ear pain at safety stop

[batman diver]

i recently did a "deeper" dive ... 38m and ascended 2 minutes before deco , i did my 1 min ratio stop and then came the 5m stop , with about 1 min to go i had this excruciating pain in my left ear , i tried to equalize and nothing happened , i tried to decend and nothing and only after 30 sec of fighting it and doing an esa did it go away on the surface, does anyone know what may have caused it ? was it an equalising issue or maybe a deco issue ? was the 2nd dive of the day i had done. 1st dive was to 35m didnt go into deco ave depth was 28m

Thanks

 

[vladimir]

Excruciating ear pain upon ascent sounds like a reverse block to me, but it is a little unusual to experience it so late in the ascent, in my experience. If it was a reverse block, attempting to "equalize" using the same strategies you do when descending can exacerbate the situation.

 

[batman diver]

E If it was a reverse block, attempting to "equalize" using the same strategies you do when descending can exacerbate the situation.

hmmm that did seem to make things worse , reverse block is from a blockage of eustacian tube hey ?

 

[vladimir]

Yes, as the name implies, it is the reverse problem of being unable to clear upon descent. You have added air (perhaps too forcibly) through your Eustachian tube into your middle ear to equalize it with ambient pressure. Upon ascent, the air is blocked from escaping (perhaps due to trauma to your Eustachian tubes from forceful clearing, or an antihistamine/decongestant's effects wearing off during the dive) and the force against your eardrum is painful and potentially damaging. Just as it would be if you descended without equalizing. Search the posts of doctormike, DocVikingo, and TSandM in this forum for expert opinions and explanations.

Edit: The video entitled "The Diver's Ear - Under Pressure," is a great resource for understanding ear issues.

 

[Wantonmien]

Just been writing my scenario on here

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/diving-medicine/354649-ears-diving.html

malfunctioning E tubes !!