Popping ears

[Goldmember]

Hi everybody,

My first post on this end of the forum... Just checked some posts on ear problems, but didn't find what I was looking for....

A few months ago I went to the Philippines and came back with a middle ear infection and a little bit of an outer ear infection. Not very pleasant... Equalizing, by the way, was never a problem and it all developed after diving. After some antibiotics, etc the pain was gone and everything went back to normal except for those tiny pops in my ear whenever I swallow, yawn, or jiggle my jaw (sounds almost like I am equalizing). I have no pain, no discomfort, I can dive and equalize, and the local ENT (no diver, by the way) says 'no problem'.

I tend to think this is slightly out of the oridinary so I am wondering:

1) What's up?
2) Will it go away by itself? ehh... will it go away?
3) Anybody else with experience or advice on how to handle this?

Thanks!
Leon

 

[DocVikingo]

Hi Leon,

Proper visual examination can readily rule out remaining fluid in the external auditory canal as a cause of the sensation described.

However, a small amount of fluid can remain in the middle ear following successful treatment of an infection (otitis media) and will escape detection by otoscopic examination.

The amount isn't enough to result in discomfort, muffling of sounds or difficulty equalizing. Yet, it can cause a small popping sensation under the forces of actions like swallowing, yawning or particular movements of the jaw.

It is expected that with time this fluid will drain away and/or be absorbed.

Should such popping not clear with time, or become signficantly worse, consultation with an ENT would be prudent.

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.

Regards.

DocVikingo

 

[Goldmember]

Hi Doc,

Thanks for the information! So I guess it's 'Wait & see...'. It has not been getting worse and it seems I can dive without problems, so I am not that worried. Still wondering if I can speed up the draining process?

By the way, I found some other related threads and it seems I am not the only one. Same question as above: A quick way to get rid of the symptoms?

Leon

 

[DocVikingo]

Hi Leon,

It can take a while for the last vestiges of serous otitis media to disappear, on the order of 2-3 months.

If significant fluid remains after 3 months or so there are number of medical steps that may be considered, including a course of combined decongestant and antibiotic medications, 6-7 days of oral cortisone, and insertion of a ventilating tube.

Whether a reputable ENT would consider any of these measures given only a complaint of "tiny pops" in the ear upon swallowing, yawning or jiggling of the jaw is uncertain.

Some divers report that an OTC decongestant and/or very gentle equalization maneuvers several times a day speeds resolution. Of course if the latter is done inappropriately, it could make matters worse.

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.

Regards.

DocVikingo

 

[page.crow]

Hey DocVikingo:

Are you an EENT medical doctor? If not, what kind of doctor are you?

Regards,

page crow DC

 

[page.crow]

Hey Fellow ScubaBoard members:

A few questions for anyone who wants to take a stab at these:

Goldmember talks about the "tiny pops" in his ear post-diving. What's causing that? What's going on here physiologically?

DocVikingo said "A small amount of fluid can remain in the middlle ear...It can cause a small amount of popping sensation under the forces of action like swallowing, yawning or particular movements of the jaw." Why? What's happening? And why is that? DocVikingo-would you please explain?

OK, infection and inflammation can happen to anyone who is diving. But why is it that some people can dive and NOT get infection and inflammation, and some do? What's the difference? What if they dive the same waters the same day? (Please don't offer up that tired "genetics" argument.) Why does an individual get an infection in their inner ear? Is it the bacterium at cause, blockage giving rise to stagnation and opportunistic infection, or weak immunity in the host? Or all of the above? (And not a deficiency of pharma drugs in the diet.)

Vitalistic perspective: The "tiny pops" are a symptom of something dysfunctional going on. Why treat the symptom or wait for the symptom to go away and leave it at that? Why does this man get the "tiny pops"? What's the physio?

More vitalistic perspective: Goldmember, if you want the "tiny pops" to go away quickly, not waiting 2-3 months for the drugs to kill everything (antibiotic means "against life"), then go visit a reputable chiropractor and have your cervical and upper thoracic spine checked for the muscle\bone\joint\nerve condition we call a lock-stress pattern, and we call a subluxation. The treatment we perform on pts is called an "adjustment". An older term for it is bonesetting. Bonesetting your neck and upper back opens up the ears immediately. The inflammation will quickly abate, the infections back off and resolve without drugs and the "tiny pops" disappear. The results are quick and clean. If you try this process, come back to the scubaboard and post your results for all to consider. Chiropractic is safe and non-toxic. You can get well without having to use drugs for "three months".

Some people choose not to drug up and take all those chemicals. Antibiotics, nasal decongestants, steroids, anti-inflamms, etc. Drugs are delusive, addictive, toxic and expensive. We chiros recommend a non-drug lifestyle. Folks can dive without being addicted and dependent on drugs to get by. I've lived 43 years without taking all those chemicals. Anyone else can heal themselves and learn to live and dive safe and clean and not under the influence of drugs. I challenge dive instructors not to dive and teach under the influence of drugs.

BTW: For informational purposes only. This post does not construe a doctor\patient relationship. Get educated and realize there is more than one way (the medic\drug way) to treat and heal the human body.

page crow DC

 

[Goldmember]

Hi Page Crow,

Thanks for your perspective on things! I don't like medication either and prefer to let my body heal itself also! However, to put things a bit in perspective, some stuff that caused us to die or become disabled in the old days without medication can now be reduced to a short-term nuisance with the help of some 'anti-life'. So yes, I prefer it natural, but there are cases where I prefer to take some of the nasty stuff than to 'wait-and-see' (of course, my ear-problem is now minor so I go the natural way as much as possible).

Anyway, since I am actually very familiar with spinal manipulations, I'll ask a colleague to check if manipulations on my cervical or cervico-thoracic spine are indicated. If it is, I'll let you know if the manipulations had any effect on my ears.

GM

 

[page.crow]

Hey Goldmember!

Absolutely! I dig what you are saying about the "meds". A while back, a pt of mine, who is the son of an orthopedic surgeon, said, "Page, you gotta understand...some people are just of the tribe of medicines and surgeons. We don't get well unless we get some drugs..." I understand that now. I grew up so anti-drug, that I have a fixed opinion about the meds. I witness my pts being on 6-7-8-9-10 different pharma drugs. This morning I doctored a young man who just tripped a little on the sidewalk, and tore out both knees at the quads tendons. Required bilat surgury to reattach his quads tendons to the tibias. Reason: He's been taking prednisone since he was 4 years old, regularly, daily, for the last 25 years.

Is this proper drug management? I get this all the time from pts of medics.

My goal is to raise public consciousness that there are many more ways than drugs & surgery to heal the human body.

The ears for divers is a big one. When a new diver cannot equalize easily, they can injure their inner-ear-barotrauma. At the least, it is painful and difficult to dive. So, they give up diving. Exit one diver from the diving community. What about family? If one diver gives up, so does the family and they go some place else. Exit the whole group from diving. The diving industry loses all the way. The dive shops, DAN, PADI, the captains, the first mates, the restaraunts, the locals, all lose out. If a diver can heal their ears and keep diving, the community is maintained.

I simply recommend a non-drug approach to the ear problems in diving. Some on this board challenge that chiropractic and other natural approaches don't work for inner\middle ear. But they do! I've seen it myself a million times! Adjust the neck, the ears get better. They hear better, balance better, equalize better, flush out better, overcome infection better. Everything about the ears works better when you adjust the neck.

You asked for a quicker way to get the little pops out of the ear. I think you might be pleasantly surprised.

I wish you well Goldmember. Have a great day.

page crow DC

 

[NCSCUBADOOBA]

Ditto with DocVikingO, i had barotrauma and even after my ear "popped" 11 days later, I still had "crackling" for a good month longer.
Angela

 

[logos]

I'm just curious, what is the non-drug treatment for..say... acute septicemia? It would be great if we could stop poisoning these patients with multiple antibiotics and instead fix them by cracking their backs!