 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
| HomeArticlesDiving DestinationsLearning Scuba DivingMarine LifeMiscellaneousDiscussion GroupsGeneralScuba EquipmentScuba LocationsAustralian ScubaUK ScubaDirectoryScuba Clubs |
Scuba Forum / General / August 2004Still My Ears
Ugh, it's been four days since my first lesson (Thursday 12) and my ears still feel funny. It's the same problem, I open my mouth up wide or swallow and I hear small popping/cracking in my ears. I'm starting to wonder if I should go to my second lesson this Thursday. I hear fine, although it does feel like my ears are a little blocked or something. There's no pain or anything like that. If what I'm hearing are small blood vessels popping, then how many days does it take for all those things to pop? > Ugh, it's been four days since my first lesson (Thursday 12) and my ears > still feel funny. It's the same problem, I open my mouth up wide or swallow [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > anything like that. If what I'm hearing are small blood vessels popping, > then how many days does it take for all those things to pop? You are not hearing small blood vessels popping - it is your ears popping. Everytime you swallow pressure changes happen with your ears. Maybe you just didn't notice before. If you are that concern - see your doc. > > Ugh, it's been four days since my first lesson (Thursday 12) and my ears > > still feel funny. It's the same problem, I open my mouth up wide or swallow [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > popping. Everytime you swallow pressure changes happen with your ears. > Maybe you just didn't notice before. Dang, I just came up with the perfect description of this sound in my ears - it's like when you pull two pieces of velcro apart. Only the sound I hear would be only two or three strands of velcro being pulled apart. > Dang, I just came up with the perfect description of this sound in my > ears - it's like when you pull two pieces of velcro apart. Only the sound I > hear would be only two or three strands of velcro being pulled apart. Did you try taking a decongestant, yet? > Dang, I just came up with the perfect description of this sound in >my ears - it's like when you pull two pieces of velcro apart. Only the >sound I hear would be only two or three strands of velcro being pulled >apart. I can make my ears do this by squeezing some muscles around there. Happens when chewing and yawning aswell. I would guess that this is something which has been there all the time but, because you are conscious of your ears, diving, and equalising, you are now noticing it. Tinnitus is a bit similar. You can go for ages without noticing it then something draws your attention to it, and it's there all the time.  SignatureRichard Faulkner >> Dang, I just came up with the perfect description of this sound in >> my ears - it's like when you pull two pieces of velcro apart. Only [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > Tinnitus is a bit similar. You can go for ages without noticing it then > something draws your attention to it, and it's there all the time. Everytime you swallow there is a pressure change in your ears from air being moved into the eustachian tubes, the noise you hear is your ears "popping" Many times when you yawn your ears pop for part of the same reason but also due to the fact that you are stretching muscles in your neck and throat that stretch the eustachian tube which may or may not force enough pressure change to cause an ear "pop". We usually only experience (enough to notice) when ascending to altitude and descending. It usually occurs without incident. Diving presents a different problem . I agree with the quorum here - it is all quite natural what you are going through. It will clear, you have some fluid behind the eardrum that is still draining. Gently try to clear your ears - to keep the fluid moving and your ears working. Take a decongestant - or see your doc. I think you will be okay for your next class - I think you are just noticing things that you didn't before. But that too will past - probably most of us have experienced and worried about the same thing when we started. > Ugh, it's been four days since my first lesson (Thursday 12) and my ears > still feel funny. It's the same problem, I open my mouth up wide or swallow [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > anything like that. If what I'm hearing are small blood vessels popping, > then how many days does it take for all those things to pop? Clicking eustacion tubes. I've had that ever since a bad sinus infection in college. Had a cold when I got certified and plugged my tubes up even more. Had a lot of trouble equalizing, especially in the first 15 feet. Worked with an ENT recommended by my dive store, because he was also a diver. He found nothing wrong, other than the clicking eustacion tubes, about which he shrugged and said, ``Get used to it.'' He recommended overpressuring the ears at the surface, then aggressively equalizing through the first twenty feet. Oh, and use Afrin. Doesn't make you drowsy, doesn't have any recoil effects like sudafed. Took quite a bit of practice, but now I can put the head down, feet up and head straight down, equalizing all the way... See a doctor, by all means. But I wouldn't stop, if I were you. >Oh, and use Afrin. Doesn't make you drowsy, doesn't > have any recoil effects like sudafed. But is very addictive... Got hooked on it when I had a cold in the mid-1980s... Took over a year to break the addiction... Next time I had a really bad cold, I was able to stop taking it... I'll be damned if I'll ever take that crap again... >>Oh, and use Afrin. Doesn't make you drowsy, doesn't >> have any recoil effects like sudafed. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >really bad cold, I was able to stop taking it... I'll be damned if I'll ever >take that crap again... Addictive? I got to the point, once, where I had to use Afrin to keep my sinuses from clogging up as a matter of routine. Once I got 'unhooked' I never had any real temptation to go back to that li'l bottle. I quit smoking a year ago ... and not a day goes by ... :-) The Afrin thing can kinda creep up on you. I got away from it after an a.s chewing and a prescription from a doctor. I know you've got to follow the directions on the bottle (something about prolonged usage). All that said ... if your sinuses are blocked ... Afrin will undo 'em, but it does wear off eventually. So _don't_ get caught in the middle of a dive when that's gonna happen. -- Barnacle Barney That which does not kill us makes us stronger. -Friedrich Nietzsche- > Ugh, it's been four days since my first lesson (Thursday 12) and my ears >still feel funny. It's the same problem, I open my mouth up wide or swallow [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >anything like that. If what I'm hearing are small blood vessels popping, >then how many days does it take for all those things to pop? No one on this group can give you accurate advice for your specific condition. Know why? You can't be physically examined properly here. 1. Go see your doctor. There are a whole bunch of remedies for the condition you describe. Most of 'em deal with drying out your eustachian tubes. 2. Give some serious consideration to waiting through this. I suspect this'll go away based on past experience. YMMV 3. You haven't figured out how to equalize yet ... so let your instruktor know before you get back in the water. -- Barnacle Barney That which does not kill us makes us stronger. -Friedrich Nietzsche- > Ugh, it's been four days since my first lesson (Thursday 12) and my ears > still feel funny. If you feel that you are prone to ear problems and equalizing under water, like the others suggested, take a decongestant. However, if you plan to take decongestants prior to diving, make sure you take the long acting ones like Sudefed. You don't want to effects of the drug to wear off while you are under water. Clint Free Spirit Gallery http://www.FreeSpiritGallery.ca Exquisite Inuit (Eskimo) & Native American Art > > Ugh, it's been four days since my first lesson (Thursday 12) and my > ears [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > like Sudefed. You don't want to effects of the drug to wear off while you > are under water. Pseudoephedrine lasts only 4 hours unless it's the "extended release" kind. Even then, you're screwed if you start diving in the morning and dive through the afternoon and night. You can take more, but it won't be easy to get to sleep. Afrin is far superior, and lasts 12 hours, except that the "rebound" effect has you even more congested the next morning. So you hit the plastic bottle again and again until your nose is burning and you're addicted to the stuff. <snip> > Afrin is far superior, and lasts 12 hours, except that the "rebound" effect > has you even more congested the next morning. So you hit the plastic bottle > again and again until your nose is burning and you're addicted to the stuff. Personal experience? > <snip> > > Afrin is far superior, and lasts 12 hours, except that the "rebound" [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > Personal experience? I always cut myself off cold turkey after a dive trip, but I've definitely experienced the rebound effect. Doc (ENT) gave me a nasal steroid (Nasonex) to use for the burning. He also told me I could take the entire 120mg daily limit of Sudafed at one time if I really want to be clear, but I doubt my blood pressure appreciates that. I think he's in cahoots with the cardiologist next door. > Pseudoephedrine lasts only 4 hours unless it's the "extended release" kind. > Even then, you're screwed if you start diving in the morning and dive > through the afternoon and night. You can take more, but it won't be easy to > get to sleep. Rum in sufficient quantity will help you sleep. > > Pseudoephedrine lasts only 4 hours unless it's the "extended release" kind. > > Even then, you're screwed if you start diving in the morning and dive > > through the afternoon and night. You can take more, but it won't be easy to > > get to sleep. > > Rum in sufficient quantity will help you sleep. Ya. I figgered that out myself. But then I snore real loud and get in even more trouble. > Pseudoephedrine lasts only 4 hours unless it's the "extended release" kind. > Even then, you're screwed if you start diving in the morning and dive > through the afternoon and night. You can take more, but it won't be easy to > get to sleep. > Afrin is far superior, and lasts 12 hours, except that the "rebound" effect > has you even more congested the next morning. So you hit the plastic bottle > again and again until your nose is burning and you're addicted to the stuff. I don't know, the Sudafed I take is supposed to be 12 hour as well, and it has been really working well for me. I tend to take one the night before diving, and one about an hour before the first dive. I used to use Dristan (same as Afrin) and the rebound was a killer... SignatureCraig West Ph: (416) 666-1645 | It's not a bug, acwest-sig@craigwest.net | It's a feature... |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2008 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.