Ear still stopped up!

[R A Diver]

Was certified the first week of December. Spent the rest of the weekend enjoying my new found excitement. Was always the last person on the boat! Got to 65", a little over my goal.

Did fine till coming home. Was in Florida and then came to the NC mountains, all in about ten hours. We crossed the 3,800 foot in altitude on the way home. As we came up the mountain both my ears stopped up. It has now been eight days.

I've spoken with DAN, had a pharmacist friend who does free diving, then other divers who suggest chewing gum. Did the peroxide, vinegar, water mix, afrin nasal spray and a sinus decongestant. Any more suggestions?

Do see my regular doctor in the am. This is getting frustrating as I feel I'm at the bottom of a well. I don't want this to hamper

It is probably an inner ear problem and not water in the ear.

Any guidance appreciated.

Robert

 

[chrispete]

Get your Dr. to take a look and get a referral from them to an ENT. It's probably nothing serious, but it's better to have a specialist take a look.

 

[Joefri]

Don't know what other advice that anyone could possible give that would help especially after already seeing and speaking to a number of professionals. I had an issue 2 weeks ago with problems clearing my ears on a dive ended up forcing some of the mucus that was blocking my tubes into the middle ear, my ear just cleared a few days ago but my doctor said it could take up to 3 months sometimes for it to clear and sometimes some people have to have the eardrum pierced to help drain any fluid.

My only suggestion and what I did was drink plenty of water and I also did nasal rinses every day for 5 days using the NeilMed system from walmart, used two of the blue packets to make it a isotonic solution to help draw out mucus, seemed to help me, but everyone is different.

 

[don Francisco]

It seems a bit late for the symptoms to manifest, but probably a delayed reaction to barotrauma caused by not equalizing effectively enough. The trauma causes fluid to leech into the middle ear making sounds seem like you're in a tunnel.

Normally this takes a week or two to clear up on it's own. Some folks have success using Sudafed or ibuprophen to speed things along, but I never have so I simply wait it out.

What's important is how it trends -- if it gets worse, or you start having more pain, it's possible you've developed an infection in there and will need to see the ENT for an Rx. Otherwise live with it a while.

What you need to learn from this is that not all barotrauma manifests as pain on descent. Small repetitive injuries act like bruises and can cause swelling over time, leading to fluid in middle ear.
It's extremely common among new divers until they improve their equalizing methodology.

 

[R A Diver]

Hi Guys,
Thanks for the advice.
Went to the Dr. this morning. Have water and blood in the inner ear. Know just when I did it, trying to equalize just a little too hard.
He gave a nasal spray to help.
Went to my cardiologist this afternoon. Laying down to get my B/P and all the pressure went away till I stood up. Good sign it is clearing up.
Thanks for all the advice.
Robert

 

[BradButler01]

Robert - Good to hear your ear is clearing. Have you ever been diving in your home state? NC has some of the best diving in the world. If you get a chance, plan a trip to Wilmington. Just make sure to book dives early, they fill up weeks ahead of time in the warmer months!

 

[CamG]

Greetings R A DIVER,
I would still suggest a check up by the ENT as well as a approved regiment of preventative measures to ensure easy equalization. It is very important to never force it. Practice makes perfect and it will become habit the more you do it. This is a very easy obstacle to overcome but do it wisely and safely!
Ears can be a problem if proper care and concerns are ignored.
Take heart this is just a bump in the road on your way to awesome diving adventures!
Good luck and dive safe.
CamG Keep diving....keep training....keep learning!