Sorry if this is super obvious but I have a few questions about how to keep my ears free of water, or at least make it so they don't fill completely.
I have never used vented plugs but I've used the silicone putty style plugs for regular laps and I love them, however I was advised NOT to do any sort of diving with them in because they make a strong enough seal they could damage my eardrum. I find that when I swimming in the dive tank doing my training (4m at deepest) If I orient myself truly upside down I lose the very last reserve bubble of air in my ear and water fills in the space with an audible difference. Usually when I first hit the water I've got about three to four bubbles of air that progressively escape my ears during my warm-ups. I can still equalize just fine head down (usually frenzel) but that water filling sensation makes me very uncomfortable, and when I surface I can actually hear the water moving against my eardrum as I move my head. Cue me jumping around with my head cocked sideways like a demented chicken for about 3-5 mins until the water runs out (usually enough to feel running out and down), then the next dive if I descend head down I fill right back up.
Is there any way to mitigate this or is it a sensation/issue I'll just have to learn to deal with?
So far I've been descending on an angle and looking at the bottom of the pool instead of at the wall and that seems to help but then I feel like I'm straining my neck, so it's just replaced the ear issue. I've never had an ear infection in my life and just don't seem to get them somehow but I am worried that if I continue getting so water-logged I might start! Any info or advice is very much appreciated, and if anyone has any tips I'm..... all ears!
*I'll see myself out for that one lol
I have never used vented plugs but I've used the silicone putty style plugs for regular laps and I love them, however I was advised NOT to do any sort of diving with them in because they make a strong enough seal they could damage my eardrum. I find that when I swimming in the dive tank doing my training (4m at deepest) If I orient myself truly upside down I lose the very last reserve bubble of air in my ear and water fills in the space with an audible difference. Usually when I first hit the water I've got about three to four bubbles of air that progressively escape my ears during my warm-ups. I can still equalize just fine head down (usually frenzel) but that water filling sensation makes me very uncomfortable, and when I surface I can actually hear the water moving against my eardrum as I move my head. Cue me jumping around with my head cocked sideways like a demented chicken for about 3-5 mins until the water runs out (usually enough to feel running out and down), then the next dive if I descend head down I fill right back up.
Is there any way to mitigate this or is it a sensation/issue I'll just have to learn to deal with?
So far I've been descending on an angle and looking at the bottom of the pool instead of at the wall and that seems to help but then I feel like I'm straining my neck, so it's just replaced the ear issue. I've never had an ear infection in my life and just don't seem to get them somehow but I am worried that if I continue getting so water-logged I might start! Any info or advice is very much appreciated, and if anyone has any tips I'm..... all ears!
*I'll see myself out for that one lol