Trouble Clearing My Ears

[Scuba.Pro]

The last few times I've gone diving I've had huge trouble clearing my ears. I never used to have trouble, but now it seems I cannot get past 10 or 12 feet without extreme pain.

I'm really afraid I messed up my ears in previous dives. I'm going to keep trying, but does anyone have any tips I can try?

 

[SlowRain]

Any issues clearing them on the surface...pain, etc? Are you clearing immediately as you descend? Not knowing your experience level many new divers wait until they start to feel pressure to begin clearing, and that leads to difficulty for quite a few people. You should start clearing before you feel the need (i.e. pressure). You should NEVER be trying to "force clear" when you are at the point of having pain.

If you have done that and are now having problems...you might want to make a call to your doctor and explain the problem and see if he feels like he could make a judgment....or call DAN and get a referral to a local doctor experienced with divers.

After doing a lot of dives in a short time frame i.e. 3-5 a day for a few days, I will find my ears get pretty sensitive. Just take a couple of days off and don't push it.

 

[TSandM]

There's not enough information here to give much advice. How long have you been diving? How regularly? Any allergy or other symptoms?

The one thing I would say is that, if your ears are severely painful at 10 feet, you need to not dive until you get this sorted out.

 

[Scuba.Pro]

Thanks for your advice guys.

I'm 32 now and I've been diving since 15. (My brothers and I used to use a garden hose with an air compressor and when my parents saw us they send us to get lessons)

I remember having pain getting certified, but at one point just dove right through it and eventually didn't notice it. 15 and very smart...

Anyway, I've got about 20 dives after that without too many issues, just sometimes had trouble clearing. I haven't dove in about 10 years. The last time I went (a few weeks ago) I couldn't dive because of my ears. But I have noticed even free diving in deep pools 8-10ft over the years causes a lot of pain. Maybe I did mess them up somehow.

 

[friscuba]

Early and often, early and often.

For some reason, jumping into the pool and touching the bottom is not the same as going down 10 feet and staying there. I don't have to clear my ears diving down to 15' deep mooring balls, but there's no way I'm getting that deep on a normal descent without clearing every couple of feet on the way down.... don't know exactly why that is, unless the speed of the dive to the ball just happens faster than it takes the pain to register. When I first started diving I couldn't even go 6 feet down without pain , even though as a kid touching the bottom of a 13 foot pool was no big deal, but it sure gets better once you figure out what you are doing.

If you can clear at 2-3 feet of depth, as long as you clear that often as you continue downward it should actually be easier to clear as you get deeper as the percent of change in pressure as you descend at any given depth is higher the closer you are to the surface. (example: surface to 33 feet you double your pressure, to double your pressure again you'd have to go to 99 feet, not 66). Technically you should have to clear less often as you descend, however you have to make sure to do it often enough to get it done, because once you've gone just a little too far it'll be difficult or impossible to clear. If you are feeling pain... STOP, you'll only make it worse, just back off and go to the last depth you were OK at, then stop again and you should feel OK, then equalize again at that depth and then continue downward.

I get to watch people who say they "have ear troubles" all the time. Usually they're obviously skipping clearing at a spot they should have cleared. 2 feet... clear, 4 feet... clear, 9 feet... ouch... maybe they should have tried clearing at 7 feet? It's generally more of an issue of depth and speed of descent management than their ears flat out not clearing at depth.

 

[AbyssalPlains]

I'm 32 now and I've been diving since 15. (My brothers and I used to use a garden hose with an air compressor and when my parents saw us they send us to get lessons)

Haha, that is exactly how I started! Except my brother and I did it old school using a hand pump.

As far as your ears go, I feel tempted to say that if you experience pain, it's too late and the pain tells you that you should have equalized earlier. Check out the DAN website, they have a "Diver's complete guide to the ears" there that you can download, unless you haven't already.

 

[bryanmc57]

My wife has had clearing issues with one ear to the point that she blew out the eardrum on the "easy" side trying to clear the difficult side. We recently found that it she tilts her head to the side opposite the ear that won't clear it clears easily. My non medically educated guess is that it stretches the eustachian tube making it easier to equalize. Maybe you need to go one way then the other if the problem is on both sides.
YMMV

 

[nereas]

I agree, early and often.

Earliest being the day before.

Then the morning of.

Then on the way to the dive site.

Then just before entry.

Then at the surface before descending.

Then about every other breath during your descent.

Try that.

 

[friscuba]

In agreement here, every other breath does work well, as long as you are going down. If you are going down a bow line tied to a mooring line and the bow line is slack then you may be travelling horizontal... no need to clear when not actually getting deeper - it's amazing how many divers continue to pressurize (I consider it over-pressurize) when moving horizontally. Another method, if going down a vertical downline, anchor line or mooring line, is pick a hand and if going down the line hand over hand, clear when that particular hand is free.

 

[ianw2]

My brothers and I used to use a garden hose with an air compressor and when my parents saw us they send us to get lessons.

Haha, that is exactly how I started! Except my brother and I did it old school using a hand pump.

What pikers!

My brother and I hand pumped air into jerry-rigged 2 litre plastic soda bottles. After I damned near drowned inthe pool, Allan wanted NOTHING to do with diving. No me, though. Now the penny drops! THAT"S why my parents gave me dive lessons for Christmas!

Seriously, though. You can even practice techniques such as the Valsalva and Frenzel Manouvers without being near water. And, as with working out, practice makes better.

Doctor has a great page at Doc's Diving Medicine Home Page.

Theres'a streaming video on ears and barotrauma and a great paper at Prevention of Middle Ear Barotrauma

Cheers...

Ian

Do I REALLY have to stop diving now I'm 50, Mr. Sutherland?