Want to get certified, but worried about ears

[emilynewbie]

Hey guys,

How are you? I'm new to this board!

So a little bit of background... I've always wanted to scuba dive, but I've always been worried about pain in my ears. Even when I go into a swimming pool and submerge my head only about 3 feet underwater, my ears hurt a lot and I have to come up due to the discomfort. It's possible I have really sensitive ears...? I'm wondering if this makes me unsuitable for diving.

I'd love to get some divers' opinions before I sign up for a cert and find out I wasted my money during the pool sessions.

Thanks so much for your help!

Emily

 

[Hawkwood]

Emily,

Without going into a great deal of detail, one of the first things you will learn about is how to equalize your ears - this is the source of your discomfort. Learning how to properly equalize (there are many different ways to do this) is very important.

The fact that you experience discomfort at 3 feet does not make you unsuitable for diving. On the contrary, it only shows that you need to equalize.

Granted, there are some folks that have difficulty equalizing - could be technique, could be a physiological reason. You won't know until you try.

One great way to find out before you "sign up for a cert and find out I wasted my money during the pool sessions" is to take a what some call a Discover Scuba Diving (DSD) session. In the PADI world the DSD is essentially the same as the first pool session of the PADI OW program. Other certification agencies have similar programs.

You will find you get lots of help and advice from folks here. Good luck with your certification.

Bill

 

[swinging pink]

one thing you can do is sign up for a discover scuba class the cost around $25 or so.
this is an interdiction to scuba and they can help teach you proper ways to clear your ears.
I also have bad ears and I go to an ENT.
they know their stuff.
so don't let that get in your way. Remember slow is key. SLOW! SLOW! SLOW! enjoy.

 

[Teller]

There is a method to avoid that pain that you will learn during yout training so dont let that hold you up. I am not a doctor but I would say your ears are fine to dive. At worst you may just have to go down slower then most people do. My ears give me a hard time and I still dive, sometimes well past recreational depth limits. Good luck and have fun.

 

[g1138]

If you can pop your ears when you're on a plane or when you drive up a tall mountain then you can equalize when diving.
If you're super worried see an ENT (ears nose throat doctor) and get a quick checkup and second opinion before you sign up.

Equalizing ears is the first lesson you get in a scuba course. There should be no pain if you equalize properly.
There's small tubes called Eustachian tubes that connect your middle ear to the back of your throat (right below your tonsils). Equalizing involved pushing or allowing air up these tubes to equalize the pressure difference between your middle ear and the outer ear pressure cause by external sources such as water pressure (diving) or atmospheric pressure (climbing/flying).
You can do a little background research and look up the following equalization methods. Not all of them have their roots in scuba diving or even freediving, but all of them work if done properly.

- Valasalva manuever
- Frenzel Technique
- VTO/BTV - Voluntary Tubal Opening/Beance Tubaire Volotaire

 

[xdjio]

I find VTO to be most effective

 

[allister]

I first went diving about 10 years ago on holiday and loved it i wanted to
continue when i got back home but about month r 2 after getting home i went
to my local swimming pool and as soon as i went under the water i heard a
rush of water going into my left ear and the pain was extreme and every
thing stared 2 spin i did not know what was up r down and had to be pulled
out by the life guard. for about a week after i could hear a wishing sound
in that ear. every morning my pillow was wet with fluid coming out of my ear
i have been nervous about going under water ever since i am going on holiday
to Mexico in 5 weeks and wood love to go diving there but dont know if i
should. any 1 know what this might of have been.

 

[Kilili]

See an Otolaryngologist.

 

[Token]

I first went diving about 10 years ago on holiday and loved it i wanted to
continue ... any 1 know what this might of have been.

It is something you should see a doctor about...I don't think there can be any question. Whatever happened to you may have healed, or it may be a permanent problem that will keep you away from diving forever. There's no way to tell without a proper examination.

 

[boulderjohn]

When I first learned to dive, I had so much trouble equalizing that an instructor actually told me that it was possible that I could not be a diver. Today I barely have to do anything to equalize and can plummet to any depth about as fast as I can fall without feeling any pain. Why is that? It is not just technique. You will learn technique in class and possibly still have a lot of trouble. What happens is that your ears get used to equalizing as you give them practice doing it. Our ears are meant to equalize to changes in pressure, but it happens so rarely that they get, in a sense, lazy. It took me quite a lot of time and practice doing it, but eventually my ears got the point and are ready to go quickly.

If you decide to go into scuba and find yourself still having problems, come back and I will describe the process I went through to get my balky ears to get with the program.