Ears aprés dive

Well a long time aprés dive.

For quite some time after a dive, like a day
or so, my ears just like to be yawned at as
if I am clearing them. I was offered one
explanation that after breathing a high O2
mix the internal passageways are still full
of highly metabolisable O2 which the tissues
just lap up but for over 24 hours? The
alternative view was that I am still degassing
into those passageways - the computer may have
cleared its 'No fly' but exponentials being
exponentials I guess I'm degassing until the
tissue tensions are less than the pressure
changes from the weather.

I can understand my ears being a bit put out
after two 45+ meter dives at the weekend even
though I am careful with them but a yawn still
brings on that slight change in the sound levels
reminiscent of clearing.

OK I admit that I'm not sure if they are over or
under pressure, the effect is slight and doing a
nose hold/blow changes it too much.

Does anybody else get this?
What's your theory?

nigelH

It's not just you. I get varying degrees of the same thing after most
dives.

I have to admit that I never thought about the mechanisms of why, but I can
rule out the high PPO2 theory as I don't do decostop diving and only dive
air <caveat type="standard" value="for the time being" issue="bank
balance"/>.

CAS
--
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http://stoneytemps.calumscott.me.uk/
"The measure of a man's wealth is the fewness of his wants" - Jack
Mullholand

> Does anybody else get this?
> What's your theory?

I've had that occasionally, mainly after periods of repetitive diving over
several days. After the last trip to the Red Sea my ears were a bit funny
for over a week I seem to remember, but as it just goes away I don't tend to
worry about it too much. Its nothing to do with problems clearing ears,
since I very rarely struggle to clear ears and when I do I don't get very
far (like about 3m). Even just travelling home from Stoney or something I
tend to find occasionally that my ears will just 'pop' and I can suddenly
hear more / differently than I could a second before.
My theory: I don't have one, it just happens - as it always goes back to
normal I don't worry about it.

David

just wondering if this is just due to the ears still being wet?
pressurised water in the ear may well take some time to dry up.

"rich" <rich@nospam.co.uk> wrote in message
news:46j8c01bl4avdql9qiufvj32m9sgasimef@4ax.com...
> just wondering if this is just due to the ears still being wet?
> pressurised water in the ear may well take some time to dry up.

I think it is possibly due to a slight reversed ear, or use of too much
force during descent. If I have done this on a dive, I often get the same
feeling. These days I am really careful to equalize "Preventively" before I
really need to. First 5 years of diving I never had a problem, then since
1997 I have had to be much more careful. (Getting old I guess...)

Another tactic that works quite well for me, is having 2 "Airwaves" (Chewing
gum) before the dive, surface then 2 "Airwaves" after the dive. It needs
to be 2 sticks, to promote the chewing action of the jaw...

This seems to work a treat for me to be nice and equalized, and I now have
lots of the chewy in my dive kit bag!

/mattD

"Nigel Hewitt" <news@REMOVETHISnigelhewitt.net> wrote in message
news:2424aa8eea1fc2ad76b6d5424bdfe0d5@news.teranew s.com...
> Well a long time aprés dive.
>
> For quite some time after a dive, like a day
> or so, my ears just like to be yawned at as
> if I am clearing them. I was offered one
> explanation that after breathing a high O2
> mix the internal passageways are still full
> of highly metabolisable O2 which the tissues
> just lap up but for over 24 hours? The
> alternative view was that I am still degassing
> into those passageways - the computer may have
> cleared its 'No fly' but exponentials being
> exponentials I guess I'm degassing until the
> tissue tensions are less than the pressure
> changes from the weather.
>
> I can understand my ears being a bit put out
> after two 45+ meter dives at the weekend even
> though I am careful with them but a yawn still
> brings on that slight change in the sound levels
> reminiscent of clearing.
>
> OK I admit that I'm not sure if they are over or
> under pressure, the effect is slight and doing a
> nose hold/blow changes it too much.
>
> Does anybody else get this?
> What's your theory?
>
> nigelH
>
>It won't do you any harm..I said ..IT WON'T DO YOU ANY HARM!! oh for crying
out loud! I SAID IT W...... :o)

"Nigel Hewitt" <news@REMOVETHISnigelhewitt.net> wrote in message
news:2424aa8eea1fc2ad76b6d5424bdfe0d5@news.teranew s.com...
> Well a long time aprés dive.
>
> For quite some time after a dive, like a day
> or so, my ears just like to be yawned at as
> if I am clearing them. I was offered one
> explanation that after breathing a high O2
> mix the internal passageways are still full
> of highly metabolisable O2 which the tissues
> just lap up but for over 24 hours? The
> alternative view was that I am still degassing
> into those passageways - the computer may have
> cleared its 'No fly' but exponentials being
> exponentials I guess I'm degassing until the
> tissue tensions are less than the pressure
> changes from the weather.

Some military diving manuals refer to this as middle ear oxygen absorption
syndrome, and the simplistic answer (also implied in the name) is that high
FO2 gas mix in the middle ear results in that gas being absorbed slowly over
the next few hours. There is no doubt that these symptoms do occur often
after high FO2 dives (especially pure O2 rebreather dives).

You're quite right to be sceptical about the usually quoted mechanism. An
alternative theory, for which there is some evidence, is that the high
oxygen fraction appears to alter the function of the Eustacian tube itself.
The Eustachian tube is a complex system with a mechanism to regulate middle
ear pressure and it appears this mechanism is upset after high FO2 dives. As
most of the work has been done in divers breathing pure O2, it's not clear
whether it relates to FO2 or PO2, but probably the former.

Some military divers suffer from this so badly that they routinely set their
alarm clocks to wake them during the night to clear their ears after a day's
oxygen diving.

Andy

Promlem Solved Nigel..........sleep with your mouth closed.
That reduces the "No Fly" limit.

Then the little pests dont get in the first place. lol


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hwing3
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"Nigel Hewitt" <news@REMOVETHISnigelhewitt.net> wrote in message
news:2424aa8eea1fc2ad76b6d5424bdfe0d5@news.teranew s.com...
> Well a long time aprés dive.
>
> For quite some time after a dive, like a day
> or so, my ears just like to be yawned at as
> if I am clearing them.
>
> Does anybody else get this?
> What's your theory?

Sounds very much like my experiences after some dives. I also often "hear"
scrunching sounds from the neck joints when I move my head for a day after
diving. It always fades away, and it never hurts, so I ignore it. Presumably
the cause of both is some residual pressure in the tissues but it's never
concerned me enough to find out for certain.

Cliff.

On Mon, 7 Jun 2004, Nigel Hewitt wrote:

> OK I admit that I'm not sure if they are over or
> under pressure, the effect is slight and doing a
> nose hold/blow changes it too much.
>
> Does anybody else get this?
> What's your theory?
I used to get a lot of this and was also deaf (well slightly impaired of
hearing) for two days following pool training when I first started. One
doc told me that it was lack of adequate clearing that meant the middle
ear was filling with fluid to relieve the pressure and this would drain
following the dive. He said I was clearing enough to releive pain but not
all the pressure.

Don't know if it's true or not.

Kate