Cannot equalize?

[SailNaked]

is it really possible that some people cannot equalize? I have always assumed that people that had this claim were just scared of the whole process of scuba and did not want to do it, but to keep from being pestered just claimed the were unable to equalize.

 

[a22shady]

Go here watch this video,

There are rare times But most likely it's people's form,

Doc's Diving Medicine Home Page

 

[knotical]

According to the sidebar at this site:
Diving Medicine: Physiology

5 % of the people cannot equalize pressure because of damages in their organs. Some of the people can put this in order after medical treatment.

And according to this site:
It's all in the ears. - Free Online Library

When a patient cannot equalize, we cannot proceed with hyperbaric therapy. In these cases we must determine what the cause may be and apply an appropriate remedy.
If a patient if unable to perform successful equalization after trying all the methods discussed there is another option. A method for automatic equalization can be created by means of a surgical puncture of the tympanic membrane. This is called a myringotomy.

I'm uncertain about the 5% figure, but apparently some folks cannot equalize.

 

[doctormike]

is it really possible that some people cannot equalize? I have always assumed that people that had this claim were just scared of the whole process of scuba and did not want to do it, but to keep from being pestered just claimed the were unable to equalize.

This is four years of medical school summarized as a single sentence: "There is a bell curve for everything".

 

[SailNaked]

I see a lot more than 5%, I hear all the time about why a spouse "cannot" dive because they "cannot" equalize. I must know about 20 people that claim to have this malady. way more than any bell curve would suggest. I just wonder if it is worth my time to help someone overcome this affliction by gradually lowering them in crystal clear water till they get more excited about the stuff on the bottom than the sensation in their ear canals. I wonder if there is a study on spouses of divers with this illness, Ill bet the statistic is significantly higher than in the general public.

 

[Robby Sturgeon]

Obviously you've never had the pain in your ear canal, but try to imagine someone pulling out your eye tooth with no anaesthetic! I only have it in my right ear and have tried all remedies so far but nothing helps. The problem can plainly be seen on an MRI scan. I'm not imagining it, I dive through the pain and I live to dive.

 

[bamamedic]

Obviously you've never had the pain in your ear canal, but try to imagine someone pulling out your eye tooth with no anaesthetic! I only have it in my right ear and have tried all remedies so far but nothing helps. The problem can plainly be seen on an MRI scan. I'm not imagining it, I dive through the pain and I live to dive.

You know, continuing to dive even though you're experiencing ear pain can set ya up for permanent damage to your ear/hearing. I *love* diving, but if I were presented with a scenario in which I ran a very significant risk of causing permanent damage to myself, I'd probably find another hobby.

 

[Bryan]

ENT DISEASE - INFORMATION FROM THE EUSTACHIAN TUBE INSTITUTE IN GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

 

[vladimir]

I have certainly had dives where I couldn't equalize. I have had dives where I couldn't equalize on the way up too, so clearly it was not a case of not wanting to be pestered--nobody wanted me back to the surface more than I did. And it's not a case of not knowing how--on most of my ~750 dives I equalize easily (I don't think I'd continue diving otherwise). My guess is that the physiology of my eustachian tube is less forgiving of slight congestion or trauma.