Question Equalizing Sinus squeeze

[ilija500]

Hello everyone,
I'm new to diving and have just completed my PADI Open Water course. Unfortunately, ever since my third dive (I've now done six in total), I've had a recurring problem where I can't equalize my sinuses well on the left side, and it always results in nosebleeds. Can you give me any tips on how to prevent this and if I can should continue diving? I'm in Egypt on a diving holiday and feel a bit unsure about the instructors here.
Thank you for your help.

 

[Blackcrusader]

First make sure you drink a water before diving. Also one should descend very slowly if you have sinus issues. Make sure that when you ascend also do very slowly. Do not push through intensive pain barriers.

You need to find out why you have a blocked sinus. Do you have a head cold?

 

[lizardland]

I had the same thing on Open Water. For me it was a combination of too much going on at once, trying to do everything too quickly and just being unfamiliar with equalising.

Slow down (especially slow down your descent), equalise early and equalise often. Don't wait until you feel it. Like from the moment your head breaks the surface and keep doing it on the descent even if it feels like you don't need to. If you feel like you have to force it then ascend slightly if you can (fine control isn't easy as a new diver) and start again. Equalising should be gentle, if you feel like you're trying to blow a golf ball out your nose then you're trying too hard. Try all the stuff that's in the manual (or at least was in it when I did it) like waggling your jaw and swallowing too.

If you've just finished training then all that ascending and descending and depth changing can generate a lot of snot.

 

[admikar]

Do a pre-pressurisation while on surface, it helps with that first big change of pressure.

 

[Subcooled]

The more I go up and down, especially near the surface = big changes in relative pressure, the more I get equalization problems (there could be other factors too, such as being nearly sick but not noticing it, etc).

Is you diving stable or do go down and up a lot?

Now, if this problem persists over days, especially on first dives, then I'd suspect something else.

I had equalization problems after my first diving course.

 

[fred32176]

I've had two nosebleeds while diving both within the first 8 dives. Never had a nosebleed since. If your ears feel all plugged up and you don't hear well after a dive, you might want to have less active sinuses before diving. I usually take allergy medicine starting two days before I dive and that usually drys my sinuses enough that I don't have problems equalizing.

My sinuses can be very active and once in a while one ear or the other doesn't want to equalize as fast as the other. If one ear is more resistant I go back a foot or two in depth and equalize. A foot or two in depth is often all it takes to make the more resistant ear happy. As you get more experience you will be equalizing before you feel any difference in your ears and not even be thinking about it. It will just be natural like checking your computer or pressure gauge.