Newly Certified! and Ear questions

[wendy7]

I did it!!! Well, we did it...my finance and I went to St. Thomas just before Christmas. We both are now Certified

The dives were fun, and the instructors (both here in Chicago and in St. Thomas) were great - Looking forward to diving again in May in Cozumel.

I think I should post elsewhere for this...but how many of you have trouble with your ears? I can equalize my ears all day long above water, but as soon as I get down 10-12ft, OUCH. I had to go down soooo slowly it was heartbreaking. And then, coming up, it was even worse...my one ear felt like a bad speaker all crackly.

Maybe connected - we did 6 dives in 3 days. On dive #5, we went down to about 60ft (my deepest so far) and when we came up, I had a bloody nose. No one seemed too concerned, though.

Any pointers/tips, etc? THANKS!

 

[mcclete22]

I have problems with my right ear. I found a good way to resolve this was to move my head side to side, not to be mean, but like a "Valley girl" in the 80's. Theoretically this works by stretching the Auditory (Eustacian) tube allowinf freer movement of air. At leats that is what I think. You may want to go to anEar Nose Throat doctor too. I had deviated septum, and they said they might be causing some of my problems. Remeber to equalize early and often, and just go slow.
There are some other posts on this, so try the search. Congrats on certifying!

 

[miscbadvr]

If you're waiting until 10-12 feet down and feeling pain to equalize, then you're waiting too long. Equalize before you feel discomfort. If you do descend too far and have trouble equalizing try ascending a few feet to relieve some of the pressure and then try to equalize. Congrats on your certification!

 

[gander]

For about the first 35 dives of my dive career, I couldn't equalize unless I physically took my reg out of my mouth, held my nose and then equalized. It was a bit frustrating especially on the deeper dives. The neck stretch does help sometimes. If I did have an ear that wouldn't equalize, I would ascend a few feet, clear my clears, and begin my descent again. One thing that helps me is to take a sudafed or similar about two hours before a dive to help open up the airways.

Magically at about dive 35 my ears starting behaving and I can descend relatively fast now and without removing my regulator.

Greg

 

[lostplanetairman]

Try equalizing 10 min. before you get in the water, on the surface, and as you descend. Early and often just like voting, especially the first dive of the day. Hold your nose, tongue on the roof of your mouth, and swallow. I might do this 10 or more times prior to descent, depending how cranky my estachian tubes are that day.:mouse04:

 

[Shasta_man]

Miscbadvr is exactly right.

I start equalizing almost as soon as my head goes underwater.

It should be lots of little equalization rather than one big one. It should be easy and take little effort. After the first, then equalize again when you're you've moved lower. Once you're at some depth, it will be easier and mostly take care of itself by you swallowing, or moving your jaw.

I also found that I should not turn my head putting my ear perpendicular to the surface (like you were lying on your side). I believe the air can move around and make it difficult to clear one ear. Then you have to ascend a bit and try again. Keep ascending slightly while trying to equalize.

 

[cleung]

Congrats on your certification! I use to have major problems with my ears too but then I realized that it was my on-going allergies and congestion that were causing my difficulties in clearing my ears. So I took the advice of my scuba instructor and tried long acting decongestants like Sudafed and they worked. I haven't had any problems since. The night before any diving, I take an antihistamine overnight and then a decongestant early in the morning. I'm good for the rest of the day for diving.

 

[MarineVet32935]

The first 33' of a dive, you will undergo the greatest pressure differential. You double the pressure from the surface to 33' (two atmospheres). From there to 66' (three atmospheres) you only increase it by 50%. From there to 99' (four atm), you increase it by only 25%.

If you're waiting until you feel discomort, to equalize, you're waiting too long, especially in shallow water. Try it as soon as you begin your decent, decending slowly, as you described. Again at 5' or 6', again at 10', 15', 20' and so on. You'll find that after many dives, you can easily equalize, by simply exhaling slightly into your mask. You'll also find it easier to equalize in an upright position, where your lungs are deeper than your head.

I would highly recommend never, ever using any kind of decongestant when diving. Regardless of how long it's supposed to last, if it wears off at depth, you can't decompress the inner ear as you ascend.

 

[1_T_Submariner]

Congradulations and Welcome.... Where you wearing a hood? I have had some trouble when wearing a hood. I usually pull the hood out a little.

I used to (First 20 dives) think about equalizing it seems to just happen now. Occasionally lightly rubbing under the jaw bone where it curves by the ear. sometimes also helps.

 

[MarineVet32935]

I also found that I should not turn my head putting my ear perpendicular to the surface (like you were lying on your side). I believe the air can move around and make it difficult to clear one ear. Then you have to ascend a bit and try again. Keep ascending slightly while trying to equalize.

This is actually due to the pressure differences on either side of your head, when one ear is above the other. Try this. Get neutrally bouyant and float with your feet up and your head down, completely, vertically inverted. You'll find your reg is harder to draw a breath from, due to your secondary being at a greater pressure than your primary. It's designed to work the opposite.