ear dullness

Question
After diving this past week I continue to have dullness in my ear.  I never had issues equalizing, nor did I have sharp ear pain while diving.  I did have dull pain to external pressure or pulling on the ear.  I've had no drainage or fevers, no nausea or vomiting or dizziness.  If I valsalva now, I hear "bubbling" in that ear but no pain.  My hearing seems intact, but just heavy or dull.

Answer
Hi Jason,

I'm sorry to hear that you're having ear problems.  I'm not a physician so I can't give you medical advice but it sounds to me like you've got some water trapped in your middle ear.  There are different ways for this to happen.  You could have suffered a rupture in the Round or Oval window (small,fragile window-like structures in your ear) or possibly water could have entered through the Eustachian tube during equalization.  A third possibility is a rupture of the tympanic membrane (eardrum).  These types of injuries can accompany forceful valsalva maneuvers but it doesn't sound like you've been doing that.  A fourth possibility is that you have wax impacted in your outer ear canal near your external eardrum.  This is not a failure at all but just a wax plug that can trap water next to the eardrum.  If this is the case, then removing this wax will quickly solve the problem.  All of this needs to be evaluated by trained medical personnel so a proper course of action can be taken.

The heavy feeling you are describing along with the "bubbling" sensation also agrees with water in the middle ear.  The fact that you're not having pain or fever tells me that you don't have an infection setting in yet but it is very likely to follow unless the water is removed.

My advice would be to seek the help of a physician to evaluate your ear structures and to have antibiotics available if needed.  The water may slowly drain out by itself but I wouldn't count on it.  In situations like this, it's always better to be safe than sorry so don't wait to see if it just goes away by itself.

Jason, I hope this helps!!

Mike Giles
Mike's Dive Center