ears ears ears ears

[jf951 1]

over the past 5 weeks ish my ears have begun to hurt unbelievably when i go to full altitude, at the most i used to have to pop my ears every once and a while when i landed but lately the unequalization has become worse, excruciatingly painful and i cant get them to equalize back once i land, id rate it a solid 7 on the ouch-o-meter.

in the past year and a half ish i've been jumping i've never had any other problems like this before and i've never had any ear problems as a kid...does anyone have any advice or any experience with this?

-no i dont have a cold, sinus stuff
-and i am going to see the Doc next week

Jump more, Bitch less.

[JohnMitchell 14]

Sudafed is one over the counter medicine that, I believe, helps with clogged sinuses and eustachian tubes. Others swear by Afrin nasal spray. Seeing the doc is your best bet. Good luck.

[lauraliscious 0]

I would advise to STOP JUMPING until you see a doctor and get something figured out. I had an ear drum burst a few years back from jumping during allergy season. It was not pleasant.

Good luck, I hope you can figure out what the problem is.

Enemiga Rodriguez, PMS #369, OrFun #25, Team Dirty Sanchez #116, Pelt Head #29, Muff #4091

[skdiver 0]

I had a cochlear implant done in Jan. I was told not to blow my nose and to sneeze through my mouth for 3 weeks. Lift no more than 20# for 2 weeks. I had to fly the next day so was told to take 60mg of Sudafed 2 hours before flight. Worked like a champ. Only buy the Sudafed that they keep locked up. They do that so the meth cookers don't buy to much.

[egloskerry 0]

I have had my ears hurt a lot after a plane ride before. As it is right now, it takes my ears a day to pop sometimes after I get off the plane. It has started getting better, though, I guess from all the up and down.

[lippy 773]

I wouldn't fuck with your sinuses. Stop jumping till you see a doc.

Two weeks ago after a few jumps I started spitting up some blood. I had no sinus pain so I kept jumping for the rest of the day. Now I've got a sinus infection and the pain is annoying just here on the ground. I'm scared to get in the air.

I couldn't jump last weekend and I'm planning on standing down this weekend just because I didn't want to stop jumping two weeks ago and let my head heal.

If you've got that much pain, get it checked out before you do some real damage.

I got nuthin

[Chris-Ottawa 0]

Be very cautious...Ask yourself how much you value your hearing.

I blew my ear drum last Christmas after a visit to Florida. I had pain for a few days while I was there, then when I got back home (flew), it got so much worse. I spent 3 days in excruciating pain before I went to the hospital (yes, I'm a dumbass). I spend 6 hours waiting in the waiting room because it wasn't life threatening, and fell asleep on the bench at 6am. I got woken up by water, or more accurately...puss pouring down my face. I wen to the washroom and found it was a nice mixture of blood and puss. I had blew my eardrum.

By the time I got to see the doctor, the pain was gone and I could walk straight again. He said I may never get my hearing back if it doesn't heal correctly. I got about 90% my hearing back...after 6 or 8 weeks. Every time I jump now, I do have minor pain.

Long story short, don't risk your ear...you have no idea how shitty it it to have no balance, get dizzy all the time etc...

See a doctor, stop jumping...

"When once you have tasted flight..."

[jim_32766 0]

Sorry to hear about the problem. As others have said, don't mess around with this, get to the doctor. Most people only experience problems with trying to equalize against increasing external pressure, not with decreasing external pressure. Having difficulty with the latter could indicate something serious enough get professional attention.

Hope it all resolves favorably for you!

The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

[egloskerry 0]

Man, you guys are scaring me, and I'm not even the OP!

In my case, I think it's because I have a benign tumor in my right sinus. My ears are popping about an hour or two after I get down now, so I think I'm ok.

[CobraRover 0]

When I first started jumping, I always used to "pop" my ears on the plane ride up. After a while I started getting excruciating pains in my ears on the way down, literally to the point that I just stared at my alti all the way down waiting for the relief of pulling so I could pop them again. I started getting nose bleeds after doing this. Although I used to pop my ears on the way up, it wasnt because I was in pain - it was purely because they felt a little funny and I wanted to make them feel better. Some people suggested to me on here that because it wasnt pain I was experiencing on the way up, I shouldnt pop my ears on the plane ride up to try and keep the pressure levels similar to sea level. I took the advice, and since then Ive had no more discomfort on the way down and no more nose bleeds :D

No idea if you can relate to any of this in your scenario though.

[egloskerry 0]

Actually, I do swallow on the way up. I'm used to an airliner, where they are going to pop eventually. Since I'm only at altitude for 5-10 minutes, I guess they might not have a chance to pop. I'll give it a try. It'll be like natural earplugs.

Up to this point I've needed to hear my instructor, so that's probably why I've been doing it.

[Beerlight 0]

Quote

Actually, I do swallow on the way up. I'm used to an airliner, where they are going to pop eventually. Since I'm only at altitude for 5-10 minutes, I guess they might not have a chance to pop. I'll give it a try. It'll be like natural earplugs.

Up to this point I've needed to hear my instructor, so that's probably why I've been doing it.

Nothing wrong with swallowing on the ride to altitude. Ears clear (almost always) by themselves going UP. Popping and clicking is normal. Descent is where you typically have to perform a clearing manuever. Some do and some don't really need to. I've descended in an altitude chamber at 60,000 feet per minute with a nice normal valsalva. Fun :)

[jf951 1]

man thanks you guys!!...ill stick to hop and pops for the next few weeks till i get things sorted out!

Jump more, Bitch less.