Little River- Warning!
I dove LR Saturday and came away from the weekend with an ear ache. I don't think I'm the first to have this happen in the past week or two. Obviously I can't directly relate them, but I wanted to warn you guys. I dove Ginnie as well, and doubt that was the culprit.
Little river has some rotting dead fish in the system and this could be the reason I speculate that it got there by the vortex a while back and it either starved to death or was allready dead when it got sucked in, I dove LR today (sun) so thanks for the heads up. I will be putting vinegar in my ears tonight.
Ben
Actually you are more likely to get swimmer's ear (Otitis Externa) from fresh water than salt water. Many more goonies in the fresh stuff.
Break out the white vinegar and alcohol, 5 minutes in each ear every night on dive days.
It might be better to recommend to stay out of Little River. More space for the rest of us Ear Strong Divers.
Last edited by tflaris; 05-11-2008 at 10:29 PM. Reason: Spelling
Any water exposure, especially for prolonged periods of time, can cause external otitis ("swimmers ear"). 50/50 rubbing alchol/white vinegar, or commercially avaliable "Swim Ear" used prophylactically after diving will usually prevent this. Don't use Qtips to clean out your ear canals no matter how warm and fuzzy it makes you feel, as this abrades the very thin skin of the canal and predisposes to infection/inflammation - and these suckers really hurt!
Do a search function on TDS for more info. than you care to read about the subject, but polluted vs. fresh vs. salt water has not as much to do with causation as merely prolonged contact with water does. External auditory canal size varies considerably between individuals, and probably has a lot to do with who contracts otitis externa.
I dove Little River on Saturday. My ears are fine. Saw some rotting fish in the Mud Tunnel.
Mark Schroder
The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice. (PV12:15)
Couple of good articles on "Ear Beer" on the DAN siteOriginally Posted by Me
DAN revisits and expands on the preventive measures for otitis externa
http://www.diversalertnetwork.org/me...p?articleid=49
and
Can You Prevent Otitis Externa, or Swimmers Ear? The Answer is in the Solution
https://www.diversalertnetwork.org/m...p?articleid=48
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Some years back a friend told me what he'd been using, equal parts isopropyl, hydrogen peroxide and saline. I don't do a lot of dirty water diving, but used it when I did. I can still hear so I guess it isn't hazardous, at least not any more so than the music I listen too.
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