The Hearing Canal

Every diver’s nightmare is the less or more painful ear ache starting on the second or third day of the safari which could also last for the whole week. There are many reasons for these ear aches but most common is the inflammation of the hearing canal. The hearing canal lies between the outer ear and the ear drums. Its function is to get the sound waves to the ear drums and in part, the protection of the ear drums. In an adult ear, the surface of this “S”-shaped organ is covered with a fine layer of skin.

This skin layer contains the suet glands that produce a special substance,the ear wax (cerumen in Latin). In normal cases, the ear wax thinly coats the skin of the hearing canal, acting as an anti-bacterial agent and protecting it from infections. Like with most good things, there may be a couple of problems with ear wax: not enough or too much.

If there is not enough, the hearing canal is dry, itchy and can easily crack, leaving room for the bacteria to reach the deeper layers of the skin. If there is too much, it can accumulate and cause a plug, partially or completely closing the hearing canal which may cause annoying decreased hearing.

From all these we can quickly conclude that the use of Q-tips (earcleaning sticks), preferred by most people, can be the source of many problems, so they should be used only to gently help out the ear wax that is already on the edge of the ear canal. If we use them deeper in the ear and we regularly clean out the ear wax, we cause the ear canal to dry out and the skin to break. And if there is too much ear wax, we cannot clean it all out and we simply gather it into a plug somewhere near the ear drums.

So, it is best to leave the hearing canal alone and have it cleaned by a doctor one or two weeks before the diving trip. The doctor will either use a syringe filled with lukewarm water to rinse out the hearing canal or use a gentle suction device to remove it. Of course, this will not guarantee 100% that after this procedure there is not going to be any ear infection but the chances of it happening are decreased.

Now let us see what can actually cause an infection in the hearing canal…

To be continued…

Dr. Gabor Kiefer PhD.
University Assistant Professor
SOTE, Ear, Nose and Throat Clinic
Tel: +36 20 947 0701

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The Cassiopeiasafari Team

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My name is Silke and I am from Austria, but I have never dived in cold water in Europe. What I like is tropical seas, therefore I travel a lot. My favorite countries for diving are Egypt and Indonesia, but I have been diving in many more countries around the globe.

I did my SSI-Open Water in Sharm El Sheikh in 2001 and my PADI Dive Master with the same Dive Center (Anthias Divers) in 2005. I started photographing underwater in 2003 in Columbia where I bought a really simple Sealife analog camera on the island of San Andrés. I am not into the SLR-camera-thing, I still take pictures with my Canon Powershot G 9 with an Ikelite housing and a Sea&Sea external strobe.

All this gear is a lot to carry around, that’s why I will stay on this level of photography I guess! Sometimes I use a macro lens because what I like much more than sharks or other big fish is the very small stuff – the smaller the better! If I cannot go diving I like to take macro pictures of flowers, insects and spiders.

In my normal life I am an audio and light engineer and have a company together with my partner Peter. As soon as my calendar gives me a free week I am hopping onto an airplane to Egypt to go diving for it is my favorite hobby and the best relaxation for me.

Websites:
www.flickr.com/photos/silkebaron
www.myspace.com/prilfish

Silke’s photos:

In our new series of articles Dr. Gabor Kiefer, an ear, nose and throat specialist answers your questions that come up most frequently during diving, on holidays and diving tours. If you have any questions regarding the topics or other issues, feel free to comment.

Our childhood experiences often influence our adult goals and aspirations. I was around 10 years old when captain Cousteau series started to run on TV. I decided then that I was also going to be a diver. But the little boys love of wanting to dive remained only a platonic desire for a long time and nearly 20 years had to pass before the childhood dream could become a reality.

Since then, during the following 10 years or so, I have had the chance to live through wonderful experiences and exciting adventures on numerous diving trips and safaris.

My professional work gradually included diving and more and more divers began contacting me and entrusting me with their various ear, nose and throat problems or asked me for their fit for diving tests.

In my series of articles I would like to share with you my experiences as a diver and as a doctor to make sure that your diving tours and travels are the least disturbed by ear, nose and throat problems.

Dr. Gabor Kiefer PhD.
University Assistant Professor
SOTE, Ear, Nose and Throat Clinic
Tel: +36 20 947 0701

To be continued!

Location: Egypt / Safaga
Description: Reef / Coral garden / Caves
Depths: 3-78 meters

Panorama is also known as Abu Alama, meaning “Father of the Mast”. This is a reference to the concrete pillar which once marked its northern shores but has now been replaced by a high-tech automated beacon. It lies 60-90 minutes (weather dependent) outside of Safaga. It is an elliptical-shaped reef on a North-West-South-East axis. On the North end is a dramatic plateau (15-25 metres) and drop-off. Down the East and West sides runs a narrow, sloping ledge at the same depth.

The journey across can get very rough, especially since your boat will be taking it on the beam and therefore will roll a lot. Once you get there however, the reef gives ample protection for several boats. The current comes almost always from the North. It can get very strong, howling across the North plateau (beware of up-currents and down-currents) and ripping down either side of the reef. The South plateau is usually calm.

A drift dive on the North plateau offers some of the best diving. However to get there, you will need very calm weather or alternatively, a zodiac. After investigating the plateau, you can head down either wall to your boat, now moored in the lee of the reef (South). This is a long swim if unaided by current. The Western wall of the reef is best and the South-East corner boasts many gorgonians.

The North plateau swarms with lots of big fish, like surgeonfish, unicornfish, barracuda, giant trevallies, whitetip sharks (especially on the West side), grey reef sharks (especially in the afternoon), eagle rays, dolphins, silvertips and even longimanus, the oceanic whitetip shark. Everywhere are turtles. On the South plateau lives a family of three Napoleonfish alongside morays, crocodilefish, scorpionfish and a turtle with a deformed shell. Also, there is a large colony (50-60) of anemones.

This week the Marine Academy in Alexandria, Egypt started to issue the ID cards that have become manditory for every captain sailing in the Egyptian Red Sea. We have also paid the fee for the cards for our captains and when we received them, we got the surprise! On the back side of the cards the picture of Cassiopeia can be seen, even with the name of the boat visible. We do not know whose decision it was to have our boat selected to be on these cards but we hope others will also like it as much as we do!

In any event, we are very proud that our boat represents all the vessels in the Egyptian Red Sea on the captain ID cards!