Welcome to SB; a great place to learn and advance your diving adventures. I will not speculate on your ear situation. It needs an exam by a ENT doctor.
Hello - New to these boards and looking for advise please
- Thread starter PennyOR
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Think if equalizingas an exercise. The more you equalize the better your ears will get at it.
So, if your ears were healthy right now, this is where I'd normally say, "equalize now as you sit there reading this post". NEVER equalize hard. Early and often is the key. Start equalizing in your room, similarly to the way you equalize on the plane normally (not the way you do it when having trouble). Equalize as you leave your room, a few more times on the way to the dock, on the boat as driving out to site, again before entering water, as soon as your head goes under, if you are doing backroll, exhale through your nose until you're sorted out. Gently, gently, gently. Equalize with every breath as you descend.
When you aren't diving, periodically equalize throughout the day. Myself, I still hear a very light sound as I do this.
You see, you're exercising your ears and they do become more accustomed to it.
So again, gently, never aggressively, equalize early, equalize often. I don't recommend Sudafed if you can avoid it but that said, I've used it myself in my early days and will still have one now and then depending on what's happening on long dive trips.
Make sure it's Sudafed 12 hour and take it about 1/2 hour at least before the splash, so that it's working when you hit the water. You want the 12 hour because you don't want it to wear off whilst you're still down. That can cause a nasty block on the way up. Way more troublesome to have a block when it's time to surface. Hope you never have to find out about that.
Welcome back to diving and welcome to Scubaboard.
So, if your ears were healthy right now, this is where I'd normally say, "equalize now as you sit there reading this post". NEVER equalize hard. Early and often is the key. Start equalizing in your room, similarly to the way you equalize on the plane normally (not the way you do it when having trouble). Equalize as you leave your room, a few more times on the way to the dock, on the boat as driving out to site, again before entering water, as soon as your head goes under, if you are doing backroll, exhale through your nose until you're sorted out. Gently, gently, gently. Equalize with every breath as you descend.
When you aren't diving, periodically equalize throughout the day. Myself, I still hear a very light sound as I do this.
You see, you're exercising your ears and they do become more accustomed to it.
So again, gently, never aggressively, equalize early, equalize often. I don't recommend Sudafed if you can avoid it but that said, I've used it myself in my early days and will still have one now and then depending on what's happening on long dive trips.
Make sure it's Sudafed 12 hour and take it about 1/2 hour at least before the splash, so that it's working when you hit the water. You want the 12 hour because you don't want it to wear off whilst you're still down. That can cause a nasty block on the way up. Way more troublesome to have a block when it's time to surface. Hope you never have to find out about that.
Welcome back to diving and welcome to Scubaboard.
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