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Pain in sinus, only when diving head-down

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rickjames8

New Member
Jun 28, 2011
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Hello all,

I'm a newbie to this forum and a newbie to freediving. I have been a scuba diver for 11 years (working full-time as an instructor) but fell in love with freediving when I did a course 3 years ago. I've been unable to take another course until now because of work.

I've been doing an advanced course for the past 3 days and noticed that I have a lot of pain in the sinuses above my teeth, but only if I dive head first. The pain starts in the first 2 meters or so and is very painful, yet I have been able to get to 20m very comfortably by going feet first. My instructor recommended an antihistamine (Clarinase) which I have used before when diving and found it to be great. However, I am not congested, I have not have a cold or flu in quite some time and feel fine on the surface and while descending feet first.

Any ideas?

-Rick
 
Reactions: siwael
+1 for seeing a doctor.
You will get all sorts of theories and recommendations for a treatment, all well meaning and for the most part correct.
But how will you know which is the correct one for your symptoms?
A wrong treatment can be dangerous, if only because it leaves your particular problem untreated.
Go and see a doctor, get a referral to an ENT specialist and be sure.
Don't muck around when it comes to pain in the face, it could and probably is something simple, on the other hand it is possible it's not so simple.
 
I guess I may have to do that. The nearest doctor is one day's travel away from me (I live on an island in southern Thailand), and the doctors around this part of the country are not known for being the most thourough. They generally throw anti-biotics at patients and tell them to come back in a week if symptoms persist, no matter what they come in for. A visit to the doctor here is usually an expensive and dissapointing experience.

Do you know any particular tests I could ask for?
 
That is a bit more tricky.
Although in this case most doctors would give you antibiotics and tell you to come back in a week or so.
Sinusitis is a common complaint and fits the symptoms you've described, antibiotics should clear it up.
There, now I've gone against my own advice because it could be lots of other things too.
We gripe about health care in the UK but forget how lucky we are in reality compared with some parts of the world.
You could do your own research on the net, see what comes up.
But when it comes to advice we can only say see a doctor anything else would be irresponsible.
 
Actually, the health care you can get in Bangkok is top notch (some of the best in the world), and at a fraction of what they charge in the rest of the world. But thats an even longer trip for me - so long that it would take up most of the time I have for my course.

I agree with you. Seeing a doctor is always the best course of action. I guess I was hoping my symptoms were common enough to be easily categorized.

I think I'll try a couple days rest and give it another go. If I have any pain I'll discontinue the course and see the doctor in Bangkok when I fly out in a couple weeks time.

-Rick
 
I ended up going to the best ENT in SoCal's South Bay and got lucky. She told me I had a deviated septum and constricted openings to my supraorbital sinuses. Add to that my advancing years and what I had was the beginnings of sleep apnea. Surgery cured the entire problem. Now I'm not suggesting in any way that you may have something similar (unless, like me, you snore[d] like a steam-driven chain saw) but I really, really encourage you to see a specialist as soon as possible.
 
Reactions: John B Griffith Jr
Hi Rick, I read somewhere that if you have a small amount of air trapped in a dental cavity or under a badly made filling the pressure can press against the pulp inside the tooth. Hope it helps!

Info taken from Umberto Pelizzaris Book Manual of Freediving.
 
Reactions: siwael
Oldsarge said:
I ended up going to the best ENT in SoCal's South Bay and got lucky. She told me I had a deviated septum and constricted openings to my supraorbital sinuses. .
Click to expand...

Hey I'm in Redondo Beach and i think i screwed myself up today. It actually didn't hurt while decending and at depth, but when coming up to the surface i repeatedly got some sinus and ear pain. It would gradually go away at each surface interval, but got worse took longer as i continued. And now, after having been out of the water for four hours, my ears and sinuses are still hurting a lot. So who is the best ENT in the south bay? I think i may need to pay him or her a visit soon.
 

Nina Yoshpe, MD at SCENT on Wardlow in Long Beach. Go!
 
Last edited:

Yeah it's true, sinusitis symptoms is a common complaint for everyone...
 
Paraphrasing here: Aerosinusitis, or sinus barotrauma....usually manifests in a head-down presentation. Usually resolves with decongestants and anti-inflammatories...as it did with your case at first. Because most cases are caused by acute sinus infections...and being in the water a few days will do it...they clear up over time and with treatment. "In severe cases or cases resistant to local treatment, functional endoscopic sinus surgery is indicated in order to re-establish drainage and ventilation of the sinuses." Aerosinusitis. (2015, May 13). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 19:01, June 11, 2015, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aerosinusitis&oldid=662211376
 
Flush your ears with hydrogen peroxide twice a day - a good disinfectant but won't irritate your ears like alcohol can.
 
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