I dunno about this, if its just me, but I just had a "Discover Scuba" (BTW, I LOVE DIVING, I cant get enough) "course" and I had a lot of trouble equalizing my ears. You basically pinch your nose and blow out of it softly right? I didn't work, I still had pain in my ears. I have never gone diving before, is this probably just becuase Im new? I REALLY want to get my OW.
Equalizing
- Thread starter Oni
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It is possible you have medical or structural problems that make equalizing difficult for you. Those are things you need checked by a doctor. However it is more probable that you didn't equalize soon enough into the dive. Start equalizing in the first 2 or 3 feet of the dive and then every 2 or 3 feet thereafter. Also equalizing seems to get easier for most people the more they do it. A Discover diving session is not enough for you to really get any practice at equalizing. Go ahead and take the Open Water course unless you think there is a real problem with your ears that needs the attention of an doctor. Good luck.
BetterLateThannever
Contributor
Oni,
I had the same problem during my confined water dives. For me it took a trip to the doctor. She put me on Claritin D and Nasonex for a couple of weeks prior to going back in the water.
That definitely helped, but also I discovered that for me, I had taken the admonishen to "hold my nose and blow softly" too literally, or my definition of "softly" is not quite the same as someone elses. I had to experiment until I found the correct amount of pressure to actually get results. Again, with practice it gets easier.
Relax, have fun and stay wet.
Jimbo
I had the same problem during my confined water dives. For me it took a trip to the doctor. She put me on Claritin D and Nasonex for a couple of weeks prior to going back in the water.
That definitely helped, but also I discovered that for me, I had taken the admonishen to "hold my nose and blow softly" too literally, or my definition of "softly" is not quite the same as someone elses. I had to experiment until I found the correct amount of pressure to actually get results. Again, with practice it gets easier.
Relax, have fun and stay wet.
Jimbo
what's up,
Last week I suited up for my last open water class. went in to the water, after no more than 6 feet couldn't take the pain and went back to the boat. I wasn't congested or anything...very strange. Yesterday, I tried my ears out in the Pool (about 15 Feet) no problem. I think we are all a little different with our ears, 1 thing I do know is that the more you practice the easier it will get (that is cause the ear drum will actually strech, increasing your tolerance to pressure and making equalisation easier). Also I am reading about all this bloe lightly stuff.. and that doesn't work for me at all. For ears to equalize properly I need 1 quick hard blow every three feet or so.
Hope this helps,
Good luck to you,
Karl
Last week I suited up for my last open water class. went in to the water, after no more than 6 feet couldn't take the pain and went back to the boat. I wasn't congested or anything...very strange. Yesterday, I tried my ears out in the Pool (about 15 Feet) no problem. I think we are all a little different with our ears, 1 thing I do know is that the more you practice the easier it will get (that is cause the ear drum will actually strech, increasing your tolerance to pressure and making equalisation easier). Also I am reading about all this bloe lightly stuff.. and that doesn't work for me at all. For ears to equalize properly I need 1 quick hard blow every three feet or so.
Hope this helps,
Good luck to you,
Karl
A couple of suggestions that helped me. First, start equalizing BEFORE your head goes under water, pre-pressurizing if you like, and keep it up very frequently, if you get to the point of any pain at all, you have already gone too far. A second problem I have, which I found quite by accident, was when I would go down feet first I look down and that was appearently pinching off my eustachian tubes. I now go down head first and that has helped that problem....I would suggest that it might not be the best thing for a new diver to try, head first that is, but as an alternative, looking up while decending feet first for a few feet, stopping, looking down to assure a clear path and decending a few more feet might be a better option. It does get easier with practice.
simonk999
Contributor
I too listened to the "pinch and blow softly" mantra, and I too had problems until someone mentioned to me that they had to blow quite hard.
The "blow softly" thing really means don't blow hard and sharp. The idea is that when you try to breath out into a blocked nose, the air pressure in the air spaces in your sinuses and inner ear gets raised -- you need to raise the pressure reasonably high, but raise the pressure slowly until you feel your ears "fill". Sometimes it also helps to tilt your head -- the "up" ear will equalize easier.
And really, equalize is a bit of a misnomer -- you want to visualize pressuring your ears from the inside to match the pressure of the outside as you descend. Pre-equalization on the surface means that you're pressurizing your ears so that their internal pressure is greater than surface pressure, so that when you descend, you're ahead of the pressure the water puts against your ears.
It's good to practise ear pressurization while above water to get the hang of it, and some people do it just to loosen the eustachion tubes, pre-dive.
-Simon
The "blow softly" thing really means don't blow hard and sharp. The idea is that when you try to breath out into a blocked nose, the air pressure in the air spaces in your sinuses and inner ear gets raised -- you need to raise the pressure reasonably high, but raise the pressure slowly until you feel your ears "fill". Sometimes it also helps to tilt your head -- the "up" ear will equalize easier.
And really, equalize is a bit of a misnomer -- you want to visualize pressuring your ears from the inside to match the pressure of the outside as you descend. Pre-equalization on the surface means that you're pressurizing your ears so that their internal pressure is greater than surface pressure, so that when you descend, you're ahead of the pressure the water puts against your ears.
It's good to practise ear pressurization while above water to get the hang of it, and some people do it just to loosen the eustachion tubes, pre-dive.
-Simon
BetterLateThannever
Contributor
Oni,
Just wondering if any of the suggestions worked for you or have you given up? Let us know how it's going.
Just wondering if any of the suggestions worked for you or have you given up?
Let us know how it's going.jobowker
Guest
Herman hit the nail on the head about equalizing before you put your head under. That made all of the difference for me. If you equalize constantly for the first few feet, not that much pressure is required. I used to blow kinda hard, but that's because I was waiting too long. The less pressure difference between the inside and the outside, the easier it is to equalize. I usually descend head first (it's just easier for me to get down that way) but equalize before my head goes under water, and then four or five times before my fins disappear beneath the waves. The further you go down the less often you have to equalize - I pinch my nose more from surface to 30 feet than 30 to 80 feet.
large_diver
Contributor
One other suggestion (sorry if this is a repeat)....try to make sure you are well hydrated before diving. This typically can help with equalization.
As mentioned above, a trip to an ENT might be in order as well.
As mentioned above, a trip to an ENT might be in order as well.
terrydarc
Guest
large_diver,
I'm not understanding how hydration helps with equalizing. Do like the above idea of pre-equalizing. Thanks!
Terry
I'm not understanding how hydration helps with equalizing. Do like the above idea of pre-equalizing. Thanks!
Terry
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