Remedy for blood behind eardrum?

[adriancl]

Last Sunday I did two dives, 1st 100' 2nd 80'. I had trouble both dives equalizing till I got to 40' then OK. After 2nd dive my left ear was plugged. Monday and all week I have been sick with flu/bad cold and ear still plugged. Today I saw Doc and was told I have blood behind my eardrum and no infection or damage to eardrum. Is there any quick way to unblock my eardrum? Doc didn't give me any info except to wait for it to clear. Can anybody help or give me any advise to get me back in the water ASAP? Thanks.

 

[TSandM]

Blood visible behind the eardrum is evidence of significant barotrauma. That bloody fluid is going to take time to clear. Antiinflammatory medication (eg. ibuprofen), assuming you have no contraindication to it (ulcers, kidney problems, allergies) may help speed the process, as may OTC decongestants like Sudafed. But it will take time, and you shouldn't dive until it has resolved.

While you are waiting, you might benefit from watching this (long) video on the diver's ear. It will explain the anatomy and what is happening when you can't equalize -- you should never get to 40 feet without being able to clear your ears. If you haven't equalized by ten feet, you need to stop and see if you can clear. Pressurizing the ears before descending can sometimes be helpful.

 

[adriancl]

I used half my air just getting to 40' taking it very slow. If I had any idea I was getting sick I would have cancelled my dive. I'll just have to wait till it clears up. Thanks

 

[TSandM]

Pre-pressurizing your ears is a quick diagnostic test -- if you can't do it on land, you probably aren't going to be able to do it very well underwater, either.

 

[devalux]

What is this pre-pressurizing you speak of? How might one perform this diagnostic?

 

[Tigerman]

Check the video she linked, its got all the info you need and then some

 

[austriandiveress]

I once had something similar, and was told it could take between 3 weeks to a year to clear up: it took me about 5 weeks before I could hear normally again, but I've done plenty of dives since then with no issues.

 

[The Surly Mermaid]

I've had this same thing happen to me several years ago. My Dr. advised me that the blood should clear within about 3-4 weeks, but not to dive for about 2 months. Regarding the dive, I experienced the same exact thing as you did, taking a long time to clear to about 35-40 feet. Only I felt like I had a rice crispy shoved in my ear on ascent. Lesson learned... if it takes you that long to descend (when normally it doesn't) there is an issue... call the dive.

 

[adriancl]

An update; after a week I cleared my ear with an over the counter device in Canada called the Ear Popper. It worked great. Stayed out of water for another week, and have dove 2-3 times a day with no problems.