Ear equalization

[mark s]

I blew an ear drum last summer because of trouble with equalization. I have to swallow to equalize my ears, pinching my nose and blowing didnt work for me. Just slow down, desend feet first , and keep doing what ever it takes to get you to the bottom. My ear healed fine. I blew it in June and by August I was diving again.You'll be just fine.

 

[herman]

Hi Mark,

I use to have a lot of trouble equlizing and found that going down feet first WAS the problem. Apperantly, I was pinching off by eustation (?sp) tubes by looking down. I now turn down head first and can desend about as fast as I can swim. If you don't want to go down head first, try looking almost straight up as you desend, glancing down from time to time. I also start equalizing before I head underwater and never stop until I am at depth.

 

[scubabunny]

I have had a history of "minor" head problems my whole life (and I'm talking about congestion here! So, no comments!) I've gotten into the habit of equalizing every time I exhale as I decend, which may be overkill, but it works for me.

Sudafed (or any "non-drowsy" decongestant) works wonders, but make sure you don't take it to early. Usually about 20 min. before I hit the water works for me. You take it too early, and it starts to wear off at depth. Believe me, a reverse block is a painful, and scary experience! I felt like my brain was coming out my ears...couldn't go above 20 feet without it hurting...but I didn't have enough air to stay down. When I finally did have to come up, I was dizzy and couldn't really hear out of that ear for a few days.

Just a little advice.

 

[Rick Murchison]

cricket, do *not* use wax ear plugs. You'll end up with 'em stuffed so far into your ears it'll take an ENT to get 'em out.
Rick

 

[Ladygodiver]

Hey did you know that those ear plugs with strings are brain floss???

 

[parrothead]

Like Pinny, I've also found that Swim-Ear stiff works incredibly well for drying out your ears after a dive. It has a certain % (Don't remember exactly) of alcohol that also helps prevent ear infections. And it's cheap to get at the local grocery store

-Parrot

 

[Ladygodiver]

Hubby & I use the ear dry stuff found in the local stores but there are a couple of things to remember when using it.
1st: Use in both ears - not just the clogged one.
2nd: Do not use all the time because it will strip all the natural oils from your ears that you need.

 

[parrothead]

Godiver, I definitely agree, the alcohol ear drying products are to be used sparingly.

-Parrot:goofy:

 

[haggis]

Jimneycricket, quite apart from never being able to get them out of your ear again you could quite probably end up with "reversed ear" where your eardrum bulges out the way as the air trapped between the earplug and the drum is at lower pressure than ambient pressure when you're diving. Pretty painful, and NOT a good idea.

Linda

 

[kyleterry]

I just wanted to say this is a great board. I've had the same problem. Lots of good advice from great divers. It's a pleasure to be a member.

I always get to excited and swim real fast right to the bottom and suffer the ear pain. I know its a bad move, but I keep falling into it. I enjoy diving with my son because he moves much slower and holds me back. I have a far more enjoyable time that way - and no ear pain.

I'll listen to all the advice from all you masters hear as well.