Friend can't equalize

[seaturtle5]

My friend wants to start SCUBA certification but said that on a beginner non certified dive he did last year he couldn't equalize and had to stay very shallow. Is there a chance he biologically can't equalize his ears or is it probably just a lack of training? Would a dive shop refund the course fee if it was found that he couldn't dive safely because of his ears?

 

[tbone1004]

lots of reasons, go find an ENT. If he can equalize at the surface then he can equalize, odds are he had some congestion or something else blocking his eustachian tubes or he went too deep before equalizing. 10ft is more than enough to start mild barotrauma

 

[Phantom Menace]

As tbone says - equalise on the surface. Get your friend to try equalising on dry land - he should be able to feel the pressure build up if he is doing it right.

When he gets in the water get him to start equalising before he leaves the surface. You could try this out in the sea or in a dive pool at the local swimming pools pretty easily without SCUBA gear.

 

[TSandM]

There are a lot of different techniques for equalization, and your friend should try several of them. I agree with working on equalizing on land, or in a swimming pool, until your friend is sure he has it down. A shop will likely not refund the class money for difficulties equalizing.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Depends on the shop or instructor. It's one of the reasons I like to do an intro in the pool and spend a lot of time on equalization techniques and making sure people can do it. IF they can and want to continue the cost of the Intro is deducted from the class price. If they can't or for some other reason decide that diving is not for them, they are only out the intro cost.

 

[tursiops]

DAN has a great article: http://www.diversalertnetwork.org/medical/articles/download/DiversGuidetoEars.pdf.

In all the students I've taught, very few found the Valsalva method to work well, or at all. Most seem to like the Toynbee or Frenzel. But it is the Valsalva that is usually taught.

Clearing is hard for new divers in part because they are tense, so the muscles around the Eustachian tubes are taut and the tubes can't relax and open. So, as others have said, one should try clearing their ears (as while landing in an airplane or coming down a tall elevator) while dry and relaxed. I have the students do it in the classroom (a problem with eLearning!).

Refund? Not likely. Do a Discover Scuba first, and have that cost applied to the OW cost. At worst, the DS price is lost.

 

[Frosty]

IMO the main reason for equalisation issues is tension.They are so wound up there is very little chance of equalisation happening.
Yep medical conditions will account for a few issues but being tense is a biggie.
I have a couple of methods that aren't in any book but work--at least with my kids they do.
This is on the boat stuff.
1) get them to laugh.A real deep belly laugh preferably almost so they are in tears.
2)get them to "shake it off" literally shake the arms and legs.
Both really are distractions that result in them being relaxed.
if Neither work one way to do a VERY gentle swim downwards away from the boat.

 

[RJP]

My friend wants to start SCUBA certification but said that on a beginner non certified dive he did last year he couldn't equalize and had to stay very shallow. Is there a chance he biologically can't equalize his ears or is it probably just a lack of training? Would a dive shop refund the course fee if it was found that he couldn't dive safely because of his ears?

I will bet the cost of an OW course that he didn't try - because he was never told otherwise - to equalize until he was deep enough to feel pressure. At that point, for many people, it can become difficult/impossible to overcome the ambient pressure at even a relatively shallow depth.

Equalize early, equalize often. I tell students to start at the surface and equalize every foot or two for the first ten feet. If they can do that they can equalize at ANY DEPTH. Simply keep equalizing and they can dive to 50ft, 100ft, 200ft, whatever.

 

[Dive4Images]

Just like some of the scubaboarders has mentioned, if he can equalize on the surface then he will surely be likely to do so underwater. I tend to agree that it depends a lot on the instructors. When I am taking students for discover scuba diving, I will try to understand my students and their level of comfort with water. You will be surprised to know that this will make a huge different. If you're friend is comfortable with water, first thing first have it checked with ENT before go and try again. If the ENT clears, then he should be okay to equalize.

When doing discover scuba diving, it is important that the instructor should not force the participants to descent too quickly, sometimes I will have to constantly remind them to equalize when descending. This is because some people are just very new to scuba diving and the excitement (sometime fears) can make them forget to equalize, this happens all the time.

Another thing that also helps is to student to equalize even before the descent, that is blow the nose slowly then start to descend, then I would often hold their hands or bcd and descent really really slow, and have them equalize as often as possible, sometime even every 15cm or so, this make a lot of different, once they pass around 5-7 meters mark (each individual is different), things got a lot easier.

I hope your friend will be able to descend and equalize and enjoy the beautiful underwater world.

 

[RJP]

I've even heard many instructors say things like "be prepared to equalize if you need to when descending" as they briefed students.

IF?

I started chiming in when DMing those classes - in a good natured way - to remind the students that the laws of physics "will absolutely be in effect on this dive" and that there will be no "if" involved with anything associated with depth/pressure relationships:
- you WILL need to add air to your BCD when descending
- you WILL need to vent when ascending
- you WILL use more gas at greater depths
- you WILL need to equalize your ears

Too many instructors are imprecise with their wording, not realizing that the students - who reasonably assume we know what we're talking about - will take us at our word. Even if we choose the wrong ones.