Equalization: should I hear a pop?

[H2Andy]

i can't really clear with just a swallow. i have to pinch my nose and swallow
every so often

i swallow for a bit... swallow... then i feel the build up and i pinch and swallow,
then go back to swallowing, then pinch and swallow

and so on

 

[LowVizWiz]

Or do you guys mean a FORCEFUL swallow, like when I was a kid and would try to swallow air so I could let off a burp and amuse my friends? :shakehead

ROFL, what do you mean when you were a kid, don't you still do that?

I actually try to swallow saliva, I think the vacumm caused by the swallowing causes the tubes to open up allwoing you to equalize!

That's my professional opinion anyway.

 

[Heavenstorm]

I also swallow to equalize For some reason the valsalva maneuver never worked for me underwater (plane rides of course are another thing). I don't know why. Weird, isn't it? Regarding the pop, I think it doesn't have to be a popping sound per se. Personally, I know I'm doing okay as long as I hear a sound and feel no ear squeeze/pain.

 

[diveprof]

Oh, a brief question for you guys here. Everyone says "swallow", but all that does is cause a crackling in my ears. It doesn't inflate my eardrums at all. If I just swallow saliva at the the surface, I don't feel any pressure building up inside the ears, just a popping in my ears. I thought the idea of descending was to increase the pressure in your ears to countermand the increased pressure from depth.

Or do you guys mean a FORCEFUL swallow, like when I was a kid and would try to swallow air so I could let off a burp and amuse my friends? :shakehead

Be sure that you are following all 4 of these steps. :
1. with a closed mouth (or reg in mouth), put your tongue on the roof of your mouth.
2. Pinch your nose
3. Look up
4. Swallow

For many swallowing alone does not do it. This technique has been helpful for a number of students for whom the Valsalva didn't work. If your ears are "crackling" when you use this technique, then your tubes are open and you are equalizing. I prefer this technique to the Valsalva as with the Valsalva, some folks have difficulty deciding just how hard to blow. Blowing to hard can cause problems. If it is just one ear that is not clearing, point that ear more upward.
By the way, good decision not to force the descent if you were not clearing.

 

[scratchmyback]

What works for me is to tilt my head one side, pinch nose and blow. Then repeat for the other side. I also practice this on the surface anytime I think of it (like right now). It has made a big difference.

You can do this!

Laura

 

[Airborne!]

Pretty much I just swallow and they both equalize. No pops, no hissing, no fizzing, no sound at all. Everyone’s body is different so we will all feel something a little different.

At the same time I have seen experienced divers who for whatever reason came across a particular day when they just could not get the ears to cooperate no matter what they tried.

 

[KansaiKitsune]

Airborne and Diveprof:
Should I be feeling my ears inflate, though, when I use that technique? Like when I've blown my nose too hard? I can make the click sound in my ears, but I'm not sure what if any good it actually does.

 

[NCSCUBADOOBA]

Are you hydrated? I'd drink tons of water to hydrate and thin and mucuous/fluids that may be in your head/ears. Also, you could try a snort of Afrin before your dive to open up your passageways.
Angela

 

[KansaiKitsune]

Scubadooba:
I drink tons of water at all times, but I haven't tried Afrin. The ENT recommended I try that before I dive, but I wanted to see if I could inflate my left ear at the surface. I'm in a bit of a catch-22 situation right now where I'm about to have to do my checkout dives, but I don't know if I can equalize if I go all the way out there. I need to find a way to practice until I can do it right.

 

[Airborne!]

Airborne and Diveprof:
Should I be feeling my ears inflate, though, when I use that technique? Like when I've blown my nose too hard? I can make the click sound in my ears, but I'm not sure what if any good it actually does.

I am far from an expert here, but this is how I understand it. If you hear a pop or click when you attempt to equalize, by whatever technique, this is the air equalizing through the Eustachian tube into the middle ear to equalize the pressure. That sound you hear IS actually the bubble of air popping in and equalizing the pressure. So, if you hear the sound then it is equalized for that pressure depth, or pretty darn close, since the sound is the air coming in to equalize. You don’t just hear the sound because you moved your jaws or squeezed you nose or lifted your head or whatever. The sound is the equalizing occuring.