ear pain

[LeFlaneur]

Hey Doc and friends,

I looked for an answer to this question in other threads and couldn't find it.

I'm experiencing a curious ear phenomenon.

I dived for 4 days in salt water to a max of 100' and had no problems equalizing and no ear pain at all. Two days later I have a mild but constant pain and a feeling of "fullness" in the ears.

Anybody else experience ear pain that doesn't start until a few days after diving? Does the time lag make it sound like an infection? I've never had one (as an adult) so I don't really know what it feels like.

Thanks.

 

[pipedope]

I am not a Doc but I agree that the delay makes it sound more like infection than barotrauma.

Probably a good idea to see a Dr. and have it checked out.\
While waiting for your appointment you might watch the video at;
http://faculty.washington.edu/ekay/

Streaming Video Lecture
"The Diver's Ear - Under Pressure"

 

[Kriterian]

Yet another non-doctor's opinion but I have had tons of ear infections.

Both times I went diving recently, once in a pool and once in a quarry, I got an ear infection. It started with a slight pain, what most people refer to as an earache. A day or two later, I got the fullness, which is usually the result of swelling in the ear.

You do NOT want to hold off on going to the doctor at this point. If the swelling is too extreme, as it was in my case, there is no way to get the antibiotic drops down into the ear. The ENT has to result to putting in a "wick", which is a tiny sponge forced into the infected area. I have never felt anything so painful in my life, and hope I never have too again.

My second time wasn't so bad as I was able to use antibiotic drops from the previous infection at the first sign. The doctor said that helped a lot and this time I didn't need a wick, just more drops since they do usually expire a year later.

Take everyone's advice and go see an ENT, the longer you wait, the longer you will be out of diving.

 

[LeFlaneur]

Thanks for the notes, I guess I slouch my way to the doc. Hasn't gotten worse, but still there.

 

[DandyDon]

Sounds like the ear infections I've had - one was a dooze, couldn't even work for 2 days. How did it go...??

 

[LeFlaneur]

Seems to have passed. Keeping an eye on it though, but probably not an infection.