To use this forum to ask divers/doctors for a quick medical opinion

[Jewels234]

I am an idiot. I don't have travel insurance. Did a (very shallow, 5m) dive yesterday (have done a few before) and have caused something to happen to my left ear. I think I just got over excited and went down too quickly without equalising properly.

I'm due to fly home Thursday evening. My ear feels like it needs to be popped, it feels like it's full of water. There's a bit of jaw pain, and this morning I was extremely dizzy.

Can I ask anyone, at all whether they know if I'm ok to fly? I'm terrified of doing further damage. I didn't get travel insurance (I know, I know) so hoping there will be someone who knows what to do here.

Thanks in advance

[Mammanat222]

What kind of diving company lets someone without insurance dive?

[InfinitySeven]

I'd get it checked. It usually costs around 40 euros, in my experience. I see overseas doctors a lot, although I do have insurance! It's the claim back type.

[sparechange]

I'm not sure any doctors would agree with me, but my first course of action would be to take a lot of Sudafed over the next 48 hours and see if that helps

[Minion]

My airline advises 24 hours before flying for your last dive. But yes, why on earth wouldn't you get travel insurance??

[Enjorasdream]

Which country are you in?

[skylark2]

You need to see a doctor before you get on a plane as there will be more pressure changes involved and yes, you could do more damage.

[Bulbasaur]

See a doctor, take the money hit. No amount of money saving is worth potentially losing your hearing or rupturing your ear drum in an airplane.

Even if there are legit doctors on MN, they can't diagnose you or give you proper advice without seeing your ear.

[tiredgranny]

if in Europe use e111,or whatever called.

[EveDallasRetd]

I'm a Dive and Expedition Leader.

You could have Middle Ear trauma, or ruptured your TM. Both have the same symptoms and both will get worse when flying, if it's a TM it can be very serious. They are both caused by equalising, either too hard or too late.

You really need to see a doctor to rule them out, and if you have got either, be prepared not to fly.

I'm sorry mate, but if you had dived with me I certainly wouldn't let you fly until an ENT doc had cleared you.

[moxon]

Get checked out. £30-odd is nothing when you consider the alternative. And definitely wait at least 24 and preferably 48hrs before flying.

[crumblebumblebee]

Where are you? You need to see a doctor ASAP.

[WooWooOwl]

If it feels like your ear is full of water, then it probably is. That gives the feeling of it needing to be popped.

There is a chance that that it something serious, but the likelihood is that it is just trapped water. If you've spent much time on a dive boat, that could explain the dizziness.

I dive regularly, and I've lost count of the number of times that I or fellow divers have had trapped water and experienced that amazingly brilliant feeling when all of a sudden it releases and you can hear clearly again. The plane usually helps with that!

[EveDallasRetd]

The problem with that WooWoo is this:

In more severe cases of barotrauma, the middle ear can fill with clear fluid as the body tries to equalize the pressure on both sides of the eardrum. This fluid is drawn out of blood vessels in the lining of the inner ear, and can only drain if the Eustachian tube is open. Fluid behind the eardrum is called serous otitis media. It can create pain and hearing difficulty similar to a middle ear infection

Which is also likely. For the sake of £50 or so, the OP really needs to be checked out. If it's just water, great, she's only lost £50. If it's not she could be in excutiating pain and even lose her hearing. I just don't think its worth the risk.

[WooWooOwl]

Yeah, I get that too, but am I right in thinking that you're military?

I totally see where you're coming from, but feeling like you're ears are blocked with water after diving is pretty common and it will often clear in its own time. I don't think it will do any harm to reassure the OP of that.

I can only be confident when my own ears are harmlessly blocked with water, I am not in a position to be able to tell OP what's going on in her own ears.

[fanjoforthemammaries7850]

Could well be Eustachian tube dysfunction which I imagine would be sorer when flying but not if flying would be dangerous then

[fanjoforthemammaries7850]

I would definitely see a doctor before flying

[ThreeQuartersEmpty]

Are you sure it was 5m max depth?
If so, if less than 10m, and you're not due to fly until Thursday you should be fine as it's just water. Don't blow your own eardrum by holding your nose and blowing through on the surface. Ask at the dive school for some saline solution to put in it. And let it be.

[Snaveanator]

Have you ever flown with a bad ear? It's agony! An air stewardess friend of mine gave me this advice after I whined to her about how painful I found the take off and landing when my ear felt blocked!

Ask the staff for a plastic cup a quarter filled with boiling water, tip your head to the side and hold it so the rim is around your ear during take off and landing.

It's supposed to relieve the pressure.

[AnyoneforTurps]

If there is no infection then a couple of drops of vinegar will dry an ear out nicely and won't harm you

Please do not put vinegar or even proper ear drops in your ear until a doctor has looked at it. You may already have a ruptured eardrum so anything that enters the ear canal could also enter the middle ear and potentially cause permanent damage. Even some ear drops are not safe for use with a perforated ear drum and vinegar - which is far more acidic than body fluids - is a really bad idea.

For the love of god, Woman, if you can afford to go on a foreign holiday, you can afford £30 or so to see a doctor. Get your ear checked, get a diagnosis and do not take medical advice from random people on the internet