ear equalization????????

[ghosty_old]

Could someone please describe the feeling of equalizing the ear. I'm not sure if you should here a pop or crackaling or if you should actually feel much at all. I recently did my second confined water dive and my ears gave me some problems. I had to blow really hard with nose plugged and at one point actually heard and felt air escaping from my ear a couple of times. Not sure if this is what is supposed to happen, but i was able to reach the bottom of pool without pain. Any and all discriptions and advice would be greatly appreciated. Also i did see a doctor and she said that my ears were clear of wax but that i did have dull eardrums meaning that i had fluid behind them.

tx

 

[boomx5]

it's just like driving at through the mountains or flying on an airplane; I don't have to try very hard to clear my ears. I also start equalizing while I'm on the surface before I ascend, instead of waiting till I feel pressure. You should be carefull blowing to hard through your nose so you don't hurt yourself.

 

[MuddyFox]

Going down...

Left Ear: Thoooomp.

Right Ear: Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.....eeeeek!



Going up...

Both: pop pop pop



I had a lot of trouble with my ears at first. Almost to the point where I almost quit. My ears would hurt after diving and at one point they hurt for an entire week. The problem was two-fold. I was waiting until I felt pain before I cleared, and I dove so much that I didn't give them time to get broken in.

I suggest mini-preemptive clearings before you feel the pinch. I also suggest some sort of diving plan that slowly breaks your ears in. Your ears will eventually get used to the action.

I was put on a sudaphed plan that worked, but it's a use-at-your-own-risk solution. I eventually weaned myself off of it, and can clear just fine. The trouble with sudaphed is there is potential for it to wear off mid-dive and cause reverse blockage. It never happened to me, but I watched my instructor get a reverse-block after a 120ft dive. He was on the ground in pain and vomiting. We didn't know if he was bent or having ear trouble. We called the paramedics either way.

 

[strfsh]

I don't have trouble clearing...on the way down I try to clear before I need to, but I usually forget and when I feel a pressure I hold my nose and blow slightly and they both pop. One time I waited until there was real discomfort and they popped really loud! I never did that again.

Now going up I never feel anything. I don't feel the need to clear and my ears have never bothered me. I think I may be doing the yawn type clearing on the way up. I think it's just automatic like when I drive up a mountain. Which I do often....so I think I'm just use to clearing going up.

I was a little worried about having ear problems when I first started and I'm really glad I haven't had any yet....

 

[o2 clean]

I'm new to diving as well, and so far I've only had 2 complications with my right ear. I equalize my ears every few feet, and I don't really hear anything, but I just feel my eardrums clearing. The two times it hurt was when I was already at 30feet. I swam up a bit, tried to clear it again and it went away. You should try that as well.

I had to be examined by a Doctor in order to continue with my Scuba Diving, and since he once taught Scuba Diving in the military, he made sure I knew how to clear my eardrums before he signed off.

 

[Spectre]

ghosty once bubbled...
I had to blow really hard with nose plugged and at one point actually heard and felt air escaping from my ear a couple of times

If you have to blow hard, don't. Ascend some and try again shallower.

 

[ScubyDoo]

Ive never had any problems with equalizing my ears. I usually "warm-up" my ears before entering the water. A gentle blow while holding my nose. I'll repeat that several times before beginning my descent. Upon descent I will usually equalize about every 2-3 feet going down, always before feeling any pressure build-up. You dont have to feel a "pop" to insure that your equalized properly. In fact, if you equalize often, feel no pain or pressure then your doing it exactly right! Of course you cant be perfect all the time, so most often you should feel a soft and painless little pop. In fact.....stop right now.....hold your nose.....and gently blow. There! thats exactly how it should feel underwater. Mine usually dont pop at the same time. My right ear usually pops first, followed a split second later by the left ear. IMPORTANT: If you are in pain.....its too late to attempt to equalize. Ascend a few feet until the pain subsides completely, equalize, then continue your descent.

 

[budgy]

I guess I couldn't put it better than ScubyDoo. I hope it works out for you.

 

[sublimike34]

In fact.....stop right now.....hold your nose.....and gently blow. There! thats exactly how it should feel underwater. Mine usually dont pop at the same time. My right ear usually pops first, followed a split second later by the left ear. IMPORTANT: If you are in pain.....its too late to attempt to equalize. Ascend a few feet until the pain subsides completely, equalize, then continue your descent.

Thank you for posting this! I was getting very confused as to the sensation I should have when equalizing. Should they feel plugged or should they feel cleared? From what I've read, on the descent they should feel plugged, then when you ascend they should feel like they are clearing.
I was confused by this at first because when I open my jaw and move it around my ears get a cleared sensation. However, when I plug my nose and blow gently there is a plugged feeling. The plugged feeling is what you want to feel when you're descending, correct?
I have no issues doing either, my ears seem to equalize failry easily. I just want to make sure I'm doing it correctly.

 

[jw2013]

I'm still learning/doing my pool sessions. We dive in a 3.8m pool and have to equalise. As I swim along, there is a slope down to the deep, at that point I nip my nose and blow gently to pressurise my ears a little, then as I decend, every foot or so, I repeat this. When I do it, I hear a little squeak type noise as the air is forced through my Eustachian Tubes. This appears to be less noticeable the deeper I go.

On ascent, it's a gentle pop/pop/pop as the air in my ears leave again.

Still to do open water yet so I cannot comment on this just yet however.