Newbie help for equalizing pressure in ears and buoyancy control

[Ben Prusinski]

Hi all,


I am new to scuba and finished my online training and in pool scuba training sessions with PADI instructor. I have trouble equalizing the pressure in my ears when I descend/ascend to avoid ear pain and with buoyancy control. I pinch my nose and gently blow out my nose but this is not working. With buoyancy control, I inhale and exhale but either rise too fast/far or sink too far and too fast hitting the bottom. I would greatly appreciate advise and tips from the master scuba divers on the forum. I plan to complete my PADI scuba certification open water dives next week in the Caribbean as it would be relaxing and easier as a new diver than learning in the cold and poor visibility of Monterey, California until I have the basics down.


Regards,
Ben

[markmantei]

Equalizing and buoyancy control are probably the two most common issues for divers coming out of their OW course, so your not alone and it will get better with time and practice.

For your ears, try "pre-charging" your ears on the surface, and equalize on every breath on the way down. If the pressure differential is too great your ears won't equalize. If that happens you will need to ascend until you can equalize and then you can begin to descend again.

For your buoyancy, it is likely that you are over-weighted. Try spending some time in the pool to get your weighting better. If you are over-weighted, you will have more air in your BC, and that will amplify buoyancy shifts with changes in depth.

[Starcruiser]

Welcome aboard. I agree with Markmantei that you probably have to much weight on, making buoyancy control that much more difficult. As far as the ears go, I've found it helpful tip my head back and swallow as I feel the need to equalize. I think this is easier on the ears than the 'pinch and blow', although I do that to on occasion. Give it a shot, and don't give up. It does get easier, and way more fun.

[boulderjohn]

I had a ton of trouble equalizing when I first started diving--I even had an instructor tell me that I might not be able to dive because of it. Now I have no trouble whatsoever; I can descend as fast as I can swim for hundreds of feet without an issue. The difference is not technique--my ears have just gotten used to it because of the amount of diving I do. In time, you will find the same thing.

In the meantime, there is much that you can do. Start working on getting your ears used to equalizing now. By now, I mean while you are reading this. Pretend you are diving. Try to get your ears to "pop" gently. You may not be able to do it at first. Keep at it while reading, watching TV, coking dinner--as often as you can think about it. Work on it before you get to the dive site and while you are getting your gear ready.

The more you dive, the better you get at it, even on a single vacation. The first dive is the toughest, but after that they get better. By the third day, you should be doing pretty well. One thing you can do is start diving early. When I was still in my early diving and having trouble days, when i went on a dive vacation, the day before my first dive (usually just after getting to the area), I would go snorkeling. I would free dive down as far as I could over and over again. As I did so, I found myself getting deeper and deeper before having ear problems. That helped me a lot the next day when I did my first dive.

Some people advocate taking something to clear air passages. Many divers take something like Sudafed or Afrin. You should never do this if you have a cold, but many people do it just to make passages more open. It is controversial. I suggest you read the DAN report on this, which says it is acceptable under certain circumstances. Inhaling something like Vicks Vapo-Rub just before you dive is also something some people do. (Please note that I am telling you what some people do, not advocating anything myself. I used to try some of these methods, but I have no need for it now.)

[thirdcoastdiver]

Your challenges are not unusual. I had a lot of issues with equalization. Turns out I just wasn't blowing hard enough. Try blowing a little harder next time. I noticed that you described your equalization process as "gently" blow....try a little more force.

We are all working on getting better at buoyancy, it is a never ending quest for perfection. Diving is a good solution to improve buoyancy, it just takes practice and there is only one way to get it, dive, dive, dive.

Enjoy your trip to the Carribean and dive!

[TMHeimer]

Good suggestions, especially from boulderjohn. I'm lucky with equalization--never a problem. I always recommend yawning (topside) and being aware of the "crackling" in the ears. Like on a plane. This is when they are equalizing. Do what you can to achieve this. For me, it means doing something internally to make the ears hit this point. If I have the rare problem, swallowing does it. Wecome to the board and good luck.

[Maredsous]

One trick you might try for equalizing is to simply extend your jaw forward to hopefully help open your eustation tubes a little, then squeeze your nostrils together and blow gently into your nose (early and often). Sometimes rotating your head around during the process can also help open things up. As you get deeper in the the water column you probably won't have to equalize as much. You can try practicing on the plane during pressure changes to kinda get the feel of it.

As for buoyancy control, this just takes some time and practice. You'll improve quickly as you get more dives under your belt, and will also be easier to grasp as you're exposed to pressures beyond swimming pool depths. Some other big parts of the equation are getting your equipment profile and weighting correct (and as low as possible), and just learning to slow down and relax. Keep your ams quiet, and watch how experienced divers behave in the water. As the slowmo vibes become more familiar, you'll learn to anticipate your movements and breath/clear accordingly beforehand. The side effect will be longer dives due to you becoming more efficent. Of course I just have to say that safety and reducing DCS factors are paramount. Watch the alcohol while on your trip, and skip the coffee and stay fully hydrated on dive days. When it all comes together (and it will), you know it. With any luck it will change your life just as it has for many of us.

Welcome, and have a great trip!

[DivemasterDennis]

In addition to the information given, in this and other threads on clearing and buoyancy, I invite you to read my blog entries on preparing for your open water dives, and the one about not thinking too much. Click on blogs, then click on most popular blogs, and both are listed there. Many student divers who were in the same place you are have . have found both posts to be useful.
DivemasterDennisl

[diveprof]

Good suggestions thus far. Actually your two topics of interest are likely more closely related than you may be aware. If you are diving overweighted, this will negatively impact your ability to clear your ears and achieve good bouyancy control. An overweighted diver will likely experience a rapid descent to the bottom when he dumps the air from his BCD. There will be insufficient time for the diver to clear his ears properly. Remember, once you are feeling ear pain/discomfort you are past the depth at which you can successfully and comfortable clear. You must ascend a bit to clear. A clearing technique that I recommend to divers (you can try this at home to see if it works for you) is:
1. place your tongue on the roof of your mouth (if trying at home place your tongue on the roof of your closed mouth)
2. pinch your nose
3. Look up
4. Swallow.
Did you feel your ears clear? If so,this may work for you. I like it better than the Valsalva technique as with valsalva it is more difficult to determine how hard to blow. I find the technique I've described to be a kinder, gentler approach to clearing.
OK, back to the second concern you raise. As I've stated, if you are diving overweighted this will negatively impact your ability to maintain good bouyancy control. You may find yourself diving in a more heads-up position rather than horizontal due to the unneeded extra weight around you waist. The extra weight is pulling you downward while you must add extra air to the BCD to compensate. Air rises to the highest point so you find yourself in a more heads up/vertical position than you need. The overweighted diver goes through their air faster than a properly weighted diver as the overweighted diver is adding and dumping air with even small depth changes and as it takes more effort to move through the water in a heads up position than horizontal. To address the weighting issue, move into water too deep to stand in (remain at the surface). You should float at eye level when holding a normal breath and with no air in your BCD. If you sink, remove weight until you achieve this. This will get you into the ball park of proper weighting. Taking the Peak Performance Bouyancy course is a good way to further enhance your bouyancy control skills.

[shmuggy]

Make sure you start equalizing immediately when going underwater- just under the surface. Clear early and often. I take the decongestant too and have since 1993- it works for me.
It will get better as you dive more and more. Same for the buoyancy.