All this time, I've been doing it wrong - equalizing.

[fmerkel]

"Clear early and often". How often is that refrain bandied about? Seems no one will actually tell you what it means.
In functional terms it means clear on the surface (pre-load if you will) and EVERY 2 FEET down to 20'-30'. Below that you can slack off a.........little.
If you go 6' from the surface without clearing and then try to forcefully clear you can easily blow out your eardrum or small window. The pressure on the upper respiratory system tends to collapse the Eustachian tube so it takes extra force to open it. I know people that has happened to.

["Not sure what's going on; you might have a bit of a reverse squeeze, no reason for concern." No advice or suggestion for change given.]
As far as I'm concerned this is another example of a physician seeing OBVIOUS trauma from diving and giving poor (no) advice. If you had changes like that it should have been readily apparent to a diving ENT your clearing issues were not adequate AND you could probably benefit from some medication support. If you have allergies I suggest you look into one of the non-sedating antihistamines. If you don't like that you could probably benefit from a steroid nasal spray. There are a couple OTC now. This can make a huge difference both in and out of the water. And, of course there is Sudafed. Properly used it can make a difference.There are endless threads on SB about it.

Having said that, TECHNIQUE FIRST! If that doesn't fully deal with the problem, add mediation support.

Note-sinuses are a different thing. You can't (much) 'clear' sinuses. You have to go really slow and let them clear themselves. If a person has lots of sinus issues they almost certainly need some medication to help deal with that.If it's REALLY bad sinus surgery by a competent ENT can make a significant improvement. Generally if you are at that point it will be an improvement for your general 'sinus health'.

 

[lavachickie]

"Clear early and often". How often is that refrain bandied about? Seems no one will actually tell you what it means. ...

I guess it's better to learn seven years later than never, eh?

Indeed, I used to be a diver dedicated to the pre-dive Sudaphed and nasal spray. But I learned last week that, in normal situations, the proper technique worked without those.

 

[fmerkel]

Absolutely!

I'm amazed at the number of divers I seen have their ears go bad on them 2-4 days into a multi-dive vacation. Their technique is good enough to 'get by' for a limited number of home dives but not the repetitive requirement of vacation hammering.

I'm kind of a sinus 'cripple'. Generally my ears are OK, but since I have to (seriously) baby the sinuses I do fine with the ears. I am a s...l...o...w descender. All this came to my distressed attention 20 years ago when I got reverse block on something like my 10th dive ever. It's been a learning experience (opportunity ?) ever since.

 

[SCRedWolf]

OH! SO THIS IS WHAT I SHOULD HAVE BEEN DOING THE LAST SEVEN YEARS.

That's the way I was taught too. At first I had zero issues and was wondering why the big deal about every 2 feet? Both my wife and my daughter needed the higher frequency clearing though. So I got by for months with no problems and then it hit me about 15 feet down and just couldn't equalize. Couldn't figure it out. Eventually I had to surface and start over but this time equalizing when my daughter did. Worked like a champ. I was lucky that my dive buddy already was using the proper frequency so it didn't take me seven years to work it out. I guess sometimes when you can easily get by without doing it right you end up forgetting. Thanks for the nice reminder.

 

[Neilwood]

I guess I was pretty lucky in that I came on here pretty early in my diving and heard "early and often" bandied about so much that even before my OW check out dives, I was doing it (including a predive clear). To this point in my diving, I have had no issues.

 

[fmerkel]

There is a high variability in ability to clear. Some folks have a stainless steel Eustachian canal. Others are saddled with a temperamental floppy off and on opening afflicted changes in the weather, pollen counts, cats crossing their path, and the number of pins in their voodoo doll. It's not fair.....but it is what it is.
FWIW Jacques Cousteau was rumored to have a lot of trouble clearing. I read it on the internet, must be true.
I've had trouble since my first open water dive. Somehow I've managed to get to 1200+ with hearing intact and no barotrauma. If I can do it, I think it can be done.

 

[urbaneve71]

my very first pool dive i experienced this and my dive instructor (god bless his soul) ought me how to clear my ears and it has worked for me ever since. He aught me the Lowry Technique. I have sinus issues and to this day14 yrs later I still have problems, but I use the technique he taught me and it always works.

11 Tips For Easy Equalizing

This was a excellent post BTW

 

[scuba5150]

I was lucky 'cause during my open water training the mantra of clear early and clear often was emphasized. I have to rely on the old fashioned valsalva - I can't seem to get the others to work.

 

[gkwalt]

Early and often is what I stress to students. Sudafed is also helpful. Just don't go to the local drug store and ask for 50 boxes. They may think you are auditioning for the next edition of Breaking Bad! After a couple of ear problems, I tried Doc's Pro Plugs, which were a God send. I had ear issues of a week long live aboard on the first day, but the Plugs saved the day. I have seen many other divers benefit from them. They are ear plugs which keep water out of your ear, but still let you equalize.