Blowing bubbles through my ear.

Last night I got home from Keauhou Bay (near Kona) Hawai'i.

The first three days I went out on a zodiac to swim with wild spinner dolphins and do a bit of freediving. Had a lot of fun and even saw a spinner dolphin spinning: It jumped out of the water and spun rapidly before falling back in. On the first day my snorkel fell off and sank to the bottom in 63 feet of water. I was enormously pleased with myself for being able to retrieve it. I would not have been able to do that even two months ago.

The next three days were to have been freediving class in hopes of getting the intermediate certificate. All I needed to do was demonstrate proficiency in the rescue simulations, but on the 4th dive of the first day (just a preparation pull-down) I heard a POP and a FIZZ in my left ear at 17 1/2 meters (57 feet) so I pulled back up. The instructor had me put my head under water and equalize my ears, and bubbles came out my left ear. I had perforated it.

There was no pain and no noticeable loss of hearing, but that was the end of my diving for the duration of the trip. I went to a doctor, who told me the perforation was very small, and nothing to worry about: it would heal completely in a couple of weeks, but I needed to stay out of the water, which was a big disappointment, being in Hawai'i.

I visited a seahorse farm, where they raise seahorses to sell to people who have aquariums. (You can pay anywhere from $100 to $2,000 for a seahorse, and they only sell them in pairs.) I visited an abalone farm (much less interesting than the seahorses) and the energy lab where they're developing alternative energy because Hawai'i is so completely dependent on petroleum. They're working on solar energy and on deep-sea thermal: pumping cold water from 3,000 feet down to provide a differential with the warmer surface water temperature.

I also paddled with the canoe club. From my hotel I could see folks paddling big 6-person outrigger canoes, and 12-person double-hull canoes, as well as one-person outriggers. It turns out they welcome visitors, so I went out twice in a double-hull canoe. We paddled about 3 miles one day, stopping from time to time to bob around and dangle our feet in the warm water. A few people jumped in and swam around. Another day I went out in the same canoe and we were supposed to paddle out 1 1/2 miles to mark the turn-around point for a 3-mile canoe race, but the guy with the cell phone let it get wet, and there was no GPS, and we got totally off course and ended up 2.8 miles out (as we later discovered when we finally connected with the motor boat that was marking the turn-around for the 5-mile race). So we served no purpose at all. But it wasn't my fault. I kept saying I thought we were way far south of the line out from the bay but the steersman disagreed. It didn't matter to me. It was great fun paddling and sitting out on the water.

The flight home was exhausting and unpleasant. We left an hour and a half late and I missed my connection at LAX and they put me on a propeller plane with two stops to get home from there, and they switched planes on us twice, with further delays. But I made it home, and miraculously my bag made it home with me.

Airport security was just the old metal detector both ways. No x-rays, no groping.

Convertibles are very nice in Hawai'i. I asked for the smallest car they had, and it turned out to be a Mustang convertible. I always thought the Mustang was supposed to be a muscle car. I was pleased to find out that I was wrong. The seat was more comfortable than my Prius, and the convertible top was glorious for the climate, but the damn car wouldn't move unless you started the engine first. What moron designs a car that won't go unless the engine is running?

No pictures. I didn't take my camera along because I expected to be diving all week, and my under water pics never turn out well. But I'm sure if you google Hawai'i you can find better pictures than I'd have posted if I'd had my camera along. The scenery (both geological and female) was amazing.

 

Thanks, Spiderman. But I'm back home now. And no evangelists approached me there. I think Pele is more popular so close to the volcano.

 

Dogfriend: One has to be aware of the currents. There are places where they are so strong you can be swept out to sea. I would never go out alone in a place I was not thoroughly familiar with. That's why I went out in the multi-person canoes. The local club knows where it's safe to go, and knows how to get back. All I have to do is paddle and enjoy the trip.

Rene: Be aware that if you go to Volcano National Park, the big "attraction" is the vents which spew out sulfur fumes. These are not only unhealthy, they are extremely painful in your sinuses, throat, and lungs. Better to see the volcano from a distance, though in truth it's not much to see, since the Hawai'ian volcanoes are shield volcanoes. But if the lava is flowing on the east side of the island, and if you are willing to drive that far, or your ship goes by there, you may be able to see lava without the fumes because the prevailing wind blows the fumes toward the west. I've never seen live lava.

I expect that my ear is all healed by now. There was never any pain. If it hadn't been for the loud POP sound, and the fact that I could blow bubbles through my ear, I'd never have known there was anything wrong at all. I'll see my doctor and get a clean bill of health before my next water trip, which is some ways away anyway.

 

Blowing bubbles through your ears is not a good idea in general. But it's the definitive check for a perforated eardrum. Once you've ascertained that you can blow bubbles through your ear, it's highly advisable to stay out of the water until it's healed, which generally takes from 2 or 3 days to two weeks.

 

I once bought a pair of Doc's Pro-Plugs vented ear plugs for diving. The first time I used them (scuba diving, not freediving) I suddenly developed severe vertigo at 50 feet. All the corals suddenly started spinning. I called the dive and ascended. At maybe 35 or 30 feet, I heard a sudden whoosh of air in one ear. I surfaced without making a safety stop, since I'd only been down for 5 minutes or so. I got out of my wet suit and went to my cabin (I was on a live-aboard dive boat) and when I put ear-dry in my right ear, I instantly felt a level-10 pain. It was excruciating. I jumped into the shower and ran fresh water into my ear, which reduced the pain. That afternoon I went into the water with just mask and snorkel, but when the water hit my ear, it hurt, but not as bad as before. The following day, at the captain's suggestion, I put on my scuba gear and went down to the 15-foot hang bar for a few minutes. I felt fine, so I surfaced, and one of the crew came in as a buddy, and I continued diving for the rest of the week without incident. I threw away the ear plugs and never tried them again.

I was certain I had not perforated an eardrum because my hearing was unaffected, but now I know that that is not a true test. However when I got home I saw my doctor, who said there was evidence of trauma, but not of perforation. This incident was a couple of years ago.

It's possible I had the plugs in wrong, but since then I've learned that a few divers use them regularly, but most divers do not. Many freedivers have had perforated eardrums. They heal in a few days or a couple of weeks, and they resume diving.

The dive shop where I got my ear plugs had to special order them for me. None of their regular customers use them. And in all my dive drips, I've never met anyone who uses them. Only on line I've read posts by people who do.