Earache

[skdvr]

My ear hurts. What do I do????

JK

Last weekend I went diving. We did 2 dives on Fri and 3 dives on Sat. Sunday morning I woke up congested we we did not go out and headed home. All day Sunday and Monday I was fine, then Tues morning I woke up and my ear hurt. It actually felt like I been sleeping funny and was just a bit nagging. After a few hours it was still hurting and getting worse. I tried to get in to see my Dr. but I could not make it in there on Tues so I went to a local Take Care clinic at a Walgreens and saw a NP. I was sure that I had a ear infection, after she looked in my ear she told me that there was no infection and that I had a congested eustation tube. She prescribed me Flonase and Musenex D. She told me that it could take a few days for it to clear up, but along with the drugs to try and chew gum and do valsalva every once in a while. This morning I when I pinched my nose and blew (lightly) I got a sharp pain in my ear. Although as I am typing this I just tried it again and it did not hurt this time.

Anyway, my first question is that if this goes away in another day or two should I still be good to dive next weekend (April 10th). Obviously if my ear is still bothering me I will not be diving.

My second question is that she has me on the Flonase for 2 weeks. It is OK to use that on the days that I am diving?

Thanks
Phil

 

[doctormike]

My ear hurts. What do I do????

JK

Last weekend I went diving. We did 2 dives on Fri and 3 dives on Sat. Sunday morning I woke up congested we we did not go out and headed home. All day Sunday and Monday I was fine, then Tues morning I woke up and my ear hurt. It actually felt like I been sleeping funny and was just a bit nagging. After a few hours it was still hurting and getting worse. I tried to get in to see my Dr. but I could not make it in there on Tues so I went to a local Take Care clinic at a Walgreens and saw a NP. I was sure that I had a ear infection, after she looked in my ear she told me that there was no infection and that I had a congested eustation tube. She prescribed me Flonase and Musenex D. She told me that it could take a few days for it to clear up, but along with the drugs to try and chew gum and do valsalva every once in a while. This morning I when I pinched my nose and blew (lightly) I got a sharp pain in my ear. Although as I am typing this I just tried it again and it did not hurt this time.

Anyway, my first question is that if this goes away in another day or two should I still be good to dive next weekend (April 10th). Obviously if my ear is still bothering me I will not be diving.

My second question is that she has me on the Flonase for 2 weeks. It is OK to use that on the days that I am diving?

Thanks
Phil

Hey, Phil... thanks for writing!

What the NP might have been telling you was that you had some form of middle ear fluid or low pressure behind the eardrum. These are forms of barotrauma, and there are many, many threads about this here. Although people often swear by various regimens to hasten the recovery from this, there isn't a lot of scientific evidence that any medical therapy is effective (apart from oral steroids, which are not typically used in this situation because of side effects).

You already know the right answer to the first question, which is not to dive until you can equalize. Even if you feel OK at sea level, test your ear in shallow water before you dive again - you have the potential to do some real damage, especially if you get a reverse block. You can always abort a descent, but not an ascent.... like the pilots say: "Takeoffs are optional, landings are mandatory"...!

As far as the second question - Flonase is a nasal steroid used for allergies. It is commonly given for barotrauma, but there is really no significant evidence that it helps this at all. Even if you spray it all the way back in, the drug only gets to the very tip of the Eustachian tube in the back of the nose. There is no particular contraindication to using this while diving, although some people get nosebleeds as a side effect so maybe leave it home for your shark dive...

Good luck, safe diving...!

Mike

 

[skdvr]

Thanks Mike, If I am feeling better before my next dives I will try and get out a day early and do a shallow shore dive just to feel things out.

I appreciate you taking the time for the response...

Phil

 

[doctormike]

Thanks Mike, If I am feeling better before my next dives I will try and get out a day early and do a shallow shore dive just to feel things out.

I appreciate you taking the time for the response...

Phil

Sure! Keep us posted...

Mike