Does your mask have on equalization?

I was just wondering, I've been having a hard time equalizing underwater but when I'm not I can actually feel the air pressure push out when I'm just practicing equalizing. Is it the reason why I can't equalize properly underwater if because I can't pinch my nose properly because of my mask?

This is one of the few reasons I'm looking into why I'm having a hard time equalizing, though I'll be seeing an ENT doctor who is also at the same time a scuba diver.

Sounds like seeing that doctor is the answer. I never pinched my nose. I'm not sure what you mean by feeling the air pressure push out. Equalization occurs when you get air from your lungs to go through the eustacian tube from your throat eventually to the air space in your middle ear. Some pinch and blow, some wiggle their jaws and some swallow or yawn like when on a plane. Once and a while a do swallow, but most of the time I kind of automatically equalize by "sort of" yawning. If you yawn and find the exact spot where your ears kind of crackle, that is when they are equalizing, I think. I go to that "spot" without actually yawning. I think it's part of what they call the "Frenzel" maneuver, which involves movement in the throat. There is also something called the "Valsalva" maneuver, which involves using the diaphragm, but if this is done forcefully or at length it may result in Round Window Rupture which is really bad. See what the diver doctor says in your case.

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If your mask has a purge valve it may be hard to pinch your nose enough to do an effective valslava with out using too much force, try swallowing and working your jaw back and forth and see if that helps on your next dive, AFTER you see the doctor

thanks for the reply guys, what i meant with the pressure is that when you practice equalizing, you actually feel a part of your ear move or blown up of some sort, which means you're doing the right thing but when i'm underwater it seems hard to do or sometimes when i equalize i can actually here a small sound from my ears like air is leaking thru, i guess i should have heard a pop but it my situation it seems like i'm having a having a hard time letting pressure out of my ears

sorry about the title of my thread, i just saw it now, i forgot to put the words "an effect"

Watch the video, Jason. It's really good.

I sometimes have a little trouble gettng my ears to equalize, and I wonder if it may be due to my TMJ and how that makes my jaw align with my skull. I do sometimes need to pinch the nose to equalize while descending, but the mask I have doesn't present any obstacles to doing so.

As previously said, you should be able to hear when your eustacian tubes open up. Just sitting here at the computer, I can hear the slight crackling noise when I jut my jaw forward a bit, without any nose-pinching at all. This same motion should open the tubes when underwater, even without pinching the nose. Make sure you're not closing off the back of your sinuses when underwater, as you need the open airway to keep the airspace in your mask equalized as well. If you block the back of your sinuses, then you create a low pressure space within your mask as you descend, and this will aggravate the ear equalization problem. IIRC, the eustacian tubes connect above where we can block the oral cavity from the sinus cavity, so if the airway isn't open through the sinuses, it's not going to have the correct pressure to the eustacians (and hence the inner ears), either.

Jasoncassanova:

thanks for the reply guys, what i meant with the pressure is that when you practice equalizing, you actually feel a part of your ear move or blown up of some sort, which means you're doing the right thing but when i'm underwater it seems hard to do or sometimes when i equalize i can actually here a small sound from my ears like air is leaking thru, i guess i should have heard a pop but it my situation it seems like i'm having a having a hard time letting pressure out of my ears

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Equalization: Do it early, and often. If you hear a sound from your ears like air is leaking through, I'd bet you have some congestion/blockage in your inner ear/eustachion tubes. I have a lot of sinus problems and have similar issues, but have learned to deal with them.

For me, I have to stay ahead of the clearing. If I get to the point where I start to feel pressure on my ears and I haven't cleared, it's almost impossible for me to do so without ascending some.

The dangers in this are that if your ears are difficult to clear, you might easily strain too hard to do it and end up causing damage when they finally do "pop." Failing to equalize or over equalizing may lead to baratrauma or other injury.

Additionally, if you manage to equalize on descent, you might find yourself with a reverse block on ascent. I've had a few of those, especially after multiple days of repetitive diving and they can be a bitch. When I know I'm having issues with this I plan my dives so that I can make long sloooooow ascents and multi-level stops to give my ears plenty of time to clear.

I would definitely talk with your doctor for advice on this before continuing to dive. I know someone who ruptured an ear drum like this and it was not a fun experience.

Hoomi:

I sometimes have a little trouble gettng my ears to equalize, and I wonder if it may be due to my TMJ and how that makes my jaw align with my skull. I do sometimes need to pinch the nose to equalize while descending, but the mask I have doesn't present any obstacles to doing so.

As previously said, you should be able to hear when your eustacian tubes open up. Just sitting here at the computer, I can hear the slight crackling noise when I jut my jaw forward a bit, without any nose-pinching at all. This same motion should open the tubes when underwater, even without pinching the nose. Make sure you're not closing off the back of your sinuses when underwater, as you need the open airway to keep the airspace in your mask equalized as well. If you block the back of your sinuses, then you create a low pressure space within your mask as you descend, and this will aggravate the ear equalization problem. IIRC, the eustacian tubes connect above where we can block the oral cavity from the sinus cavity, so if the airway isn't open through the sinuses, it's not going to have the correct pressure to the eustacians (and hence the inner ears), either.

Click to expand...

how do you get to close the back of you sinuses underwater... how does this happen?