Any Tips on Equalizing the Pressure in Your Ears While Scuba Diving?
Pinching my nose and blowing out is not working and even at only 20 feet I was having a lot of trouble. Going on a 50-60 foot dive tomorrow so I was wondering if anyone had any good tips. Thanks a lot.
Have you been diving a lot this week or are you suffering from a cold? Taking a Sudafed, Claritin or other decongestant usually helps. Just be sure and give the drug time to take effect but not too much time so it wears off while you’re still underwater.
The most important thing is to descend slowly and equalize often.
1. Equalize at the surface – even before your head goes under water.
2. Slowly and gently equalize with every breath (pinch your nose, tilt your head back and forth, whatever works). Equalize before you feel pressure – this is really, really important.
3. Be patient. Go slow. Relax. I’ve found that sometimes I’ll try too hard and it seemed like the harder I tried the more my ears were plugged. If you feel your blood pressure up, take some slow deep breaths.
Is this a recurring problem for you?
When I started diving I had equalization issues. I had a lot of ear infections when I was a kid and an ear nose and throat doctor told me I have (what amounts to) stiff Eustachian tubes. Just like having a stiff leg muscle, having stiff Eustachian tubes means the muscle can’t "flex" to equalize as you descend.
The doctor, and other scuba professionals, advised me that it just takes time and lots of dives for those tubes to loosen up. One thing you can do is equalize every day to gently exercise those tubes. The doctor suggested doing it every time you brush your teeth. Hope this helps…
Are you stuffed up? That’ll clog up your sinuses and make it harder to equalize. Try swallowing while blowing. Also yawn some and/or chew gum (not at the same time) before going down, as it opens up your Eustachian tubes some.
as far as i know the only way to equalize is by pinching and blowing but i would suggest that you start equalizing right as you go under and try to go down a few feet and equalize then go down a few more and if you have any trouble go back up a few feet and equalize then keep going down its hard to get but just take your time
Take your time going down. If you can’t equalize with a breath, stop and stay at that depth until you do. You can also try swallowing or moving your lower jaw up/down/around. Or do a combination of all 3 techniques.
Start equalizing BEFORE you dive! And, equalize BEFORE you feel the need (during your descent).
If you feel pressure while descending, stop, go up a few feet, equalize then continue your descent. After you pass 33 feet, your ears will not need much equalizing.
Different equalizing techniques work on different divers. I just swallow while blocking air from my nose and mouth and tilt my head up.