Throb in Hood

When you're 42 metres below the surface on one breath of air, and you feel a sensation like a hot knitting needle going into your ear, what do you do? No prizes for the answer to that one. When you pull your wetsuit hood back at the surface, and blood is seen coming out of your ear, what would you diagnose that as? Most of the folks I was with at the NDC last weekend thought I had ruptured my eardrum, and so did I. In fact, I may well have done, but there's a good chance that didn't actually happen. My GP can't get a clear view of the drum to see if it is intact, but I know that it isn't leaking air to the outside world if I pressurize my eustachian tubes.

The most likely explanation is external ear barotrauma, brought about by hood squeeze. At a certain depth the hood may have sealed against the ear, preventing air / water from entering / exiting. The existing air space contracts and creates a vacuum, followed by the rupture of the small blood vessels lining the external ear canal.

I've now changed my thoughts of an early and immediate retirement, back to the competition in hand. Constant Weight will have to be shallower than I would have liked, thanks to the injury. I won't be using liquivision goggles ( turns out that the new AIDA rules won't be in force for the CIPA Open ). As for statics, a steady series of dry 6m30s - 7m holds, and one pool 6m20s hold, have made me confident that the training programme has made a benefit. The next posting will indicate whether this was enough to break the current UK record or not.

As for the suit, I've now burnt holes into the hood at the ear points, using a soldering iron. Similar to a hot knitting needle, really.