JamesBon92007
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I have never had to equalize on ascent. My girlfriend needs to learn to equalize her mask while descending. I guess they don't teach that.
Equalization question
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I wasn't taught how to equalize the mask and I don't know how to. Never had a problem at any depth, so I guess I must do it naturally? Maybe a little air out the nose without thinking about it?
JamesBon92007
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Having started as free-divers I guess many of us learned to equalize our mask out of necessity. My girlfriend was apparently not told specifically to do it while descending and a couple of times she got blood in her mask. This is, no doubt, an indication of a sinus problem that she has been dealing with but knowing that air compresses at depth did not necessarily translate into knowing that the air in your mask does too. I would bet that it's covered under Boyle's Law, at least in some diving manuals, but I don't have one on hand to check. Now I'm wondering how she was even able to see when she got down a ways and the vacuum in her mask was sucking her eyes out of their sockets
When I was much younger I dove down about 80 feet free-diving and by the time I got there I had exhaled every bit of air from my lungs into my mask and couldn't see very well because the vacuum was altering the focus of my corneas 
I bought a low-volume mask shortly afterwards. Now I like low-volume masks for other reasons as well. I know that I equalize my mask automatically because if it fogs up and I let a little water in, I can't keep water in my mask--it just disappears.
Dan
Contributor
I equalize once / meter of descent. None on ascent. The gas just automatically escape out of my nose & mouth during ascent.
That doesn't have anything to do with the way the ears equalize. The Eustachian tube is above the jaw, in the skull base. But the reason why it's easier to equalize on ascent than descent is described upthread.
Equalizing the mask has been a part of the PADI OW course written content as long as I can remember, certainly as long as I have been teaching (14 years). It is rarely emphasized in training because it happens so naturally. All you have to do is exhale a tiny bit through the nose, and most people do that without intending anyway. For many people, the trick is to stop them from doing it as much as they do.
Had a student who needed to equalize on every ascent last week. It's quite uncommon.
I do teach it as a rare possibility. Personally, I blew out my ear drum from a reverse block and it cost me dry years as inoperable. For an added 20 seconds of talking, it seems worth mentioning to new divers.
Cameron
I do teach it as a rare possibility. Personally, I blew out my ear drum from a reverse block and it cost me dry years as inoperable. For an added 20 seconds of talking, it seems worth mentioning to new divers.
Cameron
pepperbelly
Contributor
I was just thinking the position of the jaw might make equalizing easier.
Descending looking down the jaw is tucked in. Ascending looking up it seems easier to clear my ears.
I have never had to equalize while ascending though so I can’t be sure, but just sitting here I can feel a difference.
Definitely - moving the jaw back and forth, opening and closing, can often help in ventilating the ears. That's because jaw motion causes a pull on the structures that dilate the ET naturally. It just has nothing to do with position in space off of the horizontal plane...
MrBigfins
Contributor
I have on occasion had to equalize on ascent, and I do it simply by pushing my jaw forward to make it "pop". Same philosophy as movement side to side but one push forward and I get the release I need. I had one instructor early on to never use the nose pinch and blow method on ascension. Does anybody have an explanation why that would be different? Is it related to a reverse block?
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