Ear pressure question

[Kyle in WI]

Hello
I keep hearing stories about how some people arent capable of diving because of the inability to "clear their ears". How common is this problem? What are the causes? Is there a way to determine if my ears can take it before I sign up for certification? Are there any other health conditions that would prevent me from becoming a diver?
Thanks

 

[tzeilstra]

I'm no health expert, but I think you'd know by now if you had problems with your ears that would prevent you from diving. You would probably notice big problems when flying in an airplane for instance. If you experience excruciating pain that you can't alleviate by yawning or chewing, etc. then you may have some issues. Otherwise, you're good to go! As far as other conditions, I would think any type of anxiety disorder that makes you prone to panicking, or claustrophobia would make diving less enjoyable. If you're unsure and don't want to invest the money for certification until you are ready, I know my LDS which is not too far from you (in Delafield) called the Underwater Connection offers intro courses for $40. You'd probably be able to tell from that if it's for you or not.

-Tim

 

[pvscuba]

Hi Kyle,
While it does happen, it isn't too common that people can't compensate or equalize their ears. People with cronic sinus problems or that have a cold would definitely have problems equalizing and shouldn't be diving in the first place.
Try this: pinch your nostrils and blow gently, the same way you would do on an airplane. If you can hear your ears "pop", then you can equalize. There are other ways of equalizing, such as wiggling your jaw and swallowing saliva. The former works well underwater. The latter worksm yet is more difficult when you have a regulator in your mouth.
If you have a swimming pool available you can try this in the water. Submerge yourself slowly as deep as you can and try the "pinch and blow" routine while on your way down. You should be able to equalize. You'll need to hold on to a railing or something to hold yourself down because your body will tend to float.
best of luck
Alex from PVScuba

 

[Thalassamania]

I've only had one student who actually could not clear and needed medical treatment to be able to do so. One of the biggest problems is that once you "get behind" in equalizing, blood swells the membranes surrounding the Eustachian tubes and middle ears and that makes it quite impossible to clear. If you wait until you fees discomfort ... it's too late.

 

[Kyle in WI]

Thanks guys. I was led to believe that it is more common than it may really be. I've never had a problem at altitude, so I'm good to go hopefully.

 

[ClayJar]

There's a thread here on ScubaBoard that links to a great video all about ears and equalization. It's actually quite an informative video, and well worth watching before going in to learn diving. If you learn a few different equalization techniques and find one that works well for you, you'll be well ahead of the game compared to most new divers. It's always nicer to avoid hurting yourself in the first place, eh? :biggrin:

The thread: [thread=214886]The Diver's Ear: Under Pressure[/thread]

The full video is actually just short of an hour long, so don't watch it at work unless your boss is a diver.

 

[Ted S]

It's not unheard of for someone to start certification and have either an ear/medical problem or just be far too uncomfortable in the water to continue. Luckily you tend to find this out very quickly a relatively safe environment -- the pool. There are, as others explained, many ways to deal with equalization problems but sometimes it's simply not something you can address no matter what you do.

Unless you've had problems with your ears before there's no reason to think this will be an issue but if you're concerned, check with your instructor/ shop and ask them if they do refunds in the event something does come up. Most places are fairly understanding and certainly don't want to end up liable for forcing someone to do something that causes them to panic, flip out or get injured.

My instructor's approach was great on this -- our goal was certification but he explained the first couple of pool dives would let me feel out the whole experience and if it didn't fit, that was that.

 

[GLENFWB]

A number of people have told me that they know they couldn't dive because they go to the bottom of a pool and their ears start to hurt. Their reasoning is, if I were to dive deeper I couldn't stand the pain. Most people do not have any concept about equalizing until they start diving....I include myself in that group.

Hello
I keep hearing stories about how some people arent capable of diving because of the inability to "clear their ears". How common is this problem? What are the causes? Is there a way to determine if my ears can take it before I sign up for certification? Are there any other health conditions that would prevent me from becoming a diver?
Thanks

 

[Coelacanth]

I had ear clearing problems while getting certified; they weren't overwhelming, so I just tried to go slowly down the line and once at the bottom for a minute or two the pain began to subside. And upon going back to the surface, I felt fine. However after the 2 dives of the first day with the multiple ascents and descents and anxiety about why I was the only one who had to go down so slow I guess I got fatigued (and so equalizing became more difficult) and began to doubt whether I would ever be able to dive to any reasonable depth.

The head instructor (who was not very sympathetic) told me that "this isn't normal," which of course did not help the situation. Feeling extremely bummed that something I had wanted to do for so long may not end up being doable, I went to a LDS to fill my tanks, and some of the employees said that they had the same trouble, one even saying that she still has some trouble equalizing after years of diving but just slows her descents and is fine.

So, I guess the point of this rather long winded post (sorry) is that even if you do have some trouble with ear pain, try not to worry about it. For one thing, worrying makes it WORSE and it may only be a freak occurrence due to the beginnings or remains of a cold or allergies or anything. When I finally get back in the water, I'll let y'all know if my ears fare better.

Good luck to you!

 

[dk2943]

I had such a problem. I could not clear, no matter how hard I tried. I contacted DAN and they referred me an ENT, who told me take Afrin before I dive. Problem solved!