Equalization Issues

[usefulidiot127]

Well I just finished up the confined water dives for the padi open water certification. This is all I have paid for up to this point. We were working in an 8 foot pool and I was having some serious issues with my ears when we were doign excercises at the bottom of the pool. I was worried about ear equalization going into this since they have always given my real problems on airplanes and such, but I really wanted to give it a try. I tried all the normal methods and told my instructors what was going on and they gave me a few tips on what to do. They were considerate and willing to work out another time for me to come back and try again if I really couldn't do it today. I was able to do everything eventually, with a lot of slow decent and equalization attempts very often.

The slight dullness in my ear never went away completley, and I would get sharp pains when failing to equalize. It seems stupid to have this problem at such a shallow depth but it was defintley there, and I don't know where to go from here. I don't want to pay for more equipment and for the open water dives if its all going to be a waste? Is this at all common for new divers? I've gotten tips from other people but do you have any suggestions on what I might be able to try? The instructors said I could come back and use the pool sometime to test it out before I reserve the open water dives. Thanks for your help/input.

 

[MoonWrasse]

I suggest you search for "equalization" or variations on that theme as this is a frequently discussed issue on SB

 

[H2Andy]

It seems stupid to have this problem at such a shallow depth but it was defintley there, and I don't know where to go from here.

actually, the most drastic changes in pressure ocurr on the first 15 feet or so,
so this makes sense. once you get deeper (assuming you've been equalizing
properly up to then), it will get easier to equalize.

you need to get ahead of the curve, especially if you have sinus/ear canal
problems. start equalizing right below the surface, and descend slowly. if at any time you feel discomfort, you've waited too long. ascend a little and equalize, then start
back down.

just keep equalizing the whole way down and go slow.

this is a fairly common problem for divers, but most people get the hang of it.

remember: do it early, and do it often

 

[ChillyWaters]

It seems stupid to have this problem at such a shallow depth but it was defintley there, and I don't know where to go from here.

It doesn't matter the depth! Equalization has to occur right from the surface.

I had a friend blow his eardrum swimming in a 10foot pool! So, yes 8 feet is plenty of depth to cause some pain.

- ChillyWaters

 

[theskull]

What Andy said. And start even earlier. The day of your diving, start doing some equalization in the morning and then every couple hours until you get to the dive site. Barring an actual abnormality, these are muscles and they can be warmed up and developed to work much more easily.

theskull

 

[RonFrank]

First, go to the doctor, and get your ears checked out. They can be full of wax, and one never knows it. The doctor can verify that the canal is clear, clear it if necessary, and maybe if you tell them of the issue, they may have some insight as to why you have problems, but maybe not.

Second, equalize BEFORE you feel the need. I start blowing (I use the pinch my nose technique) the minute I start decending. I can tell if my ears are clearing OK within the first five or ten feet.

Third, if you feel ANY pressure or pain, ascend, and try some more. I made the mistake of not equalizing well on one of my checkout dives during my OW, and it really made things difficult. The ear finally popped, but that is NOT the way to go about it. I should have ascended, and equalized.

On the second dive day during my AOW course I had problems equalizing. I'd done like five dives the previous day without issue. But for some reason one of my ears just would not clear. Rather than forcing the issue (even though this was a checkout dive, and I did NOT want to miss it) I hovered at about 10 feet, and just worked on clearing. Finally, whoosh, and CLEAR!! I then was able to decend to 80' pretty damn fast with minimal effort to equalize. Once I'm equal, I can generally equalize just by streaching my face (not sure how to describe this)

As other people have pointed out, equalizing past 15 feet seems to get easier. As you decend you will feel a bit of pressure, but for whatever reason as you feel it, you can just wiggle the jaw, pinch the nose, whatever, and the equalization just happens. I have not had a lot of problems with equalization, but the couple times I have had some difficulty it was within the first 15'.

That said, I've never had issues in the LDS 12' pool, so maybe you ears are a bit more sensitive than mine.

Good Luck,

 

[Trisha]

Can you make your ears pop on dry land just by wiggling/jutting your jaw forward? I do this with every breath on my descent and haven't had problems since. BTW, I use Claritin and my husband uses Sudafed due to occasional allergies.
However, I had a great case of black eyes in the community college pool during Scuba Tuesdays -- 18 feet and a sinus squeeze that I tried to ignore!

 

[Kriterian]

However, I had a great case of black eyes in the community college pool during Scuba Tuesdays -- 18 feet and a sinus squeeze that I tried to ignore!

What is/are "black eyes" exactly? Did you mean a mask squeeze that causes the area around yours eyes to swell and turn dark?

 

[ch0ppersrule]

Well I just finished up the confined water dives for the padi open water certification. This is all I have paid for up to this point. We were working in an 8 foot pool and I was having some serious issues with my ears when we were doign excercises at the bottom of the pool. I was worried about ear equalization going into this since they have always given my real problems on airplanes and such, but I really wanted to give it a try. I tried all the normal methods and told my instructors what was going on and they gave me a few tips on what to do. They were considerate and willing to work out another time for me to come back and try again if I really couldn't do it today. I was able to do everything eventually, with a lot of slow decent and equalization attempts very often.

The slight dullness in my ear never went away completley, and I would get sharp pains when failing to equalize. It seems stupid to have this problem at such a shallow depth but it was defintley there, and I don't know where to go from here. I don't want to pay for more equipment and for the open water dives if its all going to be a waste? Is this at all common for new divers? I've gotten tips from other people but do you have any suggestions on what I might be able to try? The instructors said I could come back and use the pool sometime to test it out before I reserve the open water dives. Thanks for your help/input.

I just got back from the Dr's office (ENT) and he prescribed me a 6 day course of steroids and a 6 week course of flonase. I have allergies and take Allegra for them, but just in the last 6 months of diving I can no longer do two dives a day. I am fine my first dive but cannot get past 5-7 ft on the second dive. The Dr. said my ears are fine (even though I get a sharp pain after diving) it is my sinus cavity. He numbed my nose and put a long tube into both sides of my nostrils ( one at a time) and into the sinus cavity. He said I had small polyps, the reason he gave me steroids, and very thoroughly told me about the sinus cavity swelling up to the ear canals and possibly having some water behind the eardrum causing the sharp pain. I did get a cat scan also. I go back in 6 weeks for a follow up and see what med.'s to take (if I need to keep on the flonase) or possibly getting the dreaded sinus surgery. No time for surgery-- to much diving to do. My suggestion is see your doctor first before you injure yourself over something that could be simple to fix.

 

[shark.byte.usa]

My instructor recommended Doc's Proplugs ( http://www.proplugs.com/ ), he said his wife had a hard time equalizing her ears and he got her these because he was sick of using up all his air on the decent . He swore by them, said she hasn't had a problem since. But I was on DAN's site the other day, and they weren't as convinced of the use of earplugs. So use your own judgement, and if you go this route make sure to get the scuba plugs (the one's with the Scott's valve).

That being said, he also told me that you need to excercise by clearing when your driving your car or what not to make the inner ear eardrum more flexible. I had problems clearing in 8'-10' pool during my class, I had anytime access so, the more I went the easier it got to clear my ears. The usual method (nose pinch) wasn't working for me, finally I realized swallowing worked for me, for a little while I had to take my regulator out to do it, but now I don't have to. The first time my ears totally cleared at 8', it was amazing, I was like...so this is what clear ears are like, BTW it was like my 4th pool session, but probably my 7th or 8th time practicing in the pool.

I'm hoping not to have any problems on my checkout dives, kinda concerns me when we have to do buddy decents.

Good luck...