HELP NEEDED ASAP FOR NAVY SEAL CANDIDATE...PLEASE!

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The Navy goes to great expense to train SEALs, they do NOT discard candidates casually. If this is an issue, and it appears it is, they will likely work with him one on one, including getting the extensive diving medical staff involved.

If he has temporary issues it would be a 'medical roll' to the next class as the first step. Not a drop. If investigation shows it is insurmountable, he would need a different career. But from your description, this is just the first sign of an issue. This is from some years ago, but I can not imagine the philosophy changing that much.

Rupturing his eardrums would be very debilitating and could permanently disqualify him. Do not have him push it or deny ear pain. The Navy and his instructors would be VERY mad at him for that. There are conditions where combat divers might do that deliberately, or knowingly, but doing it as a dumb-ass not tell anyone candidate is not a good option.

'Fred' panics 'easily' is a clear dis-qual, sort of medical as in psychological but not medical as in physical. 'Brad' has ear issues is well understood and can be investigated. Brad may well be a great operator, they would not want to throw him aside for something easy to diagnose if it can be understood and resolved.

It is odd that pre-BUDS medical clearance did not uncover this. They used to require a chamber pressure and oxygen tolerance test before assignment there.
 
The Navy goes to great expense to train SEALs, they do NOT discard candidates casually. If this is an issue, and it appears it is, they will likely work with him one on one, including getting the extensive diving medical staff involved.

If he has temporary issues it would be a 'medical roll' to the next class as the first step. Not a drop. If investigation shows it is insurmountable, he would need a different career. But from your description, this is just the first sign of an issue. This is from a some years ago, but I can not imagine the philosophy changing that much.

Rupturing his eardrums would be very debilitating and could permanently disqualify him. Do not have him push it or deny ear pain. The Navy and his instructors would be VERY mad at him for that. There are conditions where combat divers might do that deliberately, or knowingly, but doing it as a dumb-ass not tell anyone candidate is not a good option.

'Fred' panics easily is a clear dis-qual, sort of medical as in phycological but not medical as in physical. 'Brad' has ear issues is well understood and can be investigated. Brad may well be a great operator, they would not want to throw him aside for something easy to diagnose if it can be understood and resolved.

It is odd that pre-BUDS medical clearance did not uncover this. They used to require a chamber pressure and oxygen tolerance test before assignment there.
 
Thanks to all for the very good advice. I’m not 100% certain the SEAL are allowed to take ANY medicine.

My son has never dies so this is a new challenge for him. And I believe his inability to resolve the issue would result in a “medical roll” whereby he would join the next class.

You guys awesome!
 
And I believe his inability to resolve the issue would result in a “medical roll” whereby he would join the next class.
A 'medical roll' where a candidate is held back a class, is not the end of the world. But, a medical evaluation of his ears wouldn't hurt. I have had a number of OW students over the years have difficulty with clearing because of anatomical issues, and I have referred several to a local diving ENT for help, after which they had no troubles.

Effective clearing is a matter of technique, anatomy / physiology, and current congestion status. tursiops' post, and link, above are worth consideration. Some dive candidates have more difficulty than others mastering the technique. For some, the valsalva works well (my preferred technique), for others it doesn't. For some, simply swallowing is sufficient but for others it is not effective (does no good for me). So, trying different techniques will not infrequently lead to a solution.
 
If your son did never dive before, I suppose that the problem is that he does not know the most effective techniques for equalizing.
Here I give you some advise, but he will need to make further research, make some test and training, and find what is the method which works better for him.
There are basically 4 methods used by divers for equalizing their ears (and some other cavities in the skull, called sinuses):
- Valsalva
- Frenzel
- Marcante-Odaglia
- using the Eustachian muscle
I cannot write a treaty here, also because I am typing on a smartphone.
However, Valsalva is the basic method, using your lungs for creating pressure inside the nose, by closing it with fingers and exhaling. The mouth must be closed, or at least blocked by tongue and soft palate. This is the less effective method and is also dangerous.
Frenzel is the optimal method for free divers. The glottis is closed, so lungs are not used, and pressure is generated inside the nasal cavity by keeping the nose closed with fingers and pushing with tongue against the soft palate. The mouth is closed when doing Frenzel, which is the case of free divers.
Marcante-Odaglia is almost the same, but the mouth is open, hence this is the method usually employed by scuba divers, who have the mouthpiece keeping the mouth open.
Most people confuse it with Frenzel. In both cases one has to close the nostrils by squeezing the nose with fingers.
Finally, using the Eustachian muscle is the only method which does not require to close nostrils. This muscle is usually not under voluntary control, and instead is acted when yawning. But you can learn to control the muscle, opening the Eustachian tubes at will, even while breathing or even while talking...
This is how many divers (included me) can continuosly equalize while fast diving, without the need of stopping breathing, nor closing the nose with fingers. And this way one can also simultaneously equalize the mask.
As the test will be done inside a pressurized chamber, and not while breathing from a scuba system, I suggest to your son to use Frenzel.
Search for it on Internet, you will find more detailed instructions, drawings, and excercises to be practiced for learning the method.
 
He needs to start clearing his ears as soon as he wakes and every few minutes up till and throughout the ride...
 
He needs to start clearing his ears as soon as he wakes and every few minutes up till and throughout the ride...
One concern is presence of some mild barotrauma from the failed attempt if he did not tap out soon enough? If he does, 2 days may not be enough time to fully heal and clearing might be even harder this time. Perhaps Navy doc can check (If they did not already).

OP - did he indicate any pain, ringing, muffled hearing/"fullness" in the ear(s) after 1st test he tapped out on ?
 
One concern is presence of some mild barotrauma from the failed attempt if he did not tap out soon enough? If he does, 2 days may not be enough time to fully heal and clearing might be even harder this time. Perhaps Navy doc can check (If they did not already).

I don’t believe any damage has been done. He said he

OP - did he indicate any pain, ringing, muffled hearing/"fullness" in the ear(s) after 1st test he tapped out on ?

I don’t believe any damage was done in the pressure chamber yesterday. He said he raised his hand the moment he realized he was unable to clear his ears.

min your opinion what is the best way to “clear” the ears?
 
He needs to start clearing his ears as soon as he wakes and every few minutes up till and throughout the ride...
He needs to start clearing his ears as soon as he wakes and every few minutes up till and throughout the ride...

In your opinion, what is the very best way to clear the ears as you mention above. Again, he has never dived.
 

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