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Difficulty equalizing one ear
- Thread starterandrewwl
- Start date
Thread Status: Hello
, There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
It can take a long time to get an up-to-date response or contact with relevant users.
It can take a long time to get an up-to-date response or contact with relevant users.
Make sure you understand the frenzl-fattah technique for clearing your ears (it took me a while to understand it because it was what I was naturally doing.)
It is not at all uncommon for one ear to be looser than another. Make sure you start clearing your ears early! Because if you wait, it become much harder to clear them because the pressure differential is greater.
Also ear clearing trainable. Clearing your ears more often opens them up, so take diving to depth slow and start clearing early. If you are having issues at -10feet (-3m) I reccomend trying to clear your ears on the surface (not too hard! :naughty) but just enough to feel the pressure a little bit and possibly a very light suck on the noes to see if you can can loosen your ears inward.
Yesterday on 1 dive at -12m my left ear would not clear
but it got better on subsequent dives but my left ear stayed harder to clear for the rest of the day, but if I would equalize continously I never would feel any pain, but it was annoying to have to concentrate on my ears when going down to -20m
It is not at all uncommon for one ear to be looser than another. Make sure you start clearing your ears early! Because if you wait, it become much harder to clear them because the pressure differential is greater.
Also ear clearing trainable. Clearing your ears more often opens them up, so take diving to depth slow and start clearing early. If you are having issues at -10feet (-3m) I reccomend trying to clear your ears on the surface (not too hard! :naughty) but just enough to feel the pressure a little bit and possibly a very light suck on the noes to see if you can can loosen your ears inward.
Yesterday on 1 dive at -12m my left ear would not clear
but it got better on subsequent dives but my left ear stayed harder to clear for the rest of the day, but if I would equalize continously I never would feel any pain, but it was annoying to have to concentrate on my ears when going down to -20m
Training is possible - the eustachian tubes open more easily. I notice a big difference now, after having being in the water every weekend since May.
For one ear you can also try to move your lower jaw in the opposite direction and/or tilt your head in the opposite direction.
Holger
For one ear you can also try to move your lower jaw in the opposite direction and/or tilt your head in the opposite direction.
Holger
Every now and then I also have trouble equalizing one ear, its always the left one. Could be because you have lots of mucus, do you have allergies, had recent cold? What you could do is put you face over hot water with camomille (with a towel over your head), that will clear out lots of nasty stuff.
You could also clean your sinuses with a neti pot or as a last resort use nasal sprays before diving. During the PFI clinic Afrin and Otrivin were suggested.
Like Apnea Addict said, tilting your head or moving your jaw in the opposite direction sometimes does the trick.
You could also clean your sinuses with a neti pot or as a last resort use nasal sprays before diving. During the PFI clinic Afrin and Otrivin were suggested.
Like Apnea Addict said, tilting your head or moving your jaw in the opposite direction sometimes does the trick.
In regards to training your tubes of Eustachian:
I only can train in the pool (max 2 meter deep) once a week and do co2 and o2 tables in between/
I am trying to get the handsfree equalization going by doing 100+ times clicks (the feeling in your ears when you yawn)
Is it useful to do frenzel equalizations repetitively, if so; Is it better to keep some pressure on the ears for x seconds or to just do 1 equalization and then keep that feeling without swallowing (if you guys get my drift)
This because it is hard for me to do a proper duckdive with a full armstroke without feeling pain/discomfort on my ears. (I always do 1-2 eq at the surface)
Any help would be welcome.
I only can train in the pool (max 2 meter deep) once a week and do co2 and o2 tables in between/
I am trying to get the handsfree equalization going by doing 100+ times clicks (the feeling in your ears when you yawn)
Is it useful to do frenzel equalizations repetitively, if so; Is it better to keep some pressure on the ears for x seconds or to just do 1 equalization and then keep that feeling without swallowing (if you guys get my drift)
This because it is hard for me to do a proper duckdive with a full armstroke without feeling pain/discomfort on my ears. (I always do 1-2 eq at the surface)
Any help would be welcome.
I agree the frenzl-fattah technique should be helpful if applied properly.Make sure you understand the frenzl-fattah technique for clearing your ears (it took me a while to understand it because it was what I was naturally doing.)
It is not at all uncommon for one ear to be looser than another. Make sure you start clearing your ears early! Because if you wait, it become much harder to clear them because the pressure differential is greater.
Also ear clearing trainable. Clearing your ears more often opens them up, so take diving to depth slow and start clearing early. If you are having issues at -10feet (-3m) I reccomend trying to clear your ears on the surface (not too hard! :naughty) but just enough to feel the pressure a little bit and possibly a very light suck on the noes to see if you can can loosen your ears inward.
Yesterday on 1 dive at -12m my left ear would not clear
regardless I would seek out an ENT doctor to make sure you do not have an outlining issues because no technique is going resolve that issue.
I have the same issue. My right ear equalizes easily. My left ear mostly only with head tilting if at all. I'm actually trying to 'loosen' my left ear by doing some exercises from the BTO manual and equalizing again and again during the day. I'm already afraid right now it will not succeed
The inability to equalize one or both ears properly is definitely a hinderance that will limit your ability to enjoy a good dive. I struggled with this for quite some time. The link to the Frenzel technique referenced above produced a 404 Page Not Found for me, so I'm going to provide a link to the video.
On a recent dive with instructor Julien Borde in Playa del Carmen, where I was experiencing problems equalizing. He told me that I wasn't tucking my head far enough. So I rolled forward just a little bit more and not only was it easier to equalize, but it provided a nice view in the rear view mirror so to speak.