Got a reverse block

[100days-a-year]

I get them almost every first dive of a trip but use Oxymetazoline (Afrin) to minimize it.Also use Guaifenesin(Mucinex)
I will yo yo 10 to 20 feet to alleviate it.

 

[Vicko]

My sinuses exploaded

Know the feeling and glad you could clear it, I was not so lucky.

 

[Dogbowl]

This is all very scary. As I've had my own (probably considered mild) episode while ascending from maybe 30 - 40 feet at the mouth of Dos Ojos in Mexico towards the end of the dive. It was horrible. I was a newish diver. I could see the opening of the cenote, but I couldn't ascend due to the pain. I kept telling my guide my ear hurt, but he kept urging me to ascend (cause we were literally at the exit). And stupid me, I listened to him. It cleared up as I was ascending, but it could've been much worse now that I'm reading all these posts.

I've found that for me, the first 40 feet are the worse for the ears. In a cenote, where you're going up and down and up and down within that first 40 feet is really quite difficult, for my ears at least.

Thanks for posting, as I'll know how to handle it better from now on.

 

[Steve_C]

If you have the time and air, sometimes going down a bit. Doing a clear and then proceeding up slowly with frequent clearing helps.

Two days ago it was the first diving post a sinus infection. Not very deep dives. On dive two around 40 ft I noticed my ear was taking longer to clear on descent (it was 15 minutes into the dive). At that point I signaled no deeper and we stayed at 40 and slowly worked our way shallower as the dive went on.

Around here point to the ear is standard for equaliztion issues.

 

[Doc]

It's odd that after all the time this thread has been up, not one response detailing one very simple fix.

Reverse blocks on sinus and ears just suck....

And there is the answer, presented unintentionally and innocently above, that's the answer to this medical dilemma.

Consider what's going on. When you ascend, your nasal passages and tubes are closed down but pressure inside sinuses are increasing. That's reverse block.

This is air that is left over from descent where you inflated these sinus cavities using VAL SALVA. Pinch and blow. It's stuck in your head and expanding the closer you get to that ladder.

Here's something I noodled out when it happened to me. You can't teach it while it's needed, you need to teach and learn this in advance, on dry land.

Why not try a reverse of that Val Salva. How about pinch and suck?

It works. Also....Massage with thumbs into your eye socket ridge line.

Pinch and suck. Massage.

With slow and repeated descents of five or seven feet, slow ascents, pinch and suck.

You're just deflating a sack.

Pinch and suck, reverse Val Salva

 

[KevinNM]

It's not usually your sinuses. It's possible, but it's not usually your sinuses, they have fairly large connections and typically don't require you forcing air into or out of. If they do you would probably feel too miserable to dive. It's usually your Eustachian tubes that you have issues with.

 

[Bierstadt]

Reverse Val Salva? Also called Müller’s Maneuver. Add in the normal jaw movements and stretching and rolling your head back to stretch out the Eustachian tubes and you have a decent toolkit of things to try. I have not had it happen to me and I hope it never does. Thanks for everyone sharing their stories.

 

[mcohen1021]

Why not try a reverse of that Val Salva. How about pinch and suck?

Thanks for the tip - I am diving next week, hopefully I wont need it

 

[w3dge]

It's odd that after all the time this thread has been up, not one response detailing one very simple fix.



And there is the answer, presented unintentionally and innocently above, that's the answer to this medical dilemma.

Consider what's going on. When you ascend, your nasal passages and tubes are closed down but pressure inside sinuses are increasing. That's reverse block.

This is air that is left over from descent where you inflated these sinus cavities using VAL SALVA. Pinch and blow. It's stuck in your head and expanding the closer you get to that ladder.

Here's something I noodled out when it happened to me. You can't teach it while it's needed, you need to teach and learn this in advance, on dry land.

Why not try a reverse of that Val Salva. How about pinch and suck?

It works. Also....Massage with thumbs into your eye socket ridge line.

Pinch and suck. Massage.

With slow and repeated descents of five or seven feet, slow ascents, pinch and suck.

You're just deflating a sack.

Pinch and suck, reverse Val Salva

I'm not convinced by this, particularly for ear problems. Surely the negative pressure will simply close the Eustachian tubes further?

 

[Bierstadt]

I'm not convinced by this, particularly for ear problems. Surely the negative pressure will simply close the Eustachian tubes further?

I was also skeptical at first glance, but as I understand it now reverse blocks are actual blockages of some sort preventing your now high-pressure sinus cavity from expelling its excess air via your Eustachian tubes. In other words, your plumbing is plugged up. Options are pretty limited once it happens - you can stretch the tubes with jaw and head movements and add pressure on the blockage with the reverse Val Salva to add to what you are getting through existing pressure gradients - but it definitely doesn't appear to be a cure-all.

I would also be curious about how much reverse Val Salva pressure can be applied without risking closing the Eustachian tubes, though. Going down we don't force things, but coming up with a reverse block is coming up in a state of being thoroughly screwed. Some force would seem acceptable under the circumstances.