ear preesure

[Buckshot]

Hi
I went to lake havasu this last weekend and brought my mask and snorkel, when diving down I was having a hard time poping my ears. I can do this very easy on dry land but in water is it a lot harder to push up? Is it normal to have to push a lot harder when in water? I was going down mabey 15-20 feet only:head

 

[DeepThought]

When there is a pressure gradient it is harder to equalize, therefore you should start with equalizing as often as possible (even if 20 times for a 20ft dive), the smaller the pressure gradient the easier it will be. You can even try descending slower. After you make this work you can increase speed and reduce euqalization rate till you find what works for you.
Don't fight to equalize, don't equalize forcefully, just go up and try again your next dive, it isn't worth damaging your ears.
Equalize once on the surface before starting the dive, this helps A LOT!
Search these forums for instructionals on how to learn the Frenzel (equalization technique), for many people it makes equalization much easier.
Keep your head in nuetral position - don't look at the bottom, this makes equalization harder (among other problems). Just take a glimps every few seconds to orientate.
I Hope this will help.

 

[ceason]

Found this link recently on a scuba site. The best info I have ever seen.

http://www.uwtv.org/programs/displayevent.asp?rid=789