Ear 'Squeeze', Infections, Dizziness, Problems? - Information & Discussion.

[Mr T.]

Now I'm not saying this 'remedy' has the backing of the Royal College of Surgeons and their ilk (always please refer to a GP/MD - preferrably with a sound knowledge of SCUBA related conditions!), but when I lived out in Maldives (and before things like 'Swim Ear' were invented), we had to resort to 'bush medicine' when it came to resolving the wax build up that can often be the cause of ear blockages and equalisation problems.

So, what is the common ingredient that all these new fangle treatments have to attack the wax build up?? Alcohol!! Happy Daze ;)

If you find yourself in 'less than ideal circumstances' in-country, and yet need a treatment for this, you might want to consider getting some Vodka (pref Smirnoff Black Label, darlings) and tip it slowly into your ear. The alcohol will breakdown the wax and things should start to clear up.

Of course any drain-off can be collected immediately placed directly into the eye and the Vodka will take effect quicker than if ingested through the mouth! (Please ignore this last paragraph, as it's only for die-hard dive-junkies that have partaken in and passed 'Sickners 1 & 2').

Dive safe (and healthy),


(Edited by Bren Tierney at 11:03 pm on Dec. 15, 2002)

[Hobby]

Another nice trick as described by a Turkish Sat diver no less (they can get problemswith ears in chambers due to dry equalisations etc)is to apply a couple of drops of olive oil in you ears daily before and during your diving trips.

[Hobby]

Seeing as Bren's started the above thread I thought I'd put this on.

Some of the veterans of YD will probaly know this link anyway, but if you can't stand a joke....you should'nt have joined! :D

Anyway, one of the most common complaints when diving, especially with novices is to do with ears and equalising. I'm sure we've all known of at least one person who's had trouble in this area. I know of several people who wanted to dive but had such severe problems with their ears ended up giving up, before they'd got out of the pool.

Now it usually seems to be the case that you're taught the Valsalva manouver, if you're lucky you may get taught another, if not you learn to live with it, there are in fact several methods, the Valsalva perhaps being the least effective!

Another myth that novices are taught is to "equalise when it begins to get uncomfortable". Arse, try equalising gently as soon as you begin your descent, when I first did this I had felt no "pressure" on my ears but they cleared, I was amazed. Clear little and often, as your skill improves you should be able to do it easily, possibly without using your hands.

Your ears can give rise to untold trouble, I had a commercial medical removed "at risk of death" as the resulting vertigo meant I did'nt know which way was up. Combining that with vomiting into my Hard-hat gave an interesting experience. It was all down to an inability to equalise effectively and surgery has hopefully cured this, but it's rare such measures are needed.

Some dry practice equalisations, done gently, a week before a diving trip can help, regular diving will also help.

Remember also that you're likely to experience more problems within the splash zone rather than deeper as this is where the differential is at its greatest.

Descending feet first can make equalisation much easier, it's been said it's 50% easier to equalise at a given depth with your head up than in a head down position, so if you're going down a shot and have trouble, "stand up", come up a little and try again; if the problem persists call the dive.

Permanent damage of a severe nature can be done quickly, which can affect your life never mind prevent you diving again.

ALWAYS, always seek relevant medical advice regarding any medical problems, it should go without saying. Where possible see a diving Doctor as even your local ENT Dept. may well not have the required knowledge/experience for diving related probs. (I know this through experience, indeed, it cost me my Commercial Diving job!)

Read these link, the first is really excellent and IMHO is the level that all novices should be taught to.

http://www.scubadiving.com/training/...ive_forever/1/

Take care,
Hobby.

[Gavin Yates]

Top stuff Hobby.

I learned to "pre-equalise" on the surface as a novice and it's always helped me but there's some very interesting and useful points that I hadn't come across in the articles.

Nice one.

[Davey Willo]

Hear! Hear! (pun intended) Top link Hobby, keep em coming mate

[Andy Winterburn]

Now I suffered from perforated ears when I started diving. I now blame the 'instruction' provided although it could just have been an existing complaint but:

Inst: Ok you need about 24lbs of weight, get in and we'll do a weight check.
Mug: Ok
Inst: Right lets descend, let the air out of your BC.
Mug: Does as he is told.
Doc: You've got an infection, a perforation and you should stop diving.
Mug: B****cks to that.

I actually dive with about 4kg of lead so was VERY slightly over weighted, just.
Now who can remember that 1st dive, cold water, heart pumping, entering the unknown. Dump your air, equalise your ears?
Surely we should tell students to take their time, dump air at about the same speed as they are told to inflate to become bouyant, short bursts. After all we are normaly in a 'pond' and rapid descents are not required.
Yes I would like to say this is down to the quality of training. Sorry its not, watch next time your at Stoney or Capenwray. I know of several people who have been put off diving or got bad ear infections due to crashing to the bottom.
The club I dive with now allocate one person to each student just for the descent and there are few if any problems with ears
I'm always happy to help with this bit, as I will never forget that first dive

[JohnK]

Best tip I ever got - and I use it frequently - is to `sniff` the water up your nose, then blow it out - works every time.

[Jay]

Combine it with Bren's and we're back to sniffing vodka!!

[andy2tanx]

The lad off my shift had some real problems with his right ear at the weekend.  So much so that hes off to the docs with it.  It was a bit alarming to see him come up after one of his dives with blood in his face mask, but he claimed this was quite common for his family in that they suffer from weak cappillaries in the nose.  However, his equalisation woes were sorted after he dry equalised before the dive, as has been suggested by Gav I think?

[Gavin Yates]

I think Paul C has experience of a weak nose - the option is cauterization which is unpleasant.

If you don't mind leaking a bit of claret i don't think it does much harm.