Equalizing while ascending

[dumpsterDiver]

According to DAN using equalisation technique which involve blowing air on ascent can further flex the ear drum out and actually create problems to your ears
There should not be any need of doing anything however if you ascent too quickly and create a strong pressure unbalance a reverse valsala can help
Bottom line: ascent slowly and you will never encounter problems unless those come from decongenstants wearing out...

That bold statement is absolutely NOT TRUE. Most people can ascend without doing anything special, but there are other people, like myself that occasionally have signiifcant issues on ascent. It is very important for the diver to have some tools to utilize to address this situation without causing undo sress to their ears.

If you have never had a problem and have never had to do anything "special" to equalize on ascent, then maybe those people shouldn't give advice about something they have never expereinced.

Also before this thread gets off track, you might note that I said to STOP the Ascent, begin to DESCEND until the pressure is equalized, THEN try to GENTLY open the tubes back up by blowing a little. Nobody is recommending blowing more air in the ear while the diver is ascending.

Also, I have found that removal of the mask and blowing your nose underwater is sometimes required. Jaw thrusts, tongue motion, tilting of the head, yawning etc. can all work for some people, some time.

Being unable to descend sucks, being unable to ascend due to reverse block is painful and scary...just one more reason to leave your self a little extra air to ascend

 

[fairybasslet]

My dive instructor said that happened to a girl in his class once, and it turned out she had a perforated eardrum. From what I remember of the story though, it wasn't just a one-time occurrence.

That happened to me only once quite a few years ago. My eardrum was fine. I dove the next day with no problems. I asked a lot of people on my boat about it but no one could relate. I never asked DAN because it wasn't a problem, really. This thread just reminded me about it.

 

[Blue Sparkle]

Equalization on ascent should happen without the need to perform any maneuvre at all... expanding air in the ears and sinuses should just escape back into your throat and be exhaled, or bubble into your mask.

Whew, I am really glad to read this. I was OW certified in 2005 and had only made a few dives between then and this December, so when I went on a diving trip with a new-to-diving friend, we both took an OW class. On one of our dives he mentioned equalizing on ascent. Erm.... I didn't remember that and had never done it (I equalize religiously on descent and during the dive).

Well, I started equalizing on ascent, but.... it was sitting there like a thorn in my side because I was thinking "How could I not have known something so basic?" I did equalize on the way up for my last four dives (pinched nose, blew through ears).

Three days after my last dive (on my way home, driving), I got blocked up sinuses and post-nasal drip (like a cold but without the sneezing/nose part) and once that resolved I have ended up with middle ear effusion. I *think* it was because I did a lot of too-hard nose blowing (on land, days after the last diving; I'll never do THAT again) and somehow got some "stuff" into my eustachian tubes, but there is this little doubt in the back of my mind that I hope I didn't contribute to it by equalizing on ascent.

Now it's three weeks later, sinuses are all fine, but.... middle ear effusion in my left ear will not go away. Bleargh. That said, I felt fine for the three days after the dive, I was exposed to about 3000% more people (germs) than usual, and I did have some kind of sinus infection, so it was probably not caused by diving.

At any rate, it makes me feel better that I hadn't somehow missed some really important basic step in diving --- thinking that was the case was making me doubt myself and my prior training.

B.

 

[TMHeimer]

I read in one of the PADI manuals that it may help to pinch your nose and make like you're inhaling instead of blowing. This may relieve a reverse block. Maybe some instructors can elaborate on this?

 

[idocsteve]

I once had a bunch of bubbles coming out of my ear on ascent. What was that about? It was the strangest feeling.

Maybe they weren't really coming from your ear, and they were escaping from the neck seal on your wetsuit and running up the side of your face, or from air trapped within your hood, escaping from holes that are present next to the ears to aid in equalization.

 

[fairybasslet]

Maybe they weren't really coming from your ear, and they were escaping from the neck seal on your wetsuit and running up the side of your face, or from air trapped within your hood, escaping from holes that are present next to the ears to aid in equalization.

It sure felt like they were coming from my ear, and my ear did hurt a little afterward. But who knows? It was definitely a strange sensation, not one that I would like to repeat. And thinking back on it now, I did have trouble ascending because of pressure and mild pain in my ear. I thought I had a reverse block, but then the bubbles came out and I was fine.

 

[Interceptor121]

That bold statement is absolutely NOT TRUE. Most people can ascend without doing anything special, but there are other people, like myself that occasionally have signiifcant issues on ascent. It is very important for the diver to have some tools to utilize to address this situation without causing undo sress to their ears.

If you have never had a problem and have never had to do anything "special" to equalize on ascent, then maybe those people shouldn't give advice about something they have never expereinced.

Also before this thread gets off track, you might note that I said to STOP the Ascent, begin to DESCEND until the pressure is equalized, THEN try to GENTLY open the tubes back up by blowing a little. Nobody is recommending blowing more air in the ear while the diver is ascending.

Also, I have found that removal of the mask and blowing your nose underwater is sometimes required. Jaw thrusts, tongue motion, tilting of the head, yawning etc. can all work for some people, some time.

Being unable to descend sucks, being unable to ascend due to reverse block is painful and scary...just one more reason to leave your self a little extra air to ascend

It is true you should always ascend slowly and a person without issues to their ears will have no problems

Obviously you have some issues with your hear or somewhere in your system so you need to help yourself with some tricks like pinching the nose and inhaling, that is not the norm

Removal of the mask to fix problems on ascent????

with respect to your statement Nobody is recommending blowing more air in the ear while the diver is ascending.without getting too excited just read the first post where the OP was asking about valsalva on ascent
Valsalva on ascent blows your ears off completely

The procedure to stop descend and ascent more slowly is in itself an indication that your ascent rate was too fast for what your system can cope with

So in short if you ascent slowly enough you don't need to do anything unless your ears or somewhere in yours system there is already a pre existing condition

Your other suggestion go down a few feet until you feel like the ears are equalized and then very GENTLY use the valsalva sp? also does not sound logical.
Why would you use valsalva again? If air was expanding too fast you should go down to stop discomfort and do nothing else, not go down to the point of feeling the need to equalise.
Am not being polemic but I have seen people breaking their ear drums fidgeting with their ears on ascent more than what I have seen on descent
The only thing that I recommend is to pinch the nose and inhale that works with certain subjects better than anything else and has some physiology rationale behind

 

[idocsteve]

It sure felt like they were coming from my ear, and my ear did hurt a little afterward. But who knows? It was definitely a strange sensation, not one that I would like to repeat. And thinking back on it now, I did have trouble ascending because of pressure and mild pain in my ear. I thought I had a reverse block, but then the bubbles came out and I was fine.

I would think that if the escaping bubbles were from your inner ear, indicating that you had a perforated ear drum, that you would know it from the pain you would have experienced following the dive.

I wonder if it could be as simple as some air caught in your outer ear that had to find it's way out?

Again, if you can recall whether or not you were wearing a hood..that would point to one of my other theories. I've had air escape from my hood and it feels like it's coming from my ear.

 

[Interceptor121]

I would think that if the escaping bubbles were from your inner ear, indicating that you had a perforated ear drum, that you would know it from the pain you would have experienced following the dive.

I wonder if it could be as simple as some air caught in your outer ear that had to find it's way out?

Again, if you can recall whether or not you were wearing a hood..that would point to one of my other theories. I've had air escape from my hood and it feels like it's coming from my ear.

I agree
Bubbles from ear=perforated ear drum seems a bit general
Perforated eardrum ends with fluids and discharge from your ear that does not just last seconds so I would think that yes you could stress them and maybe hurt them but if you break them is not just few bubbles and end of..

 

[fairybasslet]

I would think that if the escaping bubbles were from your inner ear, indicating that you had a perforated ear drum, that you would know it from the pain you would have experienced following the dive.

I wonder if it could be as simple as some air caught in your outer ear that had to find it's way out?

Again, if you can recall whether or not you were wearing a hood..that would point to one of my other theories. I've had air escape from my hood and it feels like it's coming from my ear.

I most likely was wearing a hood, albeit a thin one, maybe 1mm. Your theories sound right to me. I went diving the next day with no problems at all so I know there was nothing wrong with my middle or inner ear.