Chronic Ear/Equalizing Issues, Help?!?

I am located in Orlando, Fl. and I have had several ear issues my entire life. I spearfish in shallower water whenever I can, and I have been wanting to get SCUBA certified for years now but I cannot equalize under water and therefore cannot go below about 15 feet or so. Is it possible that I will never be able to equalize no matter what? Does this happen to people? I have searched extensively and tried different things but it doesn't seem to work for me. Does anyone know of a doctor in Orlando that is experienced with diving that would be able to help me, I am literally desperate at this point?!?!? Any other advice would be greatly appreciated.

Go and see an ENT, ear nose throat, doctor preferably one with diving knowledge. Call DAN, Divers Alert Network, for a doctor near you. 1-919-684-2948
Scuba Diving Medical Safety Advice ? DAN | Divers Alert Network

Hello thomas, i would like to say that you probably don't/wouldnt have a problem diving.
When snorkeling you probably don't try or know how to pinch your nose and equalize the pressure in your ears/noggin and thats what gives you ear pain,some people as myself have a hard/slow time trying to equalize while snorkeling because you don't have much time on a breath of surface air.
If you slowly descend while breathing off your tank with Scuba in a comfortable/unhurried/slow descent you can descend very slow and clear your ears as you go deeper, once you get past about 25-35 feet its not much of an issue.
If you have sinus problems while walking above water/ maybe you are often congested and have the sniffles /when you dive the congestion or snot in your head/sinisus can cause an equalizing problem but even with that usually you can get down if you take your time[and hold up everyones dive,like i do] .
I say if you don't have a bad problem with your sinuses ,skip the doctors visit and get your Open Water Certification and you will find that you can slowly get to the bottom and enjoy Scuba. Its Great.

I couldn't figure out how to equalize until the end of my certification almost- the traditional way of squeezing my nose and "gently blowing air" or whatever they tell you just didn't work for me :/
However! After some research, I figured out that I could hold my nose (tightly) and swallow and it would instantly equalize my ears. So try that and it may work better for you than the way most people try and explain it.
Also, some people just have congested sinuses chronically. Try popping a nasal decongestant before diving... That's what I do 😁

How fast do you descend? Too fast to equalize? You have tried different things--what things? I assume you aren't considering times you may have free dived with congestion, as you say the problem is always there. Of course I offer no medical advice, but here was my pre- OW own situation:

Snorkeling down my ears hurt at about 8 feet. I was not equalizing at all and wore ear plugs (real ones, not scuba ones with holes). 15 feet seems pretty deep to go before you get serious pain. ccx2 may well be correct in that you just don't have the time to equalize properly on one breath. Once I was on scuba I had no problems at all (except with congestion, like everybody). So you may or may not need to visit a diving knowledge doctor. A thought may be to do a "Discover Scuba" class--one that will get you below 15'. They're not that costly. My gut tells me you'll be OK. To stick with that 15'--the pressure change is greatest the nearer you are to the surface. If you go from 80' to 90' you may equalize a tiny bit if at all. This is the puzzling thing--you can get to 15' OK but no further? This would lead me to believe you are equalizing some but not enough. I have observed students with equalizing problems and they almost always (begin to) occur within 5 feet of the surface.

You might want to watch this video on equalizing before you jump to any conclusions! Ears and Sinuses: Barotrauma for the Dive Professional - YouTube

I used to have problems equalizing because of a chronic sinus condition, but after watching this video I learned a combination of techniques that really help me Haven't had problems since!

This is a good video too - The Divers Ear - under pressure - YouTube

Taught me the Frenzel technique for equalizing which I much prefer over the more common "pinch nose and blow".

I find a 12-hr Claritan-D about 2 hrs before I hit the water does the trick. That's the combo pill with both antihistamine (for allergies) and decongestant (for congestion.) I never have to pinch my nose and blow, I always manage to clear my ears just by swallowing.

On a bad allergy day, following a common cold, The Claritin didn't do it. At 25 feet I'm pinching and blowing until I got a nosebleed. Sucks. And because of my depth, I decided to do a safety stop before going up, and it was an experience I wouldn't want to repeat. Talk about clearing water of your mask.

After an hour on the boat, another diver lent me his Afrin and that cleared me out for the next dive, so it's now in my Save-a-Dive kit.

But as someone else said, it's worth getting checked out by an ENT to see if it's a training issue or a physical/medical issue. Submarine nosebleeds aren't fun.

Everyone here has given really good advice. I had big issues with equalizing several years ago and stopped diving. After getting back in the water last year I have had few issues. Mostly what I do is Afrin before diving and descend / ascend very slowly. Plus pressurize your ears before you descend so you can descend the first few feet.

Definitely see an ENT. The more you practice equalizing the easier it will be.




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