Chronic Equalization problem! Help!

[blueface]

A friend of mine has a problem equalizing beyond 60 ft. after only 3 or 4 dives. After a couple of dives his ear is plugged up and he can only dive to very shallow depths. It is very disturbing not to be able to dive and fish like he wants to. He said it's been going on for about a year. Is there anyone who has had a similar problem? What was the solution?

Could it be an infection of some sort?

 

[Tony Babowicz]

That would describe my scenario lately. It seems everything is fine for the first three dives and then my ears are full of mucous. I can barely push the air into my ear canals. This past week I ate no dairy, took sudafed the night before I would dive, sudafed in the morning, mucinex every 12 hours for two days before diving, afrin nasal spray before diving and had very little issues with equalising. I know this probably sounds extreme, but I was getting a little frustrated by having difficulty equalising so I decided to pull out all the stops. I did three warmup dives 10m,20m, and 30m. My target dive was only 40m.(I had not been that deep since last October) I did a small mouthfill at 25meters and easily equalised down to 42meters.
Now, I don't know why my body is producing so much mucous lately, but it is definitley more than normal. I am not dehydrated and I eat very little dairy normally. Someone told me that my body might be fighting off some sort of infection and the mucous is created so that I would cough it out. I don't know, but I am eager for this to clear up.

 

[blueface]

Thanks for the response Tony. I will let my friend know that there is hope. He would try anything to get back to normal. Summer is coming and the sea conditions are going from great to perfect and it would be a shame for him not to be able to dive normally.

Skip

 

[cdavis]

My son has a very similar problem. He has always had low grade allergies, but did not develop this problem until about 17. . I tried him on afrin and pseudafed after being off milk for a week. It worked some but not great. He found that it was very important to equalize very softly and often, so as not to irritate the Eustachian tubes. Once they start to plug, thats it for him for the day.

Tony, what is mucinex?

Connor

 

[Tony Babowicz]

mucinex is an expectorant that you can buy otc. Some of us down here have been using it with what seems like good results. It takes a couple days for it to really start working it seems.

 

[azapa]

although i hate to say it, it's down to relaxation and training often at depth. 60ft is the start of 2nd classic failure point, as lungs reach residual volume, there is not enough volume of air to move, and the diver tenses up as well. The mouthfill helps, even if done badly (me). I had tons of troubles, and took tons of things as listed by Tony, but in the end the only cure was lots of practice. I still look at my old collection of meds and feel bad about trying that route.

I would recommend you and your buddy go out on a nice day to a deep spot, no guns, just a line and float, and try some free immersion dives, slowly pulling down, working out the EQ at different depths and getting through the challenges.

Good luck and let us know when you pass this spot, I'm sure it will be soon.

 

[Kars]

Did you think of weather, air pollution (Chemtrails, smog etc.)?

Are you rested?

I also suspect that your sinuses may have collected dirt over time and diving brings that down into your Eustachian tubes.

What you can do is:
- Take hot shower in the morning, on your forehead, knock and massage you sinuses, press the pressure points for sinus drainage. Sniff in the stuff the gets loose, the hot steam helps to loosen up the rest.
- Rinse your sinuses 'hella yeti"
- Make sure you're rested well.

In the water:

- Make sure you head stays warm, wear a swimming cap under your hood in cold waters.
- After each dive, close one nostril and 'resonance sniff'* up through the other anything that may have got loose or come out during the dive.
- Like said before, dive slow, relax more and equalise soft and often, avoid pushing too hard. When you encounter such moment, slowly return. On the surface do rubbing and knocking on your sinuses with 'resonance sniff'* cleaning thing. Usually you'll have the impression that it's cleaner soon and you can and gently try diving again. Within 2-5 'cleaning' dives your dirt should be cleaned up and you can dive until your ears truly get tired.

Using this I succeeded to clear my sinuses and ears after they blocked up during competition warm up dives - in the old days , or when I was having a cold or just old dirt blocking my sinus airways.

Let us know how it worked out for you!

Love, courage and water,

Kars

*resonance sniff = sniffing while you with your nose partially block the airway causing a snoring sound and vibrations which aid in loosening and transferring the mucus.

 

[blueface]

Thanks for all the responses. I there are many more things we haven't thought about. This thread will be useful.

Thanks!