Ear problems

[kamih 0]

This really sucks.
I've been having ear problems for more than 2 weeks now .
I don't know if it's skydiving related because my last jump was almost a month ago.
My left ear feels muffled and low frequencies resonate and drive me crazy...
Feels like there's water in my ear basically, and I have tinnitus (ringing) when Im in a quiet place.
I went to see an ENT specialist and he couldnt find anything. Had a hearing test done, and my hearing is fine.
All he gave me were Allegra-D and Nasacort allergy spray, which aren't doing anything so far.
It doesn't seem like Meniere's disease cause I'm not experiencing vertigo (so far).
He wants me to do an Auditory Brainstem Scan or an MRI to see if I have a tumor.
He's already taken most of my money and itll take 2 months for my insurance to send it back (I'm a foreign student), so I havn't given him an answer yet.
He said maybe I damaged my ear skydiving. I've been jumping for 6 months and this has never happened before.
I had a similar problem 2 years ago that went away after a couple days, but this time it wont go away.
I'm pretty pissed at everything right now.. anyone have any experience with this sort of thing? If so what did you do and how long did it take?

[dorbie 0]

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This really sucks.
I've been having ear problems for more than 2 weeks now .
I don't know if it's skydiving related because my last jump was almost a month ago.
My left ear feels muffled and low frequencies resonate and drive me crazy...
Feels like there's water in my ear basically, and I have tinnitus (ringing) when Im in a quiet place.
I went to see an ENT specialist and he couldnt find anything. Had a hearing test done, and my hearing is fine.
All he gave me were Allegra-D and Nasacort allergy spray, which aren't doing anything so far.
It doesn't seem like Meniere's disease cause I'm not experiencing vertigo (so far).
He wants me to do an Auditory Brainstem Scan or an MRI to see if I have a tumor.
He's already taken most of my money and itll take 2 months for my insurance to send it back (I'm a foreign student), so I havn't given him an answer yet.
He said maybe I damaged my ear skydiving. I've been jumping for 6 months and this has never happened before.
I had a similar problem 2 years ago that went away after a couple days, but this time it wont go away.
I'm pretty pissed at everything right now.. anyone have any experience with this sort of thing? If so what did you do and how long did it take?

I had similar sensations when I started jumping. It felt like there was fluid in my middle ear, some frequences seemed muted and swallowing caused poping/flushing sounds in my ears. My eustachian tubes were never blocked though. It cleared up, I think what helped clear it was going SCUBA diving, unbelievable the crud that ended up in my mask after a couple of dives.

I think the cause with me was ascending sitting and descending on my belly tended to leave a little bit of mucus in my middle ear each jump wit a cumulative effect. That's just a wild theory of mine though. It was certainly caused by the constant changes in pressure that I wasn't used to. Not sure why it cleared when SCUBA diving, maybe the different orientation when pressurizing and depressurizing. I'm not advocating SCUBA diving as a treatment :-).

[Beachbum 0]

I can definitely sympathize! My right ear does that after every jump ... and it's not just a sensation of fluid ... it IS in there ... can feel it slosh around, and the doc confirmed it. I was told not to jump until it's gone, so I've been getting one jump each visit to the dz the whole time I've been doing it (usually takes 7 - 10 days to go away) ... sucks!! Anyhow ... I did the specialist thing too ... he did a ct scan of my sinuses, even stuck tiny cameras up my nose to look around ... never did figure out what is causing it. I blew over $3500 on it ... and no help ... THEN I talked to someone at the dz who has kids and told me he'd had a similar problem ... did like they do with kids and put a tube in that ear and his problem was fixed. Wish I had known about that before ... could have saved most of the money I spend trying to get it diagnosed (he said it was about $500 for the tube insertion)!!

As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

[dorbie 0]

Do you mean put a tube up through the eustachian tube? Surely you can't mean anything else.

I'd definitely try menthol medicated chews or nasal spray before I went for the tube option.

[Levin 0]

i use to have similar problems. i started cleaning my ears out weekly with hydrogenperoxide and haven't had any problems since.

I also take Allegra-D and that helps a bunch with my sinus' and allergies. not sure if it does anything for my ears.

[Beachbum 0]

No ... thru the eardrum ... from what he told me, it's pretty common these days to do it for little kids who have chronic ear infection problems (that is why he knew about it ... his kid). It lets the pressure equalize as you go up and down, so you don't get the fluid buildup. And yes ... tried all the OTC stuff, sprays, pills ... and a few prescription things as well, including a steroid inhaler thingy ... beconase, I think was the one. Nothing so far has helped. BUT ... discovered that it doesn't seem to ever do it up at Lost Prairie ... think that their higher altitude ... don't fall thru the last 3'000 like here, and that is where the greatest pressure difference is.

As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

[kamih 0]

Yeah I heard about the tube option, but that seems kinda barbaric . I hope it doesn't come to that.
Since yesterday it's gotten better, so I'm hoping maybe this time it'll stay better. I talked to another doctor I know and he said sometimes there's nothing you can do except rest and avoid stress. Unfortunately this kind of pathology isn't really fully understood yet so we have to be patient and just let nature take its course.. .
I'm supposed to go jumping again this weekend, hopefully it won't bother me, and I can finally get my license
blue skies

[earthworm 0]

I have the exact same problem.

My ears would kill me scuba diving or commercial flying. It got so bad when I first started skydiving that I saw a doctor. He said I had some inner ear bone disfiguration that was aggravating the problem, but I started taking psuedophed and a couple of squirts of Afrin on jump days and it really helps. Just don't overdo the Afrin.

Buzzards gotta eat...
Same as worms.

[Phillbo 11]

I had the same issue after my last jumps and the pain has lasted a while. I mentioned this to my doc last week during my yearly physical and she said that she never recommends Afrin but in this case it should help. Use it on the day you jump only as it can become very addictive.

[dorbie 0]

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No ... thru the eardrum ...

Yikes!!

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it doesn't seem to ever do it up at Lost Prairie

I wonder what the Relative Humidity at Lost Prairie is.

Looks like this ear problem is pretty common.

[VisionAir 0]

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Looks like this ear problem is pretty common.

What?!?!?!

Huh?!? What cloud?!? Oh that!!! That's just Industrial Haze
Alex M.

[docjohn 0]

Did you have a recent cold? This really sounds like serous (not serious) otitis, or a clear fluid collection in the middle ear. It would explain all of your symptoms.

It will usually clear on its own but could take weeks. It doesn't need antibiotics.

Cleaning your ears with peroxide or anything else won't help because the fluid is on the other side of the ear drum. Decongestants like Sudafed should help as does Afrin.

Nasal sprays like Beconase, Nasacort, Flonase, etc are steroid nasal sprays and take DAYS to work and they are more for hay fever (allergic rhinitis). They don't do much for eustachian tube dysfunction (which causes serous otitis).

Don't be afraid of Afrin but don't use it more than once a day. Take Sudafed before you leave for the DZ, use Afrin before your first jump of the day.

If your problem doesn't clear in a month, go back and see your ENT. And if you need a tube put in, its not a big deal.

Doc
http://www.manifestmaster.com/video

[kamih 0]

I didn't have a recent cold, but my home doctor also said it could be a serous otitis after I told him my symptoms.
It is starting to clear up, but very slowly. Im taking allegra-d, but I stopped taking the nasacort cause I thought it was stupid considering my symptoms.. (and steroids are bad anyways), so what you said comforts me in my decision.
Ill try sudafed/afrin next time I go jumping and Ill tell you how it goes.
Thanks for the advice everyone!

[ergirl 0]

Afrin and Sudafed sounds like a good plan, but do not use Afrin for more than 5 days, because it can be addicting.
It is important to clear the fluid before you jump though. I have had 4 sets of tubes as a child and then 2 years ago just had a tympanoplasty (new eardrum made) because of a hole in my eardrum that would not heal on its own.
Just last month I had a sharp pain in my ear got on the ground, looked in my ear and I had blood behind my eardrum. Otherwise known as traumatic hemotympanum. This can be a bad problem. That is the main reason you do not want to jump until your eustachin tubes are functionally properly.

"Life is not measured by your number of breaths, but by the moments that take your breath away."

[kamih 0]

The thing is, I'm not sure there is fluid. My ENT never said there was (then again he didn't say much..).
Is there any sign I should watch out for on my way up that should warn me not to jump?

[ergirl 0]

If your doctor called it serous otitis then that means that there was fluid behind the eardrum.
One way to tell yourself is if you feel like your ears are clogged, and you are unable to pop your ears by holding your nose and closing your mouth and trying to blow out your nose, or my yawning or blowing up balloons.
I always prescrib a decongestant like Sudafed, but make sure to increase fluids with it.

"Life is not measured by your number of breaths, but by the moments that take your breath away."

[kamih 0]

Woohoo!
Made my first jump today after a month of waiting for the weather and my ear to clear up.
And my ears didnt blow up .
Took a sudafed in the morning and no problems. I valsalvad once under canopy and it was like letting the air out of a baloon for a second, but no pain or anything.

blue skies!

[FlyingJ 0]

I've been plagued by this as well both scuba and skydiving. Like several others have said, the combo of sudafed and afrin generally do the trick for me in both sports.

Thankfully for me it's either really bad or nothing. On a really bad day I can feel a noticable difference in pressure on the ride from the dz to the runway which is a 120ft rise. I always know to bail on the jump and the rest of the weekend if I feel that pressure.

Same thing w/ scuba. I can tell by the time I've descended 10 or 15ft whether or not I'm going to make it. I've had to call several dives, but have gotten in the habit of diving w/ buddy groups of 3 or more so that if I call a dive close to the surface I'm the only one that loses out.

Like others have said, be careful w/ the Afrin though. I know a couple people that started using it way too often and had problems quitting.

Killing threads since 2004.

[willso 0]

I too experienced problems with my right ear on my first AFF jump. Extreme pain more than any sensation. Doctor said everything was clear, although says that it was probably due to a slight cold/flum, but I felt fine!! Anyway, had to wait a month before I could jump again. I took Bisolvin which breaks down any mucas between your nasal passage to inner ear, which isn't detectable. No serious issues since, but need to equalise once under canopy. I think time will be your best friend here??

[kamih 0]

Well it's been almost a month since this thing has started and keeps coming and going.. it started again this morning, 6 days after my last jump..
Can't wait for digital ears so I can get rid of all this malfunctioning organic CRAP!

[wee 0]

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No ... thru the eardrum ...

Yikes!!

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it doesn't seem to ever do it up at Lost Prairie

I wonder what the Relative Humidity at Lost Prairie is.

Looks like this ear problem is pretty common.

it sounds scarier than it really is. babies/toddlers have it done all the time to reduce ear infections (if reoccuring)... it just never occured to me! i have the same thing happen -- after my ears pop on the way up, it took a shower/sleep to get back to normal (and still felt a little muffled when i yawned and stuff.. if that makes sense)

If the world didn't suck, we'd all fall off!

[mapshute 0]

My first AFF jump:
I had a head cold. When I landed, my right ear was plugged. It did not get any better that evening. I jumped the next day at around 10 am (right ear still plugged) On the way up, I felt fluid release out of my ear (down the back of my throat) at 7000 ft.
After my second jump, my right ear was plugged again. On the way up for my third jump, I felt the fluid release again, this time at around 5000 ft. My slight problem I had might not be the same as what you have.

[03CLS 0]

I got sick with a chest cold and then moved to a head cold. I since flew to Dallas in this condition and when I landed on the ground it took my right ear a good day to pop and clear up. On the way back I used gum and yawned. It has been 3 weeks now and my ears are still clogged. I went to my PCP
about a week later and he told me to use Sudafed and Afrin. I'm still using and no luck yet. Sure when I yawn or burp it clears for that second, but that is it.



Is it dumb for me to think going back up to jump
will clear my ears?

Good Luck Kamilh, If something changes here I will let you know. I would hate to think I have to put tubes in my ears!

[kamih 0]

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Is it dumb for me to think going back up to jump
will clear my ears?

Well I've read that it actually helped some people, but you never know.. Personnaly I don't jump unless everything feels normal.. but I'll probably try jumping this weekend even if it's still a little weird. I guess I can always ride the plane down if it feels bad on the way up..
And yeah, sudafed and afrin havn't really done anything but clear my nose.. I wish more was known about the human hearing system..
Good luck with you too!

blue skies

[03CLS 0]

I went back up Saturday, funny thing is that I took sudafed that morning and blew my nose a few times and my left ear cleared up

On the way up to altitude they both did and I didn't have any problems under canopy, but when I landed the right one clogged back up. The left one is still good and I hear great from it.

I still have a head cold!