Hi! Request for information from the wise and well informed

[sirdogalot]

This is probably off topic and possibly in the wrong forum(but I hope not), anyway. I'm not a real diver, have done a few introductory dives but, I have exostosis, or bony growths in my ear canals. These make it difficult to equalise especially while snorkelling. I am going to Thailand to go rock climbing soon, and plan to try Deep water soloing. This is a very silly pursuit where you climb out of the ocean on overhanging rocks, then fall back in when it all gets too hard. I hope this link works. Taking the Plunge - Thailand - Deep Water Soloing - YouTube

I the past I have found I get pain in my ears for a few hours after falling into the water from height. I am contemplating wearing ear plugs to try to prevent this. The idea is to fall in from maybe 10 meters (30 feet) and come straight back up. My brother, who is a douche bag, thinks my head will explode, as you would expect if I scuba dived with ear plugs.

What do you think?

ps - I don't really want to know how I can manage this for scuba/snorkelling/world record free dives. Just fall in, get out, repeat

 

[RJP]

How deep do you go when you hit the water?

I swim with earplugs, and find that when I descend even to 6-7 feet the increased pressure really pushes them in. I can't imagine going much deeper than that and/or descending quickly/forcefully.

 

[TonyErnst13]

use vented plugs, if plugs are your interest.

 

[g1138]

If your ears hurt because of the pressure from impact then I doubt ear plugs would help you.
Wear something more rigid like a helmet that covers your ears.

 

[weaserm99]

Earplugs are not the answer, while your head will not explode, the fall from lets say 30 feet above could cause you to go down a little farther than expected. Even if you are not scuba diving you are still going to feel the effects of the water pressure.

Best advice, try practicing equalizing and maybe try some type of over the counter decongestant like sudafed, this may help with equalizing.

But i would say do not use ear plugs at all.

 

[Quero]

When anybody goes down into the water, the pressure from the depth may injure the middle ear unless on descent the lower pressure in the middle ear is equalized with the greater pressure at depth. The time I hurt my own ears worst was when I jumped off the top deck of a dive boat and was unable to equalize on descent because the force of the water as I struck it pushed my arm/hand away from my head making it impossible for me to reach my nose in time. My ears hurt for hours afterwards. If your difficulty in equalizing even while snorkeling, when you can control your rate of descent and depth, is due to your condition, then it seems likely that a fall into the water from a height of 10 meters will injure your ears. As others have said, regular ear plugs are a bad idea as they can be pushed by the water pressure deep into the ear canal where you cannot pull them back out easily. Would it be possible for you to wear a life jacket or something really buoyant while you climb so that when you fall you won't go down deep under the water? When we enter the water on scuba, we inflate our buoyancy devices so that we don't descend much, and we never have ear injury problems due to these entries (though we don't jump in from a height of 10 m). Maybe something that would arrest your descent somewhat would be an option.

 

[farsidefan1]

Interesting! While working as a roughneck to pay for college my buddy and I were living in a camper near flaming gorge. We had no shower in the camper so we would take a bar of soap and jump off a cliff. We swam around to make sure the cliff continued out of sight below the cliffs and then as the summer proceeded we continued jumping from higher and higher cliffs. The highest one was 70 feet (measured with a 100 foot tape measure) and I don't remember any ear issues. BUT , VERY important note!!! Don't spread your legs and DO cover your privates for protection. I would guess that we went down around 15 - 20 feet underwater. Of course this is subject to my memory of nearly 40 yrs ago but I do remember the "privates" issue and think I would have remembered ear issues. Oh, and point your toes, those higher drops smacked the daylights out of the soles of our feet.

Hope those suggestions help. They were learned the hard way

 

[sirdogalot]

Thanks for the feedback! FSF1 love the "cup and clench" advice. Sounds like hard earned wisdom.

Quero, I'm interested you say " The force of the water as I struck it pushed my arm/hand away from my head making it impossible for me to reach my nose in time"

Is it possible to equalise as you descend from a big jump in? The list of things I don't know seems to be expanding exponentially.

 

[Quero]

Thanks for the feedback! FSF1 love the "cup and clench" advice. Sounds like hard earned wisdom.

Quero, I'm interested you say " The force of the water as I struck it pushed my arm/hand away from my head making it impossible for me to reach my nose in time"

Is it possible to equalise as you descend from a big jump in? The list of things I don't know seems to be expanding exponentially.

Yes, it is possible, but you have to pinch your nose to do it. In my case, I couldn't get to my nose before I had descended far enough to hurt my ears. People vary in the ease or difficulty they have in equalizing the pressure in their ears. I need to work a little at equalization, while I've heard of people who don't have to consciously equalize at all. (Lucky them.)

 

[fjpatrum]

I don't know if you're specifically considering doing it at the location in the youtube link or somewhere else, but that youtube link is in a location where the water is only about 4 or 5 feet deep at high tide. At low tide, you simply walk across the sand below where that guy is climbing.

If you're considering doing this somewhere else where there is water below the rock, I'd suggest learning several methods for clearing and practicing them a lot before you actually do this. You might be able to start clearing before you actually hit the water, if you're prepared when you start the fall, or if the fall is great enough distance. Either way, it's likely to take you a few tries to get it right so that your ears don't hurt. Be careful.