Am I Stuck Forever at 40 Feet???

[rick00001967]

What I ment is I have seen some divers once at their average dive depth of that dive go up and down -/+ a couple of feet while looking at stuff and they assume once they are down initially they dont need to equalizing any more witch is false. Equalize often, even before you may feel any pressure. Sometimes I equalize even if I go up some and then go back down later. I find this makes it easier to equalize and less stressful on my ears that way.

i thought seeing as this is the newby forum we should be clear that equalizing on ascent is a no no. the way i read your post it seemed a bit unclear as to what you meant. thx.

 

[Ben_3]

i thought seeing as this is the newby forum we should be clear that equalizing on ascent is a no no. the way i read your post it seemed a bit unclear as to what you meant. thx.

My bad if it was badly explained

 

[doctormike]

i thought seeing as this is the newby forum we should be clear that equalizing on ascent is a no no. the way i read your post it seemed a bit unclear as to what you meant. thx.

What do you mean by this? How do you manage a reverse block?

 

[rick00001967]

What do you mean by this? How do you manage a reverse block?

well i am sure you will correct me if my training goes against what your knowledge is, but i was always taught to never equalize (blow) while ascending. why would you ? as the gas expands it "should" escape on its own through the eustachian tube and is exhaled.
if a diver experiences a reverse block, blowing will only make it worse. other methods may help like stretching out the neck, swallowing, yawning etc.
my advise would have been to stop the ascent until it clears or to at least slow the ascent as much as possible. if necessary the diver may also descend slightly to alleviate the excess pressure.
to be clear....my definition of "equalize" usually means blowing (valsalva) as almost every diver i know requires this method to equalize.

 

[doctormike]

well i am sure you will correct me if my training goes against what your knowledge is, but i was always taught to never equalize (blow) while ascending. why would you ? as the gas expands it "should" escape on its own through the eustachian tube and is exhaled.
if a diver experiences a reverse block, blowing will only make it worse. other methods may help like stretching out the neck, swallowing, yawning etc.
my advise would have been to stop the ascent until it clears or to at least slow the ascent as much as possible. if necessary the diver may also descend slightly to alleviate the excess pressure.
to be clear....my definition of "equalize" usually means blowing (valsalva) as almost every diver i know requires this method to equalize.

OK, I think we are using different definitions of the word "equalize", I think that you are using it to only mean a Valsalva maneuver to blow air into the middle ear. But equalize means just that - equalizing the pressure between the middle ear and ambient. The maneuvers that you describe (and that are described in the page that I shared above) are other ways of equalizing. Some (like the Toynbee maneuver) involve reversing that pressure gradient of the Valsalva.

I think that you know all of this, just stating it for others reading this thread. You absolutely need to equalize on ascent, just like you do on descent. The difference is that on ascent, equalization is usually passive, because expanding gas usually just pushes its way out of the middle ear. But usually doesn't mean always, and if it doesn't, you have a reverse block. You still need to equalize in that situation, otherwise physics will take care of that for you by causing a tympanic membrane perforation.

Reverse blocks are scarier than regular blocks. If you can't equalize on descent, eventually you can just give up and thumb the dive. But if you have a block on ascent - well, as the saying goes, "descents are optional, ascents are mandatory".

 

[Neilwood]

Well, I actually have been WAITING until I feel pressure or pain, then I equalize. Sounds like we may have come up with my real problem. OK...So, in addition to all those other great ideas, I need to be equalizing every couple feet REGARDLESS of whether there's pressure or pain...OK...Thanks to all who recognized this shortcoming!

Absolutely your issue I reckon and exacerbated by multiple dives - your ears have suffered a minor trauma on the first dive which makes the second dive.

On a normal diving day, I will start equalising on the surface before the dive then as I descend the first few metres I am equalising on a very regular basis but that gets less as I go further down. Remember that as you descend, the pressure increase is proportionally greatest near the surface (see diagram) hence you need to equalise more at shallower depths than you do deeper. Also any time you change depth (going up over a reef column and back down to the sea bed for example) you should equalise again.

Never ever wait for the pressure to build up and you absolutely should never feel pain as you should have equalised long before that point.

 

[boulderjohn]

I don't really have time to sift through all of the posts right now,

A couple posts you might have missed talked about the "ear beer" commonly used in the outer ear. Those posts recommended making a solution that was nearly all or totally white vinegar, with as little alcohol as possible I know you have commented on that solution in the past.

 

[Ana]

I want to bring up some substance that I never heard of until a couple of years ago when a friend from Albania joined us one weekend and pulled this little jar of ointment.
She applied a very small amount behind each ear and massaged the area for a good 2-3minutes. Of course I asked about it and when she said it helps her equalizing, I figured it was just cheap witchery and more mental than anything, but the thing smelled so pleasantly minty I asked to try.
I don't have issues equalizing but do have to maintain certain speed, for the last 10 -15 years I stopped being able to just shoot to the bottom. With cold water (around 77 F or less) sometimes I actually have to stop around 10-12 feet for a moment then continue. Doesn't bother me but there are times I wish I could shoot down like I used to.

Anyways I put the ointment, mostly because it smelled so nicely. I never expected anything different equalizing but there it happened, it felt much smoother. I figured it was mental for sure, or just a coincidence that maybe that particular day it was very good day for me (not rare).

The substance in question is Tiger Balm, the name itself tells me is cheap witchery, by the way it is just a few dollars so cheap for sure.
Smells great, it is applied externally and what can be negative about a short self massage before splashing? Since then I keep a little jar on board, next to the spit botte for the mask, it has become a nice routine. Apply the spit on the mask and then a short massage behind the hears, from there I gear up and splash.

Most likely this won't solve the problem for someone with real ear issues, but I think the massage and even just the thinking about equalizing topside before splashing has to be beneficial.

 

[johndiver999]

Keep that stuff away from your eyes and "down there".

 

[arew+4]

^^^^^Truth^^^^^^