toronto on the plane, I got caught off guard by the change in pressure & hurt my ears again.

Personal opinion - don't take chances with your ears - read my posts about how horrible it was to have serious barotrauma.

PS - when I did my OW, I was equalizing continuously, especially above 25 ft and definitely when I changed depth even a few feet.

Watch Dr. Kay's video http://faculty.washington.edu/ekay/index.html.

Andrew

 

[DandyDon]

Ah thanks Andrew! BTW, we hardly ever see equalizing problems after 50 dives - altho occasionally. It'll probably get better. Some divers find that the vented ear plugs help tremendously. I'm lucky enough to have almost always been able to drop fast.

Where I've gotten into trouble is not using alcohol after diving. :11: