Diving at Disney World In A Few Days (need your thoughts) -ear trouble-

[myrddin]

OK.. Last time I dove i had a lot of trouble from my ears. I know I need to perfect my clearing and am trying to work on it. I even clear sometimes when sitting on my couch or at work. I want to be sure I don't have a bad experience so I was thinking I would make the effort to be prepared. I know they say sudaphed (pseudo-ephedrine) and also some drops before and after of 50/50 rubbing Alcohol and white vinegar. Is there anything else I can do to ensure no problems with my dive? I know its only 27 feet deep so it shouldn't be so bad. Also another question for you guys... is it best to allow your ears to fill with water as you enter so you can clear or do you try to avoid letting watter fill your ear canal? I usually tilt my head so watter fills the ear canal as soon as I enter then try to clear on top and then every few feet or so as I go down (sound about right?)

Thanks guys I look forward to this dive as it was one of the many reasons I wanted to get my OW license.

[Damselfish]

Sudafed can help in some cases, but it's not something you want to use to try and get around serious congestion and doesn't fix a problem with technique, or structural problems. You should also be careful of it running out in the middle of a dive, that is a good way to get a reverse block. The drops can be helpful in preventing "swimmer's ear", but won't do anything for clearing.

The rate of pressure change is the fastest above 30ft and that is usually a harder place to clear than deeper.

You can't prevent water from entering your ears (except for special masks) and don't want to. Trying to clear every few feet sounds good, but basically you want to clear before you need to.

[myrddin]

Damselfish, with what you said about the Sudafed do you feel it a better idea to just try the drops and work on clearing so I dont get used to taking the meds?

[adjuster-jd]

Putting drops in your ears before a dive won't do anything to help with equalizing. You need to descend slowly and equalize early and often - perhaps try gently blowing a little bit into your nose on the surface before you descend and then gently blowing all the way down.
As for sudafed - when I dive, I take Entex PSE which is a prescription drug which combines long-lasting pseudoephedrine with another ingredient (guaifenesin).. This seems to help me. Since this is a longer-acting version of sudafed, I have not had problems with it wearing off during a dive. I also use Flonase which seems to help with congestion. Obviously to get these you would need to see a doctor who can evaluate why you have trouble equalizing.

I have done the dive at Epcot - 25 feet for 45 minutes - variety of fish and a nice way to be face-to-face with a shark... You can take your own mask if you have one that you are particularly attached to (I like my purge mask).. You can't take any other personal gear on this dive.

Enjoy the dive.

[jim T.]

I hope this isn't too obvious/silly, but in case you've only used one mask, ever, some purge valved masks are a bit too stiff to allow one to squeeze their noses closed completely when trying to equalize.

I have equalization problems from time to time and I forego most but not all purge masks to ease rapid access for equalizing.

I'm still working on this myself, but be hyper concious of ear pressure changes on a descent. It doesn't hurt to try to equalize with every breath or two or once per foot of descent to about 15'. Just let your buddy know you need that kind of time to descend and you shouldn't feel rushed.

I just did my first drift dive and because I was concerned about descending WITH my buddies lest we get separated I broke my own equalization rules and got water in my ear.
I won't let that happen again. Two weeks out of the water
:-(

Hope the mask info is of help.

[myrddin]

Jim T. you say you got water in your ear, by that do you mean an ear infection? I apwase let water enter my ears... Let me know

[Manta Aria]

Judging by my poll on diving earplugs, alot of people feel that Doc's vented Proplugs are a good idea. However, if you are ill ABOVE, meds may wear off when down under causing a reverse block... bad ju-ju. When in doubt, consult a physician and let them know you're a diver if this persists.

[Pook-60]

Howdy

I'm a little concerned for you Myrddn...

According to the PADI book O' knowledge (a.k.a. "run home to Mama") and I suspect a few other SSI/DAN/etc. references...taking antihistimines and diving is very highly discouraged. Manta Aria gave some good counsel...see your Doc. If he/she's not a "Divin' Doc" then you might want to find one for at least having the chance to get shed of clearing issues once and for all.

My dives are simply put: Slow going down...slower coming up. The water flows in...the water flows out. If there's a "bonus" pocket of water in my cranium then: the eardrops go in

I hope you receive a more permanent solution

Pook

[lostplanetairman]

In addition to early and often equalization, try equalizing topside say 15 minutes before entering the water. Close your nose and swallow, don't blow. This helps develop the valve in the estation tube much like exersize develops the body. In fact do it now. Good luck.

[Brandon]

Clear early and clear often.

If you have problems clearing, don't go down any farther, you'll just make it worse. Go up a few feet and try again.

If you're feeling the pressure in your ears, you're probably waiting too long to clear.

-Brandon.