Need advice quickly: sharp pain in ear and now it feels muffled

[Kirkk0herra 0]

Hello,

On my third AFF jump this morning I felt a sharp pain in my right ear. I went to a doctor and he said everything is fine (no busted ear drum) but I can feel something quite clearly isn't right.


The sensation is like having an ear muff over my ear or water in my ear. I didn't have cold or anything. I feel a little pressure on my forehead, right side so that clearly points to sinuses.

Any tips or advice if I should just let it pass (god knows how long it takes and my holiday is just 2 more weeks) or attempt a re-pressurization via another jump? Meds? What kind?

Man if this 40 jumps turns into 3.....

[Andy9o8 0]

Did the doc opine on whether you might take an OTC non drowsy decongestant?

[havoc996 0]

Did you tell the DR you had recently jumped? Been up in a plane? Have you tried pinching your nose and LIGHTLY blowing out of it. Sometimes re pressurizing takes a little help.

Trail mix? Oh, you mean M&M's with obstacles.

[JeffCa 0]

Were you wearing earplugs? I've only done one skydive with earplugs in and I stopped for the same reason, but there was no pain associated with it.

I'm not telling you it's the same thing and I'm not giving medical advice, but as a scuba diver, this often happens after I do repeated dives. It can take a few days to a few weeks to go away. Sounds will be muffled then suddenly there will be a painless "pop", and I'm back to normal.

"So many fatalities and injuries are caused by decisions jumpers make before even getting into the aircraft. Skydiving can be safe AND fun at the same time...Honest." - Bill Booth

[fiflyin 0]

It sounds like your ear is blocked. My first jump my ears hurt like hell in freefall and until I learnt to pop them they wouldn't clear until the next day (mostly) Even then I found the pressure built up again a bit until they started popping on their own accord. It sorted itself out in a few days though.

I'm partway through AFF too and still land as deaf as a post but I pop them then, which helps. You could try that but just apply gentle, gradual pressure, by holding your nose and then gently trying to blow out of it.

I personally nearly have to blow my eyeballs out of my head to do it, but a lot of people seem to need less pressure. Don't do it hard and fast, you can blow your eardrum

[craddock 0]

It could take days and pop when you least expect it. You can help it by blowing but be careful not to go as hard as you can. For sure take something like pseudoephedrine to clear sinuses if your going up again right away.(Of course make sure the side affects are not a problem) I struggled with this a lot early on. Had it take over a week and boy what a feeling when it finally cleared. Just because you do not have a cold does not mean you do not have some sinus infection. Allergies?

That spot isn't bad at all, the winds were strong and that was the issue! It was just on the downwind side.

[councilman24 36]

Look up valsalva maneuver in your favorite reference. Google and you'll get youtube, wiki, etc. Do that to try to equalize the pressure in your inner ear. I'm not going to try to explain here except to say you can think your doing it but not pressurizing the right area of throat and eustacian tubes. Should feel in ears. Obtain Afrin or similar nasal spray. Used in US military high altitude chamber training for people who can't clear their ears during the descent. Faster than systemic oral decongestants.

I'm old for my age.
Terry Urban
D-8631
FAA DPRE

[skydivecat 3]

Jumped after a sinus infection, extreme pain a day later as it clogged, ear was partially clogged for about 2 months, it sucked. Got the OK from the doc to start jumping again after verifying that there was no fluid built up in the ear. After 2 weekends of jumping, ear was back to normal.

[DiverMike 5]

You went to a doctor, which was smart. Asking advice on the internet - not so smart.
Don't do Valsalva extensively. If the problem is in your sinus cavity, you could make it worse. You could even have a 'reverse ' block where the pressure is greater in your sinuses and can't escape. I've had that happen to me at 30' underwater and surfacing was extremely painful.
Wait a week - it will probably go away.
Finally, don't listen to me either.

For the same reason I jump off a perfectly good diving board.

[Kirkk0herra 0]

Thanks for the replies, yes I told the Dr. what happened. I bought some nose spray from a farmacy which I doubt will work. the pressure is clearly between my ear and my right temple. I know it might sound radical but de-compressing it could work, going back up, opening high and equalizing all the way down.

For now on I equalize every 2000ft or so just like in scuba diving.

[piisfish 135]

which nose spray ? If you are in Empuria, get some Disneumon Pernasal (red bottle), I love that shit. Even if you don't use it right away, get some for later when you have a cold.

scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM

[Kirkk0herra 0]

I got a green bottle called Disne mar...

[havoc996 0]

Maybe this will help you figure out what is causing your issue. I agree that the dr was the first and best step to figuring out what is going on. I know that when my canopy opens up I depressurize lightly and then get on with things.

https://www.entnet.org/content/ears-and-altitude

Trail mix? Oh, you mean M&M's with obstacles.

[Hellis 0]

Kirkk0herra

For now on I equalize every 2000ft or so just like in scuba diving.

2000 feet scubadiving before equalizing?
YOU'RE THE MAN!!

[GAjumper84 0]

I had the same problem. The more I skydived, the longer before it would open up. The last time it took 2 1/2 weeks to open back up, and I went back to my doctor. He said it was middle ear barotrauma caused by my ears not equalizing correctly. I had to take a month off skydiving to let the swelling go completely back to normal. Even after it opens up, there can still be swelling/irritation. He also prescribed me a nasal spray and told me to fire it straight down my nasal passage (back, not up) and suck in deeply to have it reach the back of my eustacian tube. The spray is supposed to dialate the passages to allow air to freely pass through. I do that before I jump for the day and have had no more problems. Of course if your case is not so severe, equalizing after your canopy opens (after checking traffic) seems to work well for most people. I only told my story to hopefully help anyone that reads this having major problems with equalization.

[JeffCa 0]

Hellis

***
For now on I equalize every 2000ft or so just like in scuba diving.

2000 feet scubadiving before equalizing?
YOU'RE THE MAN!!



Awww, I was going to make that jackass comment. I was disappointed when I scrolled down and saw yours. You're a faster jackass than I am, I guess.

"So many fatalities and injuries are caused by decisions jumpers make before even getting into the aircraft. Skydiving can be safe AND fun at the same time...Honest." - Bill Booth

[Arvoitus 1]

Kirkk0herra

Thanks for the replies, yes I told the Dr. what happened. I bought some nose spray from a farmacy which I doubt will work. the pressure is clearly between my ear and my right temple. I know it might sound radical but de-compressing it could work, going back up, opening high and equalizing all the way down.

For now on I equalize every 2000ft or so just like in scuba diving.

Try not doing it all until your done for the day. I personally never try to equalize until I know I'm not jumping any more for the day.

On normal day I only get this feeling like my ears are full and everything sounds like its mumbled.

Sometimes its worse and right after freefall I get a sharp pain in my ears and ringing sound.

The only time its really a big issue is sometimes on tandems I can't hear the passanger very well so I end up yelling at them.

Your rights end where my feelings begin.

[Skydivesg 6]

I've had the same trouble since I first start jumping.

I have to clear my ears immediately (valsalva) after opening which is why I wear a Cookie flip up visor helmet.

I tend to be pro-active so every day that I jump I take Pseudoephedrine HCI 30mg (two tabs) every four hours.

This does it for me. I buy the stuff that we (in the states) have to get from behind the counter even though it is an OTC med.

The crap that is on the shelves does not work for me - I use the real stuff (above). I buy the cheapest generic I can find not Sudafed, which is an expensive brand name.

If I didn't do these two things I don't think I would be able to jump due to ear pain.

Be the canopy pilot you want that other guy to be.

[Kirkk0herra 0]

Short update, I stayed on the ground whole day, the pressure feeling comes and goes. I went to swimming pool and I was able to equalize normally on the way down and my ears equalized on the way up with snap, crackle and pop but without pain. I even tried Nasolin directly into my ear as one instructor said it does it for him. Clearly my ears do work with slight discomfort. I'm starting to lean towards a jump tomorrow and if for some odd reason there would be pain or I'd be unable to equalize on the plane I just abort.

[3mpire 0]

Quote

I'm starting to lean towards a jump tomorrow and if for some odd reason there would be pain or I'd be unable to equalize on the plane I just abort.

What's the rush, wait until you're 100% sure, then it's not a problem.

I kinda like to never even get on the plane unless i'm 100% certain of the outcome with regards to things within my control.

[Trafficdiver 8]

I got the snap crackle and pop thing once when I jumped with a cold. Lasted about 3 days.

[CG07 0]

You can also do Eustachian Tube exercises regularly to improve your ability to clear your ears. A couple times a day (3 or so reps each time) fill your cheeks with air and swallow it. This was recommend to me by my ENT prior to some surgeries I had on my eardrums to reduce the pressure during the healing process.

[DrDom 0]

Start with a valsalva maneuver, if that isn't helping you need to see an ENT specialist. You probably do have some degree of middle ear barotrauma; worse case they could even put a tympanostomy tube in to relieve the pressure (they have temporary ones that fall out after a few days/weeks).

If you had blown the eardrum you would actually have no pain, this is a benign injury that heals without problems; its the fact it did NOT tear that leaves all that pressure in.

You are not the contents of your wallet.

[Kirkk0herra 0]

A quick update. The problem still persists. Bear in mind I had no head cold or anything when this happened. I can equalize but the trapped pressure won't escape. At times it seems to go away and then it comes back.

GP or ENT both give the same answer, on the surface eveything is ok and that's the thing, they simply have no means to dig any deeper. And a lot of doctors simply don't seem to understand anything about scuba/skydiving or issues associated with them.

I'll get a prescription for pseudoefedrine tomorrow and we'll see if that works or not. I've tried everything after that. We're on a landing pattern that is about to turn the most anticipated holiday ever into the most horrible holiday ever. And there won't be a new one anytime soon and the next one will include taking photos of old churches with my GF to make up for this 'wild-just-with-boys-skydiving-party'

Next it's 12 pints of Guinness since I got fuck all better to do. Sorry for the rant, I'm furious.

[potatoman 0]

I know this might sound silly, but try bubble gum.

I always have a couple of sticks in the jumpsuit, chewing all the way up, and all the way down. Also helps on consentration.

I prefer the ones that is very strong(minty), so it also opens up the nazels.

Good luck.

You have the right to your opinion, and I have the right to tell you how Fu***** stupid it is.
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Whatever you do, don't listen to ChrisD.