make sure you turn your head with your ear towards the surface as you might have trapped some air in the ear on the way from the surface down.
This is not necessary. Air is COMpressing on descent, therefore there is no need to encourage any venting. On AScent, the air in the external auditory canal can easily expand and exit.
People get very confused about the difference between the middle and external ear. I highly recommend watching
THIS video in order to get better educated about the anatomy and physiology of the ear while diving.
Problems equalizing frequently result in muffled hearing, dull pain, crackling sounds, and an appearance of the eardrum that, in people who DON'T dive, is only seen with middle ear infections. However, barotrauma from poor equalization rarely results in infection, and when it does, it's a delayed phenomenon. It is my belief (without any studies to confirm it) that new divers often go to their FP because of ear complaints, and are diagnosed with an "ear infection" because of the redness of the drum and the fluid behind it. This is probably almost always just barotrauma.
On the other hand, infections of the EXTERNAL auditory canal are common in divers. This are generally manifested by significant pain, especially pain when the ear is moved. Sometimes the swelling of the canal can even be seen without any instruments. This type of infection is due to maceration of the skin lining the canal because of prolonged wetness. It can be prevented by eardrops (there's a lot of discussion of what type is best) or other measures to dry the canal post-dive. It is treated with antibiotic eardrops.
Some people apparently are unable to learn to equalize well without the aid of some type of decongestant. It is important to realize that using decongestants to dive increases your risk of serious ear problems, because if the medications wear off underwater, you can develop a reverse block, which can result in eardrum rupture on ascent. However, long-acting medications such as controlled-release Sudafed and Afrin are unlikely to wear off during a single dive, or two. Afrin must be used with caution, because there is a rebound effect, and dependency on the drug is possible, but again, this is generally not an issue with sporadic use, especially if you stay within or below recommended dosage. Users of Sudafed and Nitrox should be aware that there is some anecdotal evidence that it may potentiate oxygen toxicity.
If someone is having persistent ear problems while diving, the first thing is to look carefully at their equalization technique -- How are they doing it, and how often? -- and then probably to visit an ENT doc and see if there are any identifiable problems that need to be addressed to make equalization easier.
