Swallowing on accent to equalize good/bad?

[Berdman]

On my accents I notice that if I swallow it helps equalize my ears. Now I read here not to equalize on accent? Why is this? Should I stop swallowing on accents?

Also why should you not equalize on the surface after a dive? I read that here too!


Is it normal to "hear" the air going out? I always hear alil crinkle as I ascend.


Has anyone else noticed it to be easier equalizing when your vertical then swimming horizontally?

 

[Jamie_r]

I have to swallow and move my jaw side to side while looking up or else sometimes I may get a reverse block in one ear. Its been better these days though, unless a cold is near by.
I didnet know there was anything wrong with that.

 

[BKP]

Nothing at all wrong with that... in a sense, you *do* equalize on both descent (swallow, jaw wiggle, Valsalva), and ascent (swallow, or typically self-equalizes - and *many* divers hear the 'krinkle' you're talking about, including me).

 

[mwhities]

I kinda enjoy the feeling on the accent. Maybe it's just me, but it let's me know that everything is in good working order.

Michael

 

[Xman]

Not sure what you've heard, but I can only imagine that they meant not to perform a valsalva on ascent or once on the surface. You HAVE to equalise on ascent (either consciously or without realising) or else the reverse block would ruin your whole day to say the least.

 

[Berdman]

I kinda enjoy the feeling on the accent. Maybe it's just me, but it let's me know that everything is in good working order.

Michael

I had one not so desirable ascent on my ow dives, I looked up and thought I was swimming up, well when the water got colder and darker and my ears were equalizing the wrong way , I grabbed the wall of the quarry to stop my self. Just as I did that my buddy grabbed my arm and pulled me back up. Its weird my buoyancy was fines the whole dive, usually if anything I always slowly ascend.

Told me my sense of direction sucks!!

 

[mwhities]

Ouch, that's not good! Well, my dive buddy, JUST after our last OW check out dive, started out on our first solo dive and we were supposed to follow the wall around. Well, somehow we ended up in the middle of the quarry. Talking about bad sense of direction!

Michael

 

[spankey]

there is not much better than that feeling of an accent, and once on the surface and you take your mask off and feel all the mucus coming out only from a diver

but if you need to equalize up and down do it, only you know whats going on in your head

 

[BKP]

I'd add my voice to Xman... no Valsalva on the way up!

Jaw wiggle... swallow... (or if you can manage a yawn underwater).... all fine.

 

[TSandM]

You have to "equalize" going both ways. "Equalize" means to bring the pressure in the middle ear into line with the pressure in your airway. Going down, the airway pressure is increasing, and you have to get air INTO your middle ear -- thus the Valsalva or nose-pinch and blow maneuvers. Going up, you have to get air OUT of the middle ear, and the descent maneuvers are precisely the wrong thing to do. You just want to manipulate the opening of the Eustachian tube a little to make it easier for air to come out. Swallowing or jaw movement accomplish that. Some people don't have to do anything on ascent (I'm one of them).