ear problem

[kenten]

after spearfishing for bass in 5 to 13 meters of depth i had outer ear infection on right ear some months ago,
the ear became less irritating after 20 days of using prescription ,so i decided to go diving again.
after that it get worse and this time left ear . i went a different doctor (which is known as familiar with diver ear problems) who gave different prescription and didnt prohibit diving but i didnt dive for 15 more days. When i felt less unconfortable i did dive again (max 10 m) and the irritation on the left increased.
now i know (thickheaded ? yes!) i have to keep it dry (which no doctor told b4, i learned from the web )

here is what i want to ask more experienced people,

1- that is not a pressure problem (i didnt feel any aqualising problem on the incidents above) ,diving in that condition is no different having a bath. it is about the weakness inthe outher canal of the ear, so it is ok to dive if i keep my ears dry?? is this right?

2- i have this idea, i will plug my ears with cotton and vaseline. do u think there will be any problem (loosing the cotton in the ear!) in the depths max 10m. is there anyone tried this .

3-i am sure there are some people with sensitive outher canal like me, do u have any advice prescription from doctors etc.


i have read some in the web, the below link may be useful.
http://www.uspharmacist.com/oldformat.asp?url=newlook/files/Cons/cyp1.htm&pub_id=8&article_id=754

 

[Spaniard]

NEVER EVER plug your ears with anything my friend if you intend going below 1M underwater!!!! You will cause any plugs to be pushed further into ear cavity which could potentially damage eardrum. See a speacialist ENT doctor for best advice.

 

[Adrian]

Kenten,
I used to suffer alot from outer ear infections and it was from not drying out the ears. Water would get stuck there and after hours it would soften the flesh making infection possible. I finally met a doctor who told me to use alcohol (best 70% so it's not irritating). Some people mix boric acid to saturation (around 13%) with the alcohol. The alcohol washes out any water that remainds and the boric acid disinfects. Since then I never had any ear infections.

Just put a couple of drops in the ear and then tilt your head to let the water run out. Do it regularly after every dive, and as Spaniard said, never use any earplugs for diving, that's really dangerous. Give time for your ears to heal - otherwise you compund the problem and in the long run lose more time out of the water.

Adrian

 

[Bill]

Let me add my two cents. First follow a good doctor's orders until the ears are feeling good again.
For years, when diving a lot or in different water, I used a few drops in my ears after a dive. Lie on your sides and let the solution stay in place for a minute. The US government spent a ton of money to develop a solution that is expensive and perscription only. 50% vodka and 50% vinegar is almost identical. If the water is polluted or has bugs in it, you might want to try Doc's Pro Plugs. Put the solution in and use the plugs that are designed for diving to hold some of it in. I don't know about target diving to 100 meters plus, but they worked fine for spearfishing to 25 meters.
Aloha
Bill

 

[kenten]

thank u for yr replies.
i was desparete to dive and was about to do something terrible .
at weekend i stayed on the surface with earplugs, just swam, not let my head in the water.
i have given up hope from doctors for now. Last one gave me two different eardrops to use two times a day. after reading some in the web i realised i am getting worse after the drops, because of the moisture left after the drops.
i stopped to use drops and now keeping it dry , it seems healing.

for adrian and bill,
did u use that alcohol and boric asid solution when u have infection ,
do u think it will do any good or harm doing it with already infected ear?

 

[kenten]

some research and some findings about the outer canal infection
these are to drop in ear canal
white winegar and hidrogenperocsit (%50/%50)
%2 asetic acid %1 hidrocortizone rest rubbing alcohol
colloidal silver (i dont have any idea) and rubbing alcohol (%50-50)
urine (yes get someone to piss yr ear , requires sharpshooting,females dont qualify for apparent physiological shortcomings)
olive oil, sweet oil ( i am not sure both may be same thing)

 

[Adrian]

Kenten:
Once you already have an infection you need to consult with the doctor - probably to take antibiotics.

To your question: The way I was told to use the drops is just let them go in, when you hear or feel that they enter all the way then tip the ear to empty the water that was trapped.

The alcohol breaks the surface tension of the water in the ear allowing it to drain out immediately, and since alcohol evaporates very quickly your ears tend to dry right then. Some water may still remain trapped and you can check this by shaking your head vigorously from side to side or bowing forward and coming up quickly to see if you can feel or hear any remaining water in the canal. If so, repeat the drops. For me it normally works the first time and I don't need to have the drops more than a couple of seconds in the ear. The boric acid is a disinfectant so that will help against any infection that may be there.

But again, as Bill said, do check with an ENT because what I describe works for removing water without any complications, and once you have an infection it needs serious professional care.

regards,
Adrian

 

[Bill]

Don't know if it will help much after the ear is infected. It does work well to prevent infections. Glad to hear that the ear is better.
Aloha
Bill

 

[kenten]

good article on topic

http://www.deeperblue.net/article.php/198/12

 

[Jez]

Perhaps not related to the above but, I went spearfishing a few days ago and ever since, any noise, like the t.v. or womens' or childrens' voices in particular, sound like they're reverberating. It's something like putting your ear next to the end of a long drain pipe and listening to someone talking from the other end. What's all that about? I'd no trouble equalising down to a max depth of 10m. Has the eardrum been flexed badly? Should I not dive for a while?

Any thoughts?

 

[Adrian]

Is it in both ears or just one? I'm not an expert but people mention that when their eustacian tubes remain open they hear much more loudly. It might be that.

Adrian

 

[Jez]

There's no pain or anything so its hard to tell. I guess it's just the right ear. I can hear a slight ringing noise when its quiet, like tinitus. I've had tinitus on a few occasions before I took up diving but I've never had the weird reverb. effect. It's worse the further away the source of the noise is so if someone is 1-2m away I don't notice it.

I understand that we can locate the direction of a noise as we have two ears, with the sound reaching one milliseconds before the other thus enabling us to get a bearing. Normally of course you can't hear the delay as its so small. This problem is kind of like being able to hear this difference in the moment that the sound reaches each ear. Like people have a two of themselves talking at you milliseconds apart.

It does improve if I try equalising on dry land a bit bit its still there.

 

[wannabespearo]

While we are all talking about our ear problems, I'd like to add mine...

Im a newbie and have been diving every weekend for the past couple months. I have been increasing my depths recently, but never passed 25 feet. On my last dive my nose started bleeding and I was spitting up some blood...not that much so I continued diving. I think this may have been related to some pressure in my sinuses because I was all dried out. Also, I was experiencing some sharper pain in my ears while diving, not being able to equalize very easily. No pain in the ears now...

Anyway, today (2 days after my dive) I started feeling dizzy so I rested in my bed. It got to the point where the room was spinning like crazy and there was no possible way I could support myself. Then I threw up and the dizziness went away gradually. I slept for about 5 hours and now I am writing this thread, still pretty woozy and out of it.

I spend a lot of time in the ocean, whether it be bodysurfing, bodyboarding, or now freediving and my ears have been notorious for getting plugged up with earwax. I have gone twice to have my ears cleaned out. Im thinking I need to go again, but I have read some threads where people had their ears cleaned out, only to experience even more dizziness while diving.

Any similar situations out there? The dizziness was pretty bad and kinda scary to be honest. Do you think I may have damaged my ears some? Thanks for any help you can provide...

 

[naiad]

If the dizziness is that bad, it might be a burst eardrum. I think you should get it checked out by a doctor.

Lucia

 

[bluecape]

Hi

I have had exactly what you have experienced. Nothing to be concerned about, it is called 'Labrynthitis', or 'acute vertigo'. It is not any burst eardrum, but an infection of your 'inner ear'. You can get pills which will help with the feeling of nausea and dizziness, but the bad part....the only way is to sit it out. you basically need clean blood to 'flush' out the infection, and mine lasted nearly 10 months, getting gradually better.

GOOD LUCK.

Jeff.

 

[wannabespearo]

Hey guys,

Went to the Dr. (hardly....a university dr here at my school) and she said my middle ear was a little "inflamed". She told me to take some dramamine for the dizziness... Thats it.

I havent had another spell since that one, just some pretty consistent lightheadedness for the last week and my ears are sensitive to sounds...some reverberation. Im going to go diving in a week to see how it goes.

Thanks for the replies