Equalization and weight Problems!

Hi all!

So I have been diving for a few years now and only recently (last 5 dives or so) been having a problem equalizing in my right ear. I have tried everything to equalize, including, trying to on the surface and every meter down, taking my mask off to equalize, and not equalizing at all (off course this didn't work).

It feels as if there is a blockage, but i always dive fully healthy and never when i have a cold or flu. Nothing has worked so far and it is seriously impacting on my enjoyment of diving and my bottom time.

Also, during my last dive, the instructor took one of my weights off me, which helped my buoyancy and air usage. Now that i have been told to use only 2 weights i am worried about not being able to sink as i even had problems getting down with three weights. Any comments?

The equipment i use is: Oceanic Cruz BCD, Oceanic Regs, Probe 5mm Wetsuit and a U.S Divers Mask.

Any help, suggestions or comments would be greatly appreciated

Happy Diving

Justin

Decent technique is sadly very rarely taught properly.
Most people breathe out and then start to empty their bc. By the time the bc is empty, they are all but dying for a breath of air and end up right back on the surface again.

Try this method in stead!

1. Relax in the water
2. Take deep calm breaths and continue to breathe slightly on the top of your lungs.
3. Put reg into mouth.
4. Start to empty your bc.
5. Cross your legs, and stop finning.
6. When bc is half empty - take a deep breath IN (I know... sounds counter productive.. just wait...) and HOLD your breath. (You are at the surface, so no problem...)
7. Continue to empty bc whilst holding your breath untill you start sinking.
8. Exhale and delay breathing in untill you are well under water.

I would disagree with the above advice, if you sink with a full breath of air in your lungs, you're overweighted.
I think your instructor took weight off because he saw this.

I think I see where Imla's going with this though. Doing a Buoyancy check before and after a dive can help you narrow down your perfect weight for the gear, tank, and weightsuit combo you're wearing.
At the surface Full breath of air, Empty air from BC, cross legs to stop kicking, hold a full breath and see where you sit. Waterline should be between your chin and halfway up your mask.
If you're wearing a thick suit, like double 7mm or drysuit, then yes you should start to sink very slowly at this point. If you're using an Al 80 (imperial cubic feet) then you should also sink slowly at this point, because the large buoyancy swing when the tank's near empty will bring you "back to neutral".

Now exhale and see how fast you sink. You should sink very slow or sit where the water line is above the halfway point of your mask to the top of your head. Once you've tried, breath normally, ascend if needed (kicking), and change weights if needed.

As for the actual dive.
Make sure you're leaning back when you deflate. Often times new divers will flop face forward during the initial deflate and trap a huge air pocket in their BC. As soon as your head goes under the water, lean forward so you don't turtle yourself descending down.
After your BC's fully deflated, breath out and hold for a second or two to get your descent started.


If you do turtle, make like a wiener dog and roll over into a sky dive position.
Also try to find out how much actual kilos of lead you're wearing and also the type of tank (Aluminum, Steel, how many liters). Weight blocks can be different sizes/kilos, so simply telling a dive ops you use two blocks can make you really underweighted or overweighted.


As for equalizing, sometimes diving too much will stuff you a bit. Take a breather and let your ears recover. It will take a little bit before they strengthen themselves for repetitive multi day dives.

There are other, better, and less brutal ways to equalize your ears as well.
Look up Frenzel Maneuver and BTV/VTO equalization. (Béance Tubaire Volontaire/Voluntary Tubal Opening)
Frenzel uses your tongue to pump air into your ears, instead of your diaphragm. Less forceful and no possibility to over do it.
BTV/VTO is popping your ears while yawning, except you can train yourself to do it minus the yawn.

Depending on your exposure protection and also how new it is will affect your ability to get down. I often find when diving a 5mm wetsuit+5mm booties (especially if they are new) that even if I've correctly dialed in my weighting, particularly for later on in the dive and when doing a saftey/deco stop... that I need to put a little effort to get down. Usually doing a sort of "jackknife" from the surface and kicking downwards until I'm just deep enough to hold my depth (usually just 2-3 meters). However, this is usually NOT the case when I dive a 3mm shorty... so I'm much less buoyant on the surface and there's less of a buoyancy shift throughout the dive.

Regarding your ear clearing - perhaps consult an ENT Doctor? Sometimes wax buildup and blockage in the ears can affect your ability to clear and maybe excess mucous or congestion due to various factors can also be significant.

Why is it that it is always the right ear that causes problems? For all the divers I know, it is always the right ear that cannot equalise.

clownfishsydney:

Why is it that it is always the right ear that causes problems? For all the divers I know, it is always the right ear that cannot equalise.

Click to expand...

my left ear was a problem at the beginning, thankfully it went away after while
as for descending, the "cross your legs" method never worked for me, i deflate my BCD and when is empty i start slowly breathing out, then off i go in a duck dive and I'm done, all the while equilizing my ears
I tried all other ways of doing it, this is the only way that works for me
its a matter of what works for you

when you say "2 weights" how much is that, and is it lake or salt water you're diving in?

Thanks for all your replies! I have 3 pound weight bricks and I always dive in saltwater! The problem is I can't dive head first towards the bottom as I have to hold the anchor line and slowly decend, equaling constantly, otherwise I can't get down.

You can hold the anchor line upside down if you have to. The beauty of being underwater is you can be in whatever orientation you want to be in.
If you have to be declined at a head down angle, pulling along the anchor line, so be it. Just watch out for any swell that will sling shot you up and down.
You will get pressure against your ears more quickly if you go head first though.

Doing a pike dive pushed most people's heads into 5ft of water right away.