Why do I go deaf in one ear?

Marathon Man

Although I'm aware that this is a forum on diving and not swimming I hope there will be someone who can help me with a swimming related problem. This is it: After swimming (with head under the water of course) my left ear becomes blocked and remains so for 2-3 days. This is not good as i often swim 3 times per week so I am constantly deaf in one ear a lot of the time.
Does anyone suffer from a similar condition and even if not any advice would be appreciated.

Benny-c

Please note that I am NOT a doctor & this is based on personal experience;

I swim regularly and due to many ear infections I now plug my ears for swimming(medical advice), the plugs cost about €5 in any sports store.i.e I do not let any water into my ears.

IMO you should see a doctor and get this checked out 'cos your hearing comes in handy:D

My 2c

DublinWriter

I got a bad ear infection when working abroad which led to permanent damage.

Your hearing is precious. Go see your GP who will more than likely refer you to the Eye & Ear Hospital. Don't panic if you get a refferal; Ear-Nose-Throat (ENT) problems can be really complex and out of the expertise of most GPs.

Go Monday.

rahtkennades

I agree. Had a wicked ear infection just before xmas, it started of with my ears being a bit blocked after showering/swimming. After drying, then antibiotics, then more antibiotics, it was a trip to the Eye and Ear and a syringing followed by yet more antibiotics that sorted it.

Benny-c wrote:

I swim regularly and due to many ear infections I now plug my ears for swimming(medical advice), the plugs cost about €5 in any sports store.i.e I do not let any water into my ears.

Just to make sure the message goes out to all though, DO NOT use ear-plugs for SCUBA diving, snorkelling, or high-diving. Bad things can happen. Veeeryy bad things!

BostonB

Marathon Man wrote:

Although I'm aware that this is a forum on diving and not swimming I hope there will be someone who can help me with a swimming related problem. This is it: After swimming (with head under the water of course) my left ear becomes blocked and remains so for 2-3 days. This is not good as i often swim 3 times per week so I am constantly deaf in one ear a lot of the time.
Does anyone suffer from a similar condition and even if not any advice would be appreciated.

Could simply be wax. Best just go see a doctor they can have a look. Don't fiddle with it.

walshy123

DublinWriter wrote:

Don't panic if you get a refferal; Ear-Nose-Throat (ENT) problems can be really complex and out of the expertise of most GPs.

too right!!

i've been suffering from hearing loss for nearly a year and im none the wiser. mine only happens for a couple of minutes but its accompanied by dizziness, i can't stand unaided when it occurs! always my right ear. It seems to happen every two weeks. I've had numerous GP visits, hearing test, ENT consult. Im hoping an MRI on wednesday will shed some light on it!

Sabre Man

I once lost most of my hearing on one ear after snorkelling but it came back after a few days of its own accord despite me trying lots of stuff to get my hearing back. Weird.

Einstein

again, no doc,

i had the same issue, no dizziness or anything like that, it ended up i just had an abnormal amount of wax in my ears...syringing did nothing, thanks to my overly bendy eustachian tube(thats what the doc said!) i needed to see an ENT specialist...but a good syringing should do the trick!

D

Marathon Man

Seen the doctor today. Thankfully its not as bad as I feared. Doctor: "Your ear is completely blocked with wax" ehhewww. Also: "You'll have to have it syringed later in the week" yaaaayyyy.
Seriously though thanks for the advice everyone. It spurred me on to action.

p.s. From now on ear plugs will have to be the order of the day. Or at least one anyway.

seadeuce

Earplugs??????

Don't use 'em diving!!!!

Seadeuce

Peace

seadeuce wrote:

Earplugs??????

Don't use 'em diving!!!!

Seadeuce

hhhmmm. I don't know if you could still equalise on your descent and ascent if you had ear plugs in. Hopefully the clearing the wax our of your ears will fix the situation. If not i would seek advice from a doctor that knows about diving regarding if you should continue diving or not.

bigfeller

Marathon Man wrote:

You'll have to have it syringed later in the week"

I wouldn't swim for a few days after, know a few people who picked up infections after syringing.

Marathon Man

bigfeller wrote:

I wouldn't swim for a few days after, know a few people who picked up infections after syringing.

Thanks for the advice. I was going to head straight to the pool after my treatment. I' ll give it a week now, just to make sure.

rahtkennades

Marathon Man wrote:

Thanks for the advice. I was going to head straight to the pool after my treatment. I' ll give it a week now, just to make sure.

I try to make a habit of rinsing my ears out with fresh water with a drop of tea-tree oil in it after diving. Not sure the tea-tree actually does anything except smell nice :rolleyes: , but it certainly did avoid the ear problems when I was diving on a daily basis.