Muffled hearing in one ear

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parrothead600

Contributor
Messages
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Location
big rapids, mi
# of dives
200 - 499
I did a dive this past sunday to 75' (avg depth of 59') for 29 minutes. I had absolutly no issues w/ equalizing. Everything felt fine durring & after the dive. Aprox 3-4 hours after the dive, I began having muffled hearing in my left ear. I can still hear out of it, but things are muffled. Also, high & low frequencies are louder than normal.
I assume that there is fluid built up behind the eardrum, based on what I have read but I can't find any advice for getting it to clear up.:confused: Any ideas on what can cause this & how to treat it?
 
Unfortunately there is no way to know whats going on with your ear without taking a look at it. Go get it checked. Most likely it will need prescription medications anyway...
 
Parrothead, the differential diagnosis of muffled hearing after a dive has a number of things in it, ranging from trivial (water in the external auditory canal) to serious (inner ear damage). It's impossible to sort these things out over the internet.

That said, here is some basic information: Hearing depends on sound waves being able to pass through the external auditory canal (tube from the outside world to the eardrum). The eardrum must be free to move easily, to transmit the sound waves to movement of the small bones in the middle ear. These then carry the sound energy to the inner ear, where it is transduced into nerve signals to go to the brain. Anything that impedes the movement of the sound vibration through this pathway can result in muffled hearing.

Probably the single most common cause of decreased hearing after diving, particularly if it is painless and not associated with any kind of balance issues, is fluid in the middle ear as a result of late or incomplete equalization. The fluid decreases the mobility of the eardrum, reducing the transmission of sound to the inner ear. This fluid can be either simple edema fluid, sucked out of the tissues around the canal by the relative vacuum that occurs when you don't equalize well, or it can even be blood. If there is a small amount, and it is simple fluid, it will be reabsorbed fairly quickly (a couple of days, or even overnight). If there is a large amount, and especially if there is blood in it to render it thicker and more likely to coagulate, it can take days to weeks to resolve.

No specific therapy has been shown to hasten this process. Various things have been suggested, including antiinflammatory medication (to reduce tissue swelling), or decongestants (to open the Eustachian tube and allow fluid to drain that way). Even chewing gum has been suggested, as a kind of Eustachian tube orifice massage! To my knowledge, no one has ever done a study to see if any of these modalities actually changes the course of middle ear barotrauma.

Since the diagnosis list includes some more serious problems, some of which respond much better if treated promptly, muffled hearing that persists beyond a couple of days after a dive probably ought to be evaluated by a physician, preferably an ENT doc with some familiarity with diving issues.
 
Put some Swimmers ear drops in and give it a day, if it still persists see a doctor. I get the same thing all the time and it is just trapped water.
 
I assume that there is fluid built up behind the eardrum, based on what I have read but I can't find any advice for getting it to clear up. Any ideas on what can cause this & how to treat it?

Bummer, parrothead600.

As TSandM indicated, there really is little to be done for fluid build up behind the eardrum -->

Hastening Drainage of Middle Ear Fluid | Vikingo

Regards,

DocVikingo
 
Thanks for all the info. It is beginning to get better. it was slightly worse after I got out of bed this morning, but I think that is due to the fact that I slept on my left side & it couldn't drain. I am still able to equalize (on land, or course) as long as I "favor" my left ear. Also, there has been no pain associated with this condition. I have had this before, and it cleared up within a week or so. It just puzzles me as to why this condition sets in a few hours after the dive.
 
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Also, there has been no pain associated with this condition. I have had this before, and it cleared up within a week or so. It just puzzles me as to why this condition sets in a few hours after the dive.

If the etiology is congestion within the middle ear space, pain is not a necessary concomitant. Since you report no equalization issues while diving, absent later infection there would little reason to expect pain.

In the absence of acute trauma, the fluid buildup behind the eardrum can be somewhat gradual rather than rapid in onset.

Provided that there is no further diving & no infectious process becomes involved, the expectation is that the causative inflammation will subside, allowing the fluid to be released/absorbed and the condition to resolve.

Regards,

DocVikingo

This is educational only and does not constitute or imply a doctor-patient relationship. It is not medical advice to you or any other individual, and should not be construed as such.
 
Thanks for this question and for the advice. I have this exact same problem with the same etiology the OP described. My diving was done July 12-18, so my ear has been stuffy for almost 3 weeks now. I had no trouble on the plane flying home, and I can still equalize although the affected ear is slow to equalize. Two different GPs have examined it. I was told by both that I have external otitis media and that my eardrum is inflamed, which is why it isn’t conducting sound as it should. The first doctor gave me neomycin drops. They brought no relief. The second gave me a 10-day course of cipro drops and 50 mg prednisone once per day for 5 days. My ear congestion is still the same with no improvement whatsoever. I’ve also been taking sudafed and using Flonase. I have an appointment with an ENT on July 23, which is over two weeks away. I’ve read that some cases clear up over time, but in other cases it’s essential to be seen promptly. I’m concerned that this appointment is over two weeks away. Thanks for any shared experience or advice. I’ve had waterlogged ears and swimmer’s ear on past dove trips, but I’ve never had this muffled hearing and pressure in my ear weeks later, so I’m getting worried.
 
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