EliteDetail once bubbled...
When i descend i attempt to equalize from the surface and about every 2 feet, it seems that it takes me a lonnnnggg time to make the pain go away, i almost feel myself trying to hard to equalize.
Sounds like you need to equalize earlier & more often. You shouldn't develop pain only descending 2 feet of water unless you did not fully equalize at the shallower depth. The deeper you go, the more difficult it's going to be to equalize. As suggested by John's ENT, it would be a good thing to practice equalization on land...gently...several times/day to get things "loosened up" if you will. My wife found it very tough to equalize initially, and she gets her ears "warmed up" starting about a week prior to our dive trips. She does much better now.
Remember that it should
NOT take force to equalize. In fact, if you're finding yourself using significant force, you're putting yourself at a good deal of risk of rupturing an eardrum (seen it a few times in the last couple years, actually) which will put quite a damper on your diving season.
...on my way up i just swallow and i can feel my ears "popping" kinda like when im on an airplane or coming down from 8-10,000 feet in the mountains to sea level. when im about 10 feet from surface on both the dives i have taken i have got this vertigo feeling where i was pretty dizzy and dont realize how close to surface i was.
So it sounds like you're equalizing to some extent, but I bet you're just equalizing very slowly & not equally between the two sides. Go VERY slowly to the surface.
Even today I feel as if i have water trapped in my ears. I had my normal doctor take a look at my ears and she says they look fine and she doesnt see any problems with them, however i still have a clogged ear sensation...
You're Eustachian tubes aren't happy, I bet. You could very well have some fluid in your middle ear (not from the sea, but from negative pressure in your middle ear from inadequate equalization that has "sucked" some fluid from your tissues into that space) that's not draining well because your Eustachian tubes are swollen/narrow/etc. Your doc should've seen a perforated eardrum, which is another cause of persistent clogged ear feeling after a dive with difficult equalization.
If you don't have any medical contraindications, you may want to put yourself on Sudafed for a few days to test and see if a decongestant helps open up your Eustachian tubes a bit & makes it easier for you to equalize. If you have seasonal allergies, you may want to try an oral and/or nasal antihistamine (your primary doc can easily recommend one of the many). Since this sounds like a chronic problem for you (i.e., no concurrent cold, etc.) I would
not advocate Afrin, as you could get yourself hooked on the stuff & cause far greater problems down the road.
Best of luck,
Jim
Does not constitute medical advice nor a doctor-patient relationship. Discuss all health concerns with your physician.
