New diver: Did I injure my ears diving yesterday?

[krsy]

SPL Tech, I too am interested in hearing how your recovery went. I just did my checkout dives for OW on 10 & 11 June and had issues. I seem to take a while to equalize, too. I already felt a little pressure after the pool dives, but after the dive on the 10th I couldn't seem to "get the water out". One of the dive masters recommended ear dry and Sudafed so I did that. On the 11th I still couldn't hear well and there was some pain, nothing unbearable. I equalized pretty well and had no ear trouble the whole dive, went to 60'. That night I couldn't lay on it and it was painful to touch the ear and all the way down the side of my neck (Eustachian tube area). Went to convenience care on Monday morning and doc said it was all pretty red, gave me antibiotics and a cortisone based ear drops.

Here it is Thursday and the pain is gone, but still can't hear very well. I am so disappointed and hoping it clears up quickly!

What to do in future to avoid such incidences? I live in Florida so could dive every weekend! Well I guess the grass still needs cutting and the house cleaned, but I could dive PRACTICALLY every weekend!

I really need to get back down to cement everything I learned and work on my bouancy.

Any insight appreciated.

 

[fmerkel]

OK, Here's the lecture:
There is the inner ear, and
There is the outer ear.
They are COMPLETELY SEPARATE, (unless you are unlucky enough to blow your eardrum out).
Treating the OUTER ear, when you have INNER ear barotrauma (squeeze) is totally useless.
Treating the inner ear when you have an outer ear infections is totally useless.
They are completely separate problems.
Won't hurt, but neither will it help.
You CAN have BOTH, but generally not.

Go back and read my post #5, and spend some time with those links.

Rant -your dive master is an idiot. If you had barotrauma after the first dive you should have NOT DONE ANY MORE DIVES UNTIL IT WAS CLEARED UP. To encourage you to dive was close to negligence IMO. If you get ear squeeze from pool sessions you have some serious problems with your clearing technique and/or have some structural problems that need to be addressed. You can get permanent hearing loss from that kind of thing.

I seriously doubt you "equalized pretty well and had no ear trouble the whole dive, went to 60". What you had was so much exudate (blood and plasma) in your inner ear you didn't have to clear much since it was filled with fluid.

I think ear clearing is damn near the most important task a new diver needs to master on their first dive. It would seem instructors spend little to no time at all on that critical requirement other than a passing mention.

 

[uncfnp]

SPL Tech, I too am interested in hearing how your recovery went. I just did my checkout dives for OW on 10 & 11 June and had issues. I seem to take a while to equalize, too. I already felt a little pressure after the pool dives, but after the dive on the 10th I couldn't seem to "get the water out". One of the dive masters recommended ear dry and Sudafed so I did that. On the 11th I still couldn't hear well and there was some pain, nothing unbearable. I equalized pretty well and had no ear trouble the whole dive, went to 60'. That night I couldn't lay on it and it was painful to touch the ear and all the way down the side of my neck (Eustachian tube area). Went to convenience care on Monday morning and doc said it was all pretty red, gave me antibiotics and a cortisone based ear drops.

Here it is Thursday and the pain is gone, but still can't hear very well. I am so disappointed and hoping it clears up quickly!

What to do in future to avoid such incidences? I live in Florida so could dive every weekend! Well I guess the grass still needs cutting and the house cleaned, but I could dive PRACTICALLY every weekend!

I really need to get back down to cement everything I learned and work on my bouancy.

Any insight appreciated.

Hi krsy. It sounds like you were treated for swimmers ear. That is when there is infection in the ear canal and can be very tender to touch, feels swollen and you may even be able to see the redness and swelling when you look at the canal if it is really bad. Prescription ear drops are the primary treatment and occassionally an oral antiobiotic if the infection is extensive. When the swelling is so bad the drops will not go in we may even place a temporary wick to draw the drops into the canal.

Prevention for this type of ear infection is the alcohol/vinegar mix you have probably read about. I use a 50/50 mix in the shower after a day of diving but many, I think this includes doctormike (an ENT on this forum), recommends 75/25.

 

[Doby45]

Prevention for this type of ear infection is the alcohol/vinegar mix you have probably read about. I use a 50/50 mix in the shower after a day of diving but many, I think this includes doctormike (an ENT on this forum), recommends 75/25.

Good ole "Ear Beer", I use it any time I dive in fresh water.

 

[fmerkel]

I don't understand why people bring up "ear beer", the treatment for outer ear infection/swimmer's ear (otitis externa), when it's pretty obvious this is a discussion about inner ear barotrauma. It simply confuses an already confused issue. Seems the average diver can't tell the difference between a problem with the inner and out ear. Even more alarming it seems a bunch of physicians are in the same category.

 

[wheeledgoat]

I don't understand why people bring up "ear beer", the treatment for outer ear infection/swimmer's ear (otitis externa), when it's pretty obvious this is a discussion about inner ear barotrauma....

There's a couple reasons.

1. It's entirely possible what the diver thinks is an inner ear problem is actually an outer ear problem (e.g. water trapped by ear wax) and they may find relief with this cheap and otherwise harmless treatment.

2. It can't hurt - and can very well help prevent an outer ear infection. I too consider post-dive ear beer to be good preventative-measure hygiene.

3. I wouldn't be so quick to judge doctors, or alarmed by their practices. They know more than you seem to give them credit for. There's a lot of considerations when you're a GP, including making your patient feel well cared for. Sure, a placebo won't clear up something like an inner ear infection, but it can help an anxious patient to have something to do to while a little water in the ear clears up on its own.

 

[fmerkel]

1. If the diver has visited a physician and they can't tell if there is a wax plug in the ear and/or water....well, that's not a very good evaluation. Often if there is blood from barotrauma there is obvious discoloration of the tympanic membrane via inspection with otoscope.
The physicians see a LOT of middle ear infection, especially in kids. They probably see....very.....few divers with ear problems. It's unfortunate but it's often just treated like a middle ear infection when it's not.

2. Agree, it can't hurt. OTOH, I doubt a person doing a couple of dives and coming up with barotrauma is going to get an outer ear infection from that little exposure. It usually takes a decent number of dives over a short period of time to do that.NEW divers get barotrauma, experienced divers on vacation get swimmers ear. That's a generalization, but it's mostly true.

3. I agree, physicians have a LOT on their plate, and have to be aware of an alarming number of different issues that patients may walk in the door with. But, I also I think it should be within the realm of an average primary care physician to distinguish between an outer and inner ear problem, treat accordingly, AND educate the diver about the difference. I do not consider that to be a difficult task.

I neither disparage nor put physicians on a pedestal. My best friend is a primary care physician, and I'm a respiratory therapist. We are technicians and it's our responsibility to be decent at our jobs. It bothers me when technicians are doing an inadequate job.

 

[krsy]

Thank you for the responses.

fmerkel, I have actually seen the video you offered in post #5 some time ago and believe I have read almost everything you have written. Guess it is never enough to be reminded though and I thank you for that.

I called DAN for a recommendation for a nearby physician to have a look and perhaps offer further guidance. She is about 2 hours from here and I don't see her until 1 July but hopefully I can get on the right track, whether barotrauma or swimmers ear, maybe a bit of both.

i will let you know how that goes.

OK, Here's the lecture:
There is the inner ear, and
There is the outer ear.
They are COMPLETELY SEPARATE, (unless you are unlucky enough to blow your eardrum out).
Treating the OUTER ear, when you have INNER ear barotrauma (squeeze) is totally useless.
Treating the inner ear when you have an outer ear infections is totally useless.
They are completely separate problems.
Won't hurt, but neither will it help.
You CAN have BOTH, but generally not.

Go back and read my post #5, and spend some time with those links.

Rant -your dive master is an idiot. If you had barotrauma after the first dive you should have NOT DONE ANY MORE DIVES UNTIL IT WAS CLEARED UP. To encourage you to dive was close to negligence IMO. If you get ear squeeze from pool sessions you have some serious problems with your clearing technique and/or have some structural problems that need to be addressed. You can get permanent hearing loss from that kind of thing.

I seriously doubt you "equalized pretty well and had no ear trouble the whole dive, went to 60". What you had was so much exudate (blood and plasma) in your inner ear you didn't have to clear much since it was filled with fluid.

I think ear clearing is damn near the most important task a new diver needs to master on their first dive. It would seem instructors spend little to no time at all on that critical requirement other than a passing mention.

Thank you uncfnp, I sure am hoping you are right and I am going to mak some of this "beer". You described exactly how my ear and surroundings feel. I couldn't even get my pinky in. The doctor who treated me Monday said both his sons were divers and he mentioned no blood in the ear, only sever redness in one and some redness in the other.

The antibiotic was probably overkill, but heck, better safe than sorry.

On another topic, I "met you" on another topic that I have been reading on the "freedom plate" DIY from way back in 2013. I am fascinated and may PM you on that if you don't mind.

Hi krsy. It sounds like you were treated for swimmers ear. That is when there is infection in the ear canal and can be very tender to touch, feels swollen and you may even be able to see the redness and swelling when you look at the canal if it is really bad. Prescription ear drops are the primary treatment and occassionally an oral antiobiotic if the infection is extensive. When the swelling is so bad the drops will not go in we may even place a temporary wick to draw the drops into the canal.

Prevention for this type of ear infection is the alcohol/vinegar mix you have probably read about. I use a 50/50 mix in the shower after a day of diving but many, I think this includes doctormike (an ENT on this forum), recommends 75/25.

Again, thanks to all. I will not be taking this ear thing lightly, as I have no desire to ruin my chances of diving.

SPL Tech, sorry for running away with your thread. Still wondering how you are doing.

 

[uncfnp]

Krsy. You are most welcome and anything I can do to help just ask. BTW. I saw WPB listed on your profile. It is one of my favorite places to dive.