Ear Issues Question?

[thomasj1107]

I have had ear issues my entire life but I have never even tried to scuba dive yet. I freedive (10-12 feet or less) and I haven't been able to equalize, but I don't think I am doing it soon enough or often enough. I have no problems getting a pop and clearing my ears above water by holding nose and swallowing, but I don't always get it to work when holding and blowing. One ENT said he doesn't think I will ever be able to equalize, but he is not a diving doctor and I thought that was kind of narrow minded to say? I never used the otovent (does anyone have experience with it?) so I ordered it with the hope that it will help me clear even better than I do on land now before I try under water. Does anyone have any experience to know if I am able to equalize above land shouldn't i be able to under water if I do it correctly and frequently enough? The extent of my trying to equalize under water has basically been like dive down 8-10 feet, try to equalize, doesnt work...and that was just one day when I was down in the keys. I don't know if I was congested/clear that day, I don't know if that was a time I had an ear infection or not... Now I am clear, infection free, etc and I can clear at will on land by holding and swallowing and even better when i hold nose, blow air, and swallow simultaneously. I am literally willing to do anything and will do it right in order to be able to dive, so any other advice would be great.

 

[KathyV]

I have ear issues and so does my husband, and they are not to be taken lightly but we have been diving for more than 30 years. Below is information I recently posted about our approach to managing ear problems:

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/basic-scuba-discussions/502037-ear-problems.html#post7352534

 

[flyin01]

Get your medical form signed off by the Doc and try a discover scuba and see how it goes.

 

[thomasj1107]

Thank you for the help KathyV, any other advice/experience would be welcome!

 

[Steve_C]

I have never equalized while snorkeling and never went deeper than 10 ft for that reason. I have been diving for 10 years and usually do not have trouble equalizing. In scuba you can take your time, go up a bit if there is an issue and do gentle adjustments at your own pace. Totally different, for me anyway, from what you are doing on one breath of air. Just don't force things.

 

[TSandM]

If you can equalize on land, you should be able to do it in the water. The key is to do it early and often -- If my ears are not particularly cooperative, I'll even "pre-pressurize" them before descending. If you have dodgy ears, you should equalize every couple of feet as you descend, and most free-divers don't do that, because they are busy getting underwater. On scuba, you have the luxury of not HAVING to descend rapidly, so you can take your time and keep your ears happy.

I wouldn't rule out scuba until you have tried it.

 

[TMHeimer]

All advice above looks good to me. I snorkeled for decades before doing scuba and found that my ears hurt at about 8 feet. I honestly don't know (even after ALL that time) whether I was trying to equalize or not. I think at times I was wearing regular ear plugs, which of course in scuba is not possible (there are special plugs-"Doc's Pro Plugs" for diving, which have tiny pin holes to allow equalising). Some say they actually HELP equalising, but I don't see the logic in that. Anyway, ears were my only concern before taking the OW course. I found that there is probably no one that equalises better descending on scuba than me. The Discover Scuba is a good idea. If it's not offered, maybe you can sign up for OW course with the agreement that if you really can't descend you could get at least some of your money back. Of course, seeing a Dr. who knows about diving is always advised.

 

[thomasj1107]

All advice above looks good to me. I snorkeled for decades before doing scuba and found that my ears hurt at about 8 feet. I honestly don't know (even after ALL that time) whether I was trying to equalize or not. I think at times I was wearing regular ear plugs, which of course in scuba is not possible (there are special plugs-"Doc's Pro Plugs" for diving, which have tiny pin holes to allow equalising). Some say they actually HELP equalising, but I don't see the logic in that. Anyway, ears were my only concern before taking the OW course. I found that there is probably no one that equalises better descending on scuba than me. The Discover Scuba is a good idea. If it's not offered, maybe you can sign up for OW course with the agreement that if you really can't descend you could get at least some of your money back. Of course, seeing a Dr. who knows about diving is always advised.

So you always wore ear plugs while snorkeling? If you don't mind me asking what was the reason you wore them? Who recommended wearing docs pro plugs? When you realized you were great at equalizing on scuba did you do it early and often or do you just do it effortlessly?

 

[doctormike]

As TSandM pointed out, if you can equalized on land, you should be able to equalize under water.

I should also point out that there are very few medical conditions that (1) obstruct the Eustachian tube, and (2) can be readily fixed. There is a tendency for people to lump everything together in the world of ENT, assuming that if you decongest the nose with nasal steroids, or fix a deviated septum, or have sinus surgery, that will automatically make it easier to clear your ears - that simply isn't true. Here is my writeup on the relevant anatomy; the Eustachian tube is pretty far from the other structures in the nose.

There are rare conditions where adults have severe Eustachian tube dysfunction, but they usually involve either chronic (surgical) ear disease like cholesteatoma, or perhaps people who have had radiation therapy to the skull base. Most people with routine allergies, etc... aren't necessarily unable to equalize their ears. An upper respiratory tract infection will affect the lining of the nose and the ET, so that's why it is more difficult to equalize when you have a cold. There are of course issues with sinus squeeze, but that's a topic for another post.

Like any other skill, some folks do it naturally, some need a lot of help and practice, and some never get it. But as TSandM also pointed out, when you equalize while free diving you only have a very short time to get it to work, so there isn't a lot of opportunity for trying different techniques. A DSD course might be a good idea to see what you can do without spending a lot of time and money getting certified if it turns out that it really isn't for you.

Here is a good list of the various techniques to try...

 

[the_dragon_no1]

Myself i had trouble equalizing at the beginning, but the more i have dived, the easier it has become! Now, i can sometime just drop straigt down to the deep, just blowing some air into my mask with my nose for equalizing .