Ear Barotrauma

[matt151617]

Who's had this? It really sucks. Managed to get some pretty bad barotrauma in my right ear, and a little bit in the left ear. I was having trouble equalizing, but managed to clear them ok. This was on 6/1, and the next day, my ears hurt really bad. I figured it was just water stuck in the ear. Blood has definately pooled up inside my ear and is putting pressure on my eardrums.

I called DAN medical and talked to a medic. He told me it's pretty common... just to take a Sudafed and Motrin every 4-6 hours to relieve pressure and swelling. He said most cases of this heal themselves in 2 weeks or less.

Anyone ever hear of totally loosing hearing from ear barotrauma or it not healing on its own? I hope this doesn't happen every time I dive.

[rawalker]

That seems to be what I went through. Only difference is when I surfaced from my dive, I had some bleeding from the nose. It stopped immediately but I decided to be safe and not make a second dive that day. 3 weeks later I was in Cabo and made 2 dives without any problems.

[matt151617]

I did get a bloody nose during one of my dives, nothing major though. I never even realized it, my instructor just had me clear my mask, and it was fine. I had to abort my second dive due to equalizing problems, but the next day, I made 4 successful dives.

[scubasamurai]

after being in the profession, my wife had a barotrauma with a bad cold and going up in an air plane. rupture both ear drums with no discarge, only found out after going to the md. she had a hard time hearing for about a month but resolved with antibiotics and decongestins. my advice before your next dive, go and check your ears checked out. you culd still have a large build up of fluid behind the membrane and not know it. so peice of mind go and get checked out.

[Karletto]

i had midlle ear trouble too; the pain is the most disgusting pain ive experienced -> 2, 3 days of agony (its not like flu with high temperature that stops in the evening and continues in the morning);
on the 4th, 5th day an orange/ yellow sludge came from the nose and the ear O_O

i quited diving for few years, equalisation works fine now and i hear ok; damage can be done -> depending how much do u hurt the drum

[cummings66]

I think the key thing is prevention, it's hard to say that when the average scuba course doesn't really teach you the tricks about it, but fortunately on this board are many postings telling, and even one you can download a video that shows you how to equalize and the various techniques.

The important thing is equalize early, and often. Start at the surface where you can almost always equalize and keep it going all the way down. For me once past 30 feet I never have problems, but I can have issues until I get there.

[caroln]

I agree with Cummings66, prevention is key. If you are having any trouble at all with your ears ahead of time, on top of all the other steps already suggested, I recommend trying docs proplugs. I used them to dive once with a minor ear infection, and basically what they do is allow the pressure to change a little slower and more gradually so it makes it easier for your ears to equalize.

[matt151617]

I'll have to try the plugs... I enjoy diving really a lot, but this certainly makes it less enjoyable, and I doubt I'll dive very much if I have to go through a week of pain and problems hearing every time I go.

I did everything possible... took Sutafed before the dives, equalized a whole bunch on the surface, and every few feet going down, but still had problems. After about 20 feet I could equalize just by swallowing hard.

This happened Sunday, and the pain is still bad enough it wakes me up in the early morning. The Sutafed and Motrin help a decent amount. I lost my medical insurance a week ago, so I'd like to avoid going to the doctor if at all possible (unless maybe DAN's insurance covers it, since it is a dive-related injury).

[caroln]

Originally Posted by matt151617

I'll have to try the plugs... I enjoy diving really a lot, but this certainly makes it less enjoyable, and I doubt I'll dive very much if I have to go through a week of pain and problems hearing every time I go.

I did everything possible... took Sutafed before the dives, equalized a whole bunch on the surface, and every few feet going down, but still had problems. After about 20 feet I could equalize just by swallowing hard.

This happened Sunday, and the pain is still bad enough it wakes me up in the early morning. The Sutafed and Motrin help a decent amount. I lost my medical insurance a week ago, so I'd like to avoid going to the doctor if at all possible (unless maybe DAN's insurance covers it, since it is a dive-related injury).

If you get the plugs, make sure you get the kind with holes in them that are designed for scuba diving. They also make a version without holes that are not good to use for diving.

Are you 100% sure that you definitely have a barotrauma and not an ear infection? Your pain sounds like the ones I had earlier this week, and I had a double ear infection. I probably picked it up helping out with a class at the pool, or at the quarry over the weekend, but either way the pain was pretty intense. Nothing helped until I got the antibiotic drops, and then the pain decreased dramatically overnight, to the point that I can dive again starting tomorrow.

[USF_Diver]

Originally Posted by cummings66

The important thing is equalize early, and often. Start at the surface where you can almost always equalize and keep it going all the way down. For me once past 30 feet I never have problems, but I can have issues until I get there.

Thats true for me also, I notice once past 30 ft I don't have many issues.

Also avoiding going up and down alot in the first 15ft if I do this I notice I have equalizing problems till I do my next dive.