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Ok, yeah from what little I have read, Sufer's Ear - a totally different problem entirely - is more common in cold water.
Water in the ear but not really
- Thread starter h90
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Ok, yeah from what little I have read, Sufer's Ear - a totally different problem entirely - is more common in cold water.
Yup... surfer's ear is classically associated with cold water, but it's not an infectious process, it's an overgrowth of the bony wall of the ear canal...
Doctor mike,I recently had a ent doc "perf" my ear drum while trying to clean them,he says it will heal and I dive for a living, is it gonna be okay or is he yanking my chain?Please contact me at mnydvr@msn.com
Wow, that's unusual...! However, the good news is that true traumatic perforations are the ones that are most likely to heal by themselves. Once healed, the ear usually works just like before...
If you want a second opinion and tell me where you are writing from, I may be able to give you a recommendation... I'll contact you by email...
If you want a second opinion and tell me where you are writing from, I may be able to give you a recommendation... I'll contact you by email...
Just a short update:
Tests:
a) equalize much more often=no more water in ear feeling, tested at least 10 dives
b) One dive I equalize a little bit too less (objective was to go down as fast as possible and i had some equipment problems and equalized like in the past just when I feel a slight pressure in the ears). = on the next day I had that "water in the ear" feeling again.
So most probably mild barotrauma as DandyDon told.
Thanks for the great help, without it, I wouldn't figure it out!
Tests:
a) equalize much more often=no more water in ear feeling, tested at least 10 dives
b) One dive I equalize a little bit too less (objective was to go down as fast as possible and i had some equipment problems and equalized like in the past just when I feel a slight pressure in the ears). = on the next day I had that "water in the ear" feeling again.
So most probably mild barotrauma as DandyDon told.
Thanks for the great help, without it, I wouldn't figure it out!
bleeb
Contributor
h90, could you elaborate on this a little? I didn't think it was possible to equalize too often. However, from what others have written in this forum, it seems easy to equalize too hard, and several knowledgeable divers have posted here misgivings about the 'pinch the nose and blow' Valsalva-type equalization, because of the risk of self-injury. Do you think this might have happened to you?
lamont
Contributor
the problem with not doing pinch-and-blow is that it isn't quite as effective. so if you're descending quickly its probably better to pinch-and-blow often to make sure of staying ahead. as long as you stay ahead then it doesn't really matter which kind of equalization technique you use as long as it works to equalize.
the problem with pinch-and-blow with newer divers is that they don't know when they need to be equalizing, so they wind up with barotrauma due to the forceful clearing. but most of them aren't good enough at the whole skill of equalizing that trying to get them to do something other than a valsalva is really going to help them -- you'll probably wind up completely blowing out eardrums that way in some new divers as they descend while completely failing to equalize.
new divers just need to slow down and learn to equalize early and often, and the valsalva is the most effective way to clear.
i can pop my ears pretty easily with the jaw-thrust method on land, when i combine that with a little positive pressure out my nose to my mask (not enough to break the mask seal) i can usually equalize without a valsalva. that's useful when your hands are occupied with LP inflators and stages and scooters and a lot of tech gear. its more of a hands-free technique for me, however, than trying to avoid barotrauma.
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It's not. He actually said "One dive I equalize a little bit too less," which I take to mean he didn't equalize as much as on the others - and the problem returned.
My home dive bud who makes some trips I do has horrible problems at first and it takes both of us to remind him of all the things that help him, the first of which here may not apply here...
- Take the pseudoephedrine + antihistamine we use (the one I take daily, year 'round) the night before flying, the morning before flying, and every night and morning there after for the trip;
- Use the alcohol-vinegar mix after every dive, after every shower; it's best to treat each ear for 5 minutes once a day but we both lack that patience so we treat a little often;
- Equalize on the boat a few times on the way to the dive site and again just before rolling in;
- Stop at 15 ft to work his ears out as much as possible, and also make sure our tank valves are completely one (not 1/4 turn off or in some rare but awful mistakes 1/4 turn on) and check over each others gear for problems;
- Continually equalize on the descent, ascending at the first hintof a problem, never forcing;
- And don't screw up as his diving may end for the rest of the trip...! :11:
Sorry....unclear english....
on the dives without problems, I equalized many times, all the time when descent, even without feeling any pressure in my ears.
on the dive with problems, I had different equipment, maybe a bit to less weights and some air everywhere. So I struggle with my equipment to descent and equalized only when I notice that there is a slight pressure in my ears.
Short version: Often equalize=no problem. Not often enough: mild barotrauma which (and thats a bit strange) feels on the next day like there is some water in the ears (which can't be removed as it is on the other side of the drum).
Actually the Open Water book from PADI is writing that you should equalize very often.......
DPP Santa Cruz
Registered
Hi.
What does the PADI manual say about VENTED earplugs?
After you try the more safer recommendations mentioned, you should read a little bit about the Doc's Proplugs. I am not trying to say that these earplugs are the cure-all solution to the ear complications I read about, but it might be worth having in your gearbag if it'll salvage the last half of your dive vacation in tropical-wherever. Do a scuba board search for proplugs, draw your own conclusions...
Cheers;
Doc's
What does the PADI manual say about VENTED earplugs?
After you try the more safer recommendations mentioned, you should read a little bit about the Doc's Proplugs. I am not trying to say that these earplugs are the cure-all solution to the ear complications I read about, but it might be worth having in your gearbag if it'll salvage the last half of your dive vacation in tropical-wherever. Do a scuba board search for proplugs, draw your own conclusions...
Cheers;
Doc's
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