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If you have any fluid in your inner ear you could experience Virtigo. Sounds like you could have a slight inner ear infection. Might want to get a round of antibiotics if you start feeling any sign of pain. I grew up with my right ear getting inner infections at least 4 times a year and still get them once and a while. It doesn’t really restrict my diving but the more I dive the less ear infections I have because the equalization helps keep my Eustachian tubes clear and stretched out. Yours might not be cleared of all the fluid and you could try an decongestant or a decongestant and antihistamine together. Just follow the labels instructions.
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Thanks for the reply. It’s always great to hear from other diver’s experience.
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At the very least it’s an ear infection but it could be more serious. It could be a rupture. Have it checked by a doctor and if it’s nothing serious you may want to add regular use of swimmers brew to your after dive regiment. Swimmers brew is equal parts distilled water, 90% rubbing alcohol and white vinegar. Leave a few drops in your ears a few minutes with a cotton ball and clean with Q-tips. The alcohol will dry your ears and the vinegar will leave a slightly acidic environment that bacteria can’t grow in.
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Hi RAwalker, What DiveGirl is experiencing is all in the inner ear. If it’s a ruptured ear drum the last thing you want to do is introduce liquid of any kind to the ear canal as you run the risk of flushing debris into the inner ear. The Swimmers brew will work to dry out the outer ear canal between dives to keep bacteria from growing and causing an outer ear infection. She could have a rupture but she spoke of no pain in her ears and she has experienced this before but not for such a long time. I bet the rough boat ride along with the stress of a difficult dive added to the problem. All that stress keeps muscles tight so her Eustachian tubes may not drain as usual.
Keep us posted DiveGirl.
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I had the same thing after my last dive. Sea’s were mild @ 2-4ft, and we dove to about 95FSW, but I had trouble clearing on both dives.
I’d be interested to know if you had any trouble clearing?
I contacted my dive instructor/boat operator and he asked if there was any pain associated. There was none and the vertigo was manageable so he suggested to wait a day and see if it cleared up on it’s own. Sounds similar to yours... rocking boat feeling randomly throughout the day. It started about 2 days after the dive and lasted about a day and a half and then went away.
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I do not have any pain in my ears. And yes, I had a little issue equalizing getting down to depth. Unfortunately, this is usual for me. I have allergies and even though I take Flonase and an allergy decongestant I still have issues. I just have to go slow when I descend. Once I’m at depth I’m fine and can enjoy the dive. Normally after a couple of days of continuous diving my ears give me less issues descending.
Thanks again for all the info.
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Yes, water in the inner ear can give you vertigo. Also if you have an inner ear infection you will have vertigo, it messes with your sense of balance, can make you feel sick to your stomach and so on. A product called Dry Ear could possibly help you, I think that is the right name of the product. If not seek medical attention if it doesn’t go away!
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Call DAN for advice but go see a doctor ASAP, too. I had a very serious ear infection and my urgent care doc recommended a fabulous ENT doctor and was able to help me side step the usual wait for an appointment. You can’t dive if you have bad ears. Take care of yourself.
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