Equalizing

[Scott M]

Thanks for all the support.

Current plan: We are scheduled for another pool session. This does include tanks, so my buddy and I will be in the water again on Friday trying out the your methods. We will give Sudafed a try to see if it helps. We will equalize early and often. Hopefully, I will be over the vertigo on the ascent.

I went through the DAN operator to try and find a diver friendly ENT in Atlanta. They directed me to a hyperbaric (sp) facility who in turn directed me to an ENT. The earliest I could get an appointment was the end of the month, after the scheduled OW certification dives.

So, thanks for all the advice.

The DAN site has some interesting info as well.

Regarding Vertigo...I found using a hood helped a lot with this. Sometimes cool water entering the ear can cause this, the hood keeps the water around your ears warm. I didn't like a hood at first but now I have learned that when my head begins to get a little cold like at the end of a dive I can tilt my head just right and by clearing my mask it will send a warm shot of water around my head and ears warming me back up. I love doing this.

Also, if the vertigo continues you can ask your ENT for anti-vert which may also help.

 

[terrydarc]

Jacket_fan,
I'd like to add my vote to seeing your family doctor and maybe getting refered off to an ear doctor. If it's painful at 6', it's not going to get better at 12' or deeper. Stop, come up and continue to equalize until there is no pain or pressure at all. I'm sure you've covered this aspect of diving in your classes, but sometimes the pressure (sorry) to dive causes us to forget what we've learned. Don't keep going down if you experience pain.

FWIW - the change in pressure between 0 to 12' is greater than any other 12' you'll do and in general the first 20 to 30' are where people have more equalization problems - this is simple physics as you've probably covered in your classes.
=Terry

 

[SubMariner]

I went through the DAN operator to try and find a diver friendly ENT in Atlanta. They directed me to a hyperbaric (sp) facility who in turn directed me to an ENT. The earliest I could get an appointment was the end of the month, after the scheduled OW certification dives.

Here is a listing from Scubadoc's website for GA ENT/Hyperbaric facilities & physicians:
http://www.scuba-doc.com/divga.htm

Hope this is helpful!

 

[jacket_fan]

I appreciate all the advice and recommendations.

My dive buddy and I hit the pool again last night. We both took Sudafed an hour or two prior to going in. We both had a lot more success getting equalized. And I was able to ascend without the vertigo if I went slowly enough.

After trying all of the techniques recommended here, I found that by holding my nose and swallowing, I am able to get my ears to pop or squeal. The same sort of thing coming back up. Of the 6-7 times we went up and down, if my ears squealed, I knew I was equalized. Trying to yawn with a regulator in my mouth did not work.

I am sure this is “old hat” to you experienced divers, but I can tell you I was regarding the check-out dives with great trepidation, not only for myself but for my son. Now, I feel pretty confident with a little help from Sudafed we will be OK.

Now all we need to do is get past needing the medicine.

I have an appointment with an ENT after the CO dives so I will have some more experience to relate to him and hopefully he can offer some help as well.

Kudos to my LDS. They recommend coming to the pool as often as possible. They offer free tanks and go out of their way to make you feel welcome and work us in around the swimming lessons.

 

[AmyJ]

Hi there,

You have gotten alot of good advice from people with alot of experience. I just wanted to share a note of encouragement. My husband and I just did our CO dives in January, so I've been there done that.

In the pool sessions (12 foot pool) I could take 5 minutes to descend. I COULD NOT get my ears right. A couple of times I just sucked it up and prayed that we wouldn't be down so long that my head would explode from pain (VERY POOR DECISION, DO NOT DO THIS!!! ) I tried all the different techniques.... etc.

Needless to say I was quite worried about our OW dives in Mexico. Prior to leaving I got some Entex from the DR. Took it for a few days. I really don't know what made the difference...

But in open water I had NO PROBLEMS! It was a miracle on a mini scale. I was thrilled! So... just wanted to encourage you... keep trying all the great advice mentioned, don't give up and be discouraged, but DON'T do permanent damage to your ears just to try and save a dive. No dive is worth it. (This I also know from personal experience... oldest daughter is deaf....ability to hear is a great thing to be treasured!)

Let us know how it goes! Good luck and welcome to the board!

 

[bubblesdame]

Hi worried Dad

equalizing properly is a major skill in itself and if not done properly will prevent you from diving. i had major problems myself for a number of reasons; I have narrow ustacian tubes (the tube leading to your middle ear from the back of your throat into which you are blowing air in order to equalize) and I have a lot of allergies so always have a lot of mucous which blocks the ustacian tube. Over 10 years of diving I have learned a number of techniques which have helped me.

1. practice equalizing on land; equalizing our ears is not something we do regularly , if ever, in day to day activities so the muscles being used need to be exercised. Always blow gently until you feel both ears making a soft popping sound. If you cannot equalize on land you will not be able to equalize in the water

2. once in the water equalize before you put your head under the water so that you are ahead of the pressure not behind it. Once pressure builds up the tubes close and it does not matter how hard you blow (which is dangerous can burst your eardrum) it will not clear. Then equalize every foot or third of a meter, it is better to equalize gently and often rather than hard and less frequently.

3. wiggle your jaw from side to side and stretch neck looking up to help open the tubes.

I hope these tips help good luck and happy diving

 

[PolsVoice]

all I do is bite and swallow... yeah I go through mouthpieces pretty quick, but I swallow all the way down. The only time I have trouble equalizing is when I have air trapped in my ear, usually tilting my head to the left and right releases these bubbles and I can adjust quicker. But if I don't it hurts like Gehenna (pardon my Hebrew).

Valsalva over equalizes (if that's possible) often giving me a block on the way up. Also try massaging the area just under your ears, that has helped me once in the past (have no idea why... even if the *eustacian?* tubes are right there or some other sinus, don't know why massage would help with my equalization... it just does).

- PV.

 

[pipedope]

First, go back to my post in the begining of this thread and watch the video. Yes, it is worth watching it again, and again.

Now to my point, stress and tension cam make it harder to equalize. The more comfortable you are in the water the easier it gets.

Ever notice how tight your neck gets when you are stressed, worried or tense? That tight neck contains the things that need to relax and open up for you to equalize easily. Anything you can do to loosen up will help. After you gear up and before getting in the water do some neck stretches, rolling your head around and things like that. Make sure that your hood (if worn) is not too tight.

Take your time and enjoy. There is no law against doing a dive at 5', but once you are there for a while and are having fun you may notice that it is now easier to equalize and move down again.

Just before you ascend to end the dive, stop and let yourself relax, especially neck and shoulders. This will let your ears equalize more easily as you go up.

The easier it is, the more fun you have.
The more fun you have, the more you dive.
The more you dive, the easier it is.

When I first started diving, I had a hard time equalizing. Now some 26 years and a few thousand dives later equalizing is easy. It is so easy that if I am using a full face mask or helmet I don't even need to block my nose. This was really handy on working dives as I didn't need to take my hands away from the job.

 

[jacket_fan]

Again I want all ya'll to know I appreciate the advice and encouragement.

My son and I have completed our check out dives in Pennekamp and have gotten signed off and I am proud of both of us. He was professional and mature. Handled all of the miscues and performed flawlessly.

Dad on the other hand had a couple of mishaps. 1) left the bungee hooked to my tank and tried to stand up after I was all assembled. 2) stood up without my weight belt on the first time I was ready to dive. Just slightly embarrassing. Otherwise, everything went quite smoothly. The skills went like clockwork and seemed very easy.

As far as the ears go. I/we took Sudafed before each dive. The first two dives we both went slowly and got to the 25 to 35 feet on the two dives. Holding my nose, blowing and swallowing at the same time worked best for me. By the fifth dive, my son descended like a pro. We were diving the wreck, "The Eagle", and he was down to the wreck with no problem. I got stuck at about 25 feet and could not equalize. Had to go back up to about 20 feet. Got equal. Went down to 28 feet, had to stop, went back up to 25 feet and got equalized. Either I got more spit in my mouth or just got the technique right, but I went on down to the wreck after that. So we got almost 15 minutes of bottom time exploring around the wreck together. Not much better way to spend the morning for me I can assure you.

Ascending was no problem.

All in all a very rewarding experience.

 

[glbirch]

Good to hear it all worked out in the end. Welcome to the underwater world.