Sons second night of OW not so good.

[DaveDog]

My 14 year old son had his second night of class. They did the skills from chapters 1 & 2 (PADI). He could not equalize well enough to get to 10 feet. I have worked on this with him in the past and he has always had a terrible time. He is very comfortable in the water, snorkels constantly in the summer. Has no stress in the water at all, just can't equalize. He did get down to 8-10 feet after 10 to 15 minutes. Going up though he had reverse pressure in one ear. I'm worried he won't be able to equalize ever. He did not have a cold. Do some people just have small tubes? Any suggestions.

Dave

 

[moneysavr]

Dave,
I am no Doc and sure tons of folks will chime in,, but I think most new divers have this problem as I did on my second OW dive. My take on it and its been backed up by others is his tubes have gunk in them and this needs to be worked free.
Dont push him as to screw up his ears! but I know that after I got a few deeper dives in WAM no more problems!
Have him [TRY] equalize- clear top side slow and easy prior to dive, Do you have any time prior to next class to get to a ENT??
you may ask this question down in Dive med,,?
I hope all works out I feel the pain!
Dive safe,
Brad

 

[RonFrank]

My 14 year old son had his second night of class. They did the skills from chapters 1 & 2 (PADI). He could not equalize well enough to get to 10 feet. I have worked on this with him in the past and he has always had a terrible time. He is very comfortable in the water, snorkels constantly in the summer. Has no stress in the water at all, just can't equalize. He did get down to 8-10 feet after 10 to 15 minutes. Going up though he had reverse pressure in one ear. I'm worried he won't be able to equalize ever. He did not have a cold. Do some people just have small tubes? Any suggestions.

Dave

Does he have problems with his ears in general? Does he have issues for example on planes, riding up 50 stories in an elavator?

The only two suggestions I can make are equalize EARLY. I do so ON the surface, just to make sure I can get my ears to clear. Equalize often. Do so BEFORE it's necessary. Did the instructor have any insight? How is he trying to equalize?

Don't have him force it too much, as you can do ear damage. Reverse squeeze is unusual.

I'd suggest seeing an ENT. Maybe he has wax buildup. He could have small tubes as well. See an ENT, make sure he does not have a huge wax buildup, or some other issue, and then go from there.

 

[Doc Intrepid]

By all means, take your son to an Ear/Nose/Throat specialist...BUT, try to find one that dives. It's important. Hyperbaric medical issues aren't something that all ENTs are aware of. You may be able to call DAN for a list of medical professionals in your area, and/or your local Navy recruiter may be aware of a hyperbaric medical specialist who provides physical examinations in your area.

My son had the exact same difficulties. We took him to an ENT who was also a local diver. She was an excellent resource, and gave him a combination of answers that resolved his problem. I'm thinking that the same is likely possible for your son.

Best with that,

Doc

 

[Web Monkey]

There's no difference between equalizing for 10' or 100', it's just a question of how many times you need to do it.

He should be equalizing before he feels a lot of pressure. For some reason, it's easier to do before there's a big pressure differential.

Other than that, I'd call DAN and get a referral to a dive ENT in your area and have him check your son out.

Terry

My 14 year old son had his second night of class. They did the skills from chapters 1 & 2 (PADI). He could not equalize well enough to get to 10 feet.

 

[oly5050user]

I find it is common for kids to experience problem w ear/clearing..as a few have said alread start to clear on surface and stay ahead of it slow/easy no race..have fun

 

[SteveAD]

one thing I have found helps some of my students is what I call "pre equalizing". do a valsalva manuever (pinch and blow) on the surface and then descend while maintaining it. pressure affects the entire body and can sometimes compress the eustachian tubes, so that once you've gone down you're trying to blow air through a squished tube. so I tell my hard to clear students "overpressurize and then go down until the world equalizes to you".

 

[Humuhumunukunukuapua'a]

I used to get a ton of middle ear infections when I was a kid which went away in my teenage years. My tubes were small at the time but I guess they grew to fit me, because no problems now. Maybe part of the problem is he's still a growing boy.

Has he tried stretching out his tubes when equalizing by tilting his head one way or the other and stretching out the side of his neck? I often equalize one ear more easily than the other and then use this trick. You lean your head away from the ear that won't clear, stretch your neck, and gently equalize. Really helps me equalize when I'm having trouble.

Good luck to him!

 

[devolution365]

I used to have a lot of trouble equilizing when diving, freediving, in airplanes... Practice and the advice to equilize BEFORE you feel pressure helped me a lot. Now I can equilize easily. Your son will do fine if he wants to dive bad enough to work through this little road bump.

Good luck!

 

[craborn]

Everyone is giving you some great suggestions. Please see a specialist who is a diver. It makes a big difference. Good Luck.... CLay