Ear problems......

[Dave ESPI]

Well, I had taken a course at the Xanadu dive resort in Freeport Bahammas, and could not equalize my ears beyond 15 feet. I had to abort the dive. I really want to get my certification, but do I have to go below 15 feet to do such ?

I went to my Doctors as a kid, and I was told I have "narrow eustachian tubes" (sp) and would potentialy have hearing problems. Well I've had none, and until now, never has it been a factor. I was told Sudafed would help, and I've yet to try that, but the next classes for open water checkouts is in OCTOBER up here in the northeast....... SCREW THAT COLD FRESH LAKE WATER NONSENSE ! I love winter, but I hate being "cold and wet".... despite being a snowboard instructor, this is different.

Is it possible to still be certified SCUBA PADI if I don't go below 15 feet ? I went snorkeling in an area that had awesoem reefs that were no deeper than 15 feet, and would have been in heaven if I had my scuba gear at that point for a dive.

thanks,

Frustrated,
Espi.

 

[davocean]

You pretty much gotta go below.
Try this, b4 you even get in the water really clear your sinuses.
Then flex your eardrums like you're trying to equalize, get your eardrums flexed a little b4 water pressure is on them.
Go down about 5' and clear gently again.
Go down slow, keeping a little clearing pressure on your sinuses and ears.
Some guys I dive with including me hold their nose all the way down.
Also, keep your head warm, I always wear a hood.
Your ears should get more used to this with practice.
If you ever feel pain, come up a little, equalize and then try going down again.
There are other tricks, clicking your jaw, turning your head sideways, doing summersalts, etc.
Trick is to find what opens your ear canal the most.

 

[Dave ESPI]

Yeah. Tried all that.

Pain was excruciating.

atleast I know my depth, and how far is too far... LOL.

I'd be perfectly happy diving in 15 feet of water for the rest of my life

 

[bjjuncc]

Just take 2 non-drousey decongestants, about an hour before your dive, maybe like a mucinex the night before, my GF has the same problem thats what she does and has no problems any more at 70ft+.

 

[ezhoops]

check out this site and do a search for ear equalizing and you'll learn a few different techniques that worked for me

www.scubaboard.com

 

[speckled trout]

Fifteen feet deep will only tease you, trust me. You wouldn't be happy, anyways.

 

[Dave ESPI]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8011075#post8011075 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by speckled trout
Fifteen feet deep will only tease you, trust me. You wouldn't be happy, anyways.

yeah I would ..... :bum:

 

[Glove]

The eustachian tubes will stretch with time. If you really want to continue diving you are going to need to work on equalization techniques. As davocean said there are a few little tricks you can use to help. Shifting your jaw side to side and the motion of gum chewing while holding your nose are two very popular methods.
As a rule, you will start equalization before your head goes under, just as your head goes under and every foot after that. After 20-30 feet you dont have the change in pressures like from the surface to 20 feet. It becomes less noticable.
If you are feeling pain- you went too deep and the pressure against your ears is greater than you can safely equalize at. The result will be pain and possibly a burst tympanic membrane. Its not very hard to burst your eardrum.
Although a 'dive' is 15 feet deep and 15 minutes underwater- and you must do this in order to be certified, you can make dives in less than 15 feet of water. You wont be able to be 'certified' untill you can get to that depth for that time.
Take it slow and dont let anything or anyone make you think you need to hurry while clearing your ears. Some divers have troubles everytime they dive and just need to go slower than others.
I would try to avoid taking medications to help- they can wear off during a dive and cause a reverse block while you are asending to the surface. This can also cause a ruptured ear.

 

[bmarieknees]

in response to your ear problem..

in response to your ear problem..

When I started scuba diving, I had a huge problem with my ears not clearing. First off, do not push yourself too hard. If your ears are uncomfortable in the least bit, don't keep going. The way I clear my ears is start clearing above surface. Plug your nose, exhale slowly through nose. continue to do so as far as you go down in the water until you are as far as you need to go. To get certified as an open water diver, the water must be over your head. Like if you were to stand up in the water and your head was out, that is not considered open water. you must be able to stand up with water still above your head to be considered open water. It is easy to do after you get it down, just take your time and think about it. dont rush things. it will only cause injury. good luck!

 

[fvandijk]

Like Glove said, the traditional teaching is to avoid decongestants, etc., but I've found that unless I do I will occasionally also have trouble clearing my ears (I also rupture by eardrum as a teenager and am quite paranoid about doing it again). So I use sudafed prior to my dives and also use a nose-drop type of nasal decongestant- I put the drops in with my head tilted back and do a valsalva maneuver in an attempt to drive some of the liquid into my eustachian tubes. It seems to work pretty well for me.
Good luck.

 

[csherlock]

I highly recommend scubboard.com! That site is full of information and folks who are happy to help!

Remember that any decongestant taken excessively can result in rebound congestion....that would be a serious problem if it happens underpressure.

I would not count out diving in "cold water" as it can be very rewarding! And yes you will find that diving only at 15 feet is VERY limiting and you will want to be deeper than that, as your experience grows.

 

[drgabe]

Re: Ear problems......

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7981757#post7981757 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Dave ESPI
I went to my Doctors as a kid, and I was told I have "narrow eustachian tubes" (sp) and would potentialy have hearing problems.

Are you sure you dont mean ear canal? Unless it was an ENT and they were doing some fancy testing, that is a tough statement to backup.

How many times did you attempt to dive? All in the same day? It is certainly possible that the time you tried to dive you were congested or otherwise unable to clear your ears. Something not preventing you from diving deeper in the future.