Sore Ear

[Mongrel454]

Well today we went for a dive to a reef located about 7-8km off-shore.
All day while i was diving i had a little issue equalizing my right ear, but with persistance it worked.
Well after a few hours in the water, i was floating about halfway down(15 feet) admiring the view, then when i decided to go up i got a sharp pain in my right ear and as i approached the surface it got worse. The pain travelled down fom my ear a little and was sore to the touch.
Any ideas what it might be, Perhaps i got water in there somewere i shouldnt?

 

[pauldeclercq]

The problem is oedema/swelling of the mucosa inner ear/eusctachian tube.
It comes from incorret equalising whereby the equalising is "truamatic" setting off an inflamatory cascade and with the swolen mucosa the ears becomes more difficult to equalise and more pressure is needed, equalising becomes painfull and finally impossible.

Solution :

• Rest; avoid further dives, coughing, sneezing, bending, and attempts to equalize pressure in the ears.
• Pain may be relieved with 1-2 acetaminophen every 4 hours and/or 1-2 ibuprofen every 6-8 hours(not if you have had a gastric ulcer).
• Pseudoephedrine (Sudafed) 30 mg tablets, 1 every 6 hours for 2-3 days, may relieve congestion. People with a history of high blood pressure should avoid this product.
• Oral antibiotics are usually recommended for discharge from the ear, nose, or mouth. Tell the doctor of any drug allergy prior to starting any antibiotic. Antibiotics can cause sensitivity to the sun, so use a sunscreen.

I have had to stop my days diving because of this. It also came back the next day, being stuck in northern mozambique rulesd out any pharmacy.

You can avoid this bij equalising regularly.

Happy spearing and well done with the yellow tail.

 

[Mongrel454]

Thank you very much Paul

The pain went away with in a couple hours, so i never took any drugs for it.
It still feels like there is a little something in there but it isnt sore or irritable at all.
Ive never really had any problems equalizing, so i dont really know is there an incorrect way to do it?

Once again thx

 

[DSRTEGL]

Be VERY......VERY.......Careful here......

I have PERMANENT inner ear damage from an unattended problem such as yours and as a result I can't equalize AT ALL. It started out as a simple ear irritation and bloomed into a MAJOR infection in just couple of days. If the irritation persists...see a Doctor immediately.

I hate sounding like a doomsayer here but I LOVED the water as a child and I am only just getting to where I can get into the water again more than 20 years later.

The above advise is one hell of a good start but don't push your luck if the problem persists

 

[pauldeclercq]

I understand your warning, I am a Doctor, and you are absolutely correct, when it come to inner ear pain without resolution and worsening pain.
However what we are discussing here is the pain which is specifically related to diving and is not present before the dive. It has nothing to do with infections.

If you have ear ache before your dive. DON'T DIVE, see a doc.

 

[DSRTEGL]

I didn't get it....Sorry. Since I am not yet a "diver" )I can only get down to about 8' when my ears and sinuses are completely clear) I did not know there was a specific diving related situation.

For me to even think about getting wet means a couple of days of careful dosing with tylenol and pseudophed with flushing of my sinuses using saline solution....FUN stuff

 

[Jouskari]

Sounds like an innerear barotrauma caused as mentioned by doc by the blocking of the Eustachian tube.

Here´s some reading... see the section on Barotrauma on Ascent

DAN Divers Alert Network : Common Ear Injuries While Diving

 

[DSRTEGL]

Sweet.......Thanks for the link