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Problems equalizing left ear.
- Thread starter shrugs
- Start date
Thread Status: Hello
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Stay relaxed. Hold the head 'erect', lower and stick out the jaw and lean slightly away from the sticky ear. It sounds like a lot but if you hold your nose, use the hand on the other side and it easily becomes habit. Early and often is always a good idea and two quick soft squeezes is better than increasing the pressure and a lot safer.
Hi shrugs,
Do a search on YouTube for video's by Dr. Edmond Kay or have a look here: Boat Fishing • View topic - Having problems equalizing? Check this... where I have listed all of the videos in the series.
He provides a very good run down on how the inner ear works and how equalizing your ears affects them. There may some info there that could help you.
Do a search on YouTube for video's by Dr. Edmond Kay or have a look here: Boat Fishing • View topic - Having problems equalizing? Check this... where I have listed all of the videos in the series.
He provides a very good run down on how the inner ear works and how equalizing your ears affects them. There may some info there that could help you.
I recently had the same problem with my left ear, though I never used to. It gave me a maximum dive depth of around 12m. I ended up seeing a specialist. Turns out I had mild, otherwise undetectable sinus infection that was causing mucus to collect around the opening to my left eustachian tube. I took a course of antibiotics and six weeks later I was at 30+ meters.
That said, I still have one ear that clears quicker than the other, so it could just be you have a "slow" ear, so I'd try the exercises before seeking medical advice just yet.
That said, I still have one ear that clears quicker than the other, so it could just be you have a "slow" ear, so I'd try the exercises before seeking medical advice just yet.
In general:
Eat and sleep well. Avoid lactose, meat, sugar, chocolate and other mucus producing stuff. Drink lots of water.
In the morning take a hot shower, have it land on your forehead, clean the sinuses, nose with "Neilmed netti pot" or "bidon" (cyclist drinking bottle).
Dry you head and ears well, wear a cap to keep the head warm, breath through the nose. Snort and swallow any mucus.
Go diving, wear a silicon swimming cap underneath your hood. Pre equalise. Make your first dives feet first, stop intermediately when a block occurs, try some head-yaw- tongue movement and gentle valsava. Go up slow. At the surface take off the mask, close 1 nose hole and inhale through the other while you let your tongue vibrate at your mouths sealing whilst your head is tilted a bit backwards. The goal is to suck down the mucus that loosed up with your descend and tongue and air vibrations. As you do this you can also tap with 2 fingers on your forehead to loosen up the mucus in the forehead. Switch nose hole and clean the other side. When everything is a bit cleaner, dive again feet first, with the same care, pre equalising, and equalising with great attention to relaxation and finding the best position to hold your head. Repeat this 1-5 times, and your equalisation should become progressively better. If it's not improving, see if you are either tired (including the involved muscles), or congested, or not having a proper equalisation technique.
Avoid high pressures.
Clean and dry your ears after the dive, and keep your head and ears warm before and after the dive with a cap. When travelling on a boat, put a hoody on and sit with your back to the wind.
Practice equalisations on dry land. Understand that also these muscles can get tired.
Over time, your tubes will become more flexible, and your technique gets better allowing your ears to work well (enough) even on bad days.
Let us know how it worked for you!
Using the in water technique I described I had occasions where I faced a cold, and fully blocked ears, and managed to clean everything out with 3-4 dives. Resulting in a good and pleasant deep dive session. Jean-Paul François from Belgium helped me during a depth competition to clean my congested head with sharing the knocking and massaging of the forehead and tubes techniques. Rubbing and tapping the mucus loose in combination with snorting/inhaling/swallowing the released mucus.
Eat and sleep well. Avoid lactose, meat, sugar, chocolate and other mucus producing stuff. Drink lots of water.
In the morning take a hot shower, have it land on your forehead, clean the sinuses, nose with "Neilmed netti pot" or "bidon" (cyclist drinking bottle).
Dry you head and ears well, wear a cap to keep the head warm, breath through the nose. Snort and swallow any mucus.
Go diving, wear a silicon swimming cap underneath your hood. Pre equalise. Make your first dives feet first, stop intermediately when a block occurs, try some head-yaw- tongue movement and gentle valsava. Go up slow. At the surface take off the mask, close 1 nose hole and inhale through the other while you let your tongue vibrate at your mouths sealing whilst your head is tilted a bit backwards. The goal is to suck down the mucus that loosed up with your descend and tongue and air vibrations. As you do this you can also tap with 2 fingers on your forehead to loosen up the mucus in the forehead. Switch nose hole and clean the other side. When everything is a bit cleaner, dive again feet first, with the same care, pre equalising, and equalising with great attention to relaxation and finding the best position to hold your head. Repeat this 1-5 times, and your equalisation should become progressively better. If it's not improving, see if you are either tired (including the involved muscles), or congested, or not having a proper equalisation technique.
Avoid high pressures.
Clean and dry your ears after the dive, and keep your head and ears warm before and after the dive with a cap. When travelling on a boat, put a hoody on and sit with your back to the wind.
Practice equalisations on dry land. Understand that also these muscles can get tired.
Over time, your tubes will become more flexible, and your technique gets better allowing your ears to work well (enough) even on bad days.
Let us know how it worked for you!
Using the in water technique I described I had occasions where I faced a cold, and fully blocked ears, and managed to clean everything out with 3-4 dives. Resulting in a good and pleasant deep dive session. Jean-Paul François from Belgium helped me during a depth competition to clean my congested head with sharing the knocking and massaging of the forehead and tubes techniques. Rubbing and tapping the mucus loose in combination with snorting/inhaling/swallowing the released mucus.
thansk @Kars from me as well. I had issue a few days ago when i was out in the water and I did the netti pot 2 times on two days before I went in the water yesterday and I had ZERO issues equalizing! :thankyou
I also clean my ears with from some nasty stuff that I do not want to describe in more detail, but I can hear much better now.
Also, my wife suggested holding my head upside down as well to do a sinus cleaning additionally to the normal netti pot thing.
Anyway, it worked!
I also clean my ears with from some nasty stuff that I do not want to describe in more detail, but I can hear much better now.
Also, my wife suggested holding my head upside down as well to do a sinus cleaning additionally to the normal netti pot thing.
Anyway, it worked!
A few comments. None of the suggestions are "bad", but some are a little hokey. Cleaning your ear canals will in no way affect your eustachian tube patency. Your ear drum is a barrier, you can think of your external canal and your middle ear as completely separate spaces for the most part (though a complete wax impaction could make it difficult to equalize as the ear drum does need to move a bit as the middle ear clears it's pressure).
Nasal saline rinses are fine and seem to help some significantly. I don't think I would recommend the saline rinse as you dive technique though.
Mucus in your sinuses is not going to actually affect your ability to clear your ears, so tapping on your forehead is not going to help. It is however part of the same disease process, ie allergies. For most people, aggressive allergy control (antihistamine, nasal steroid spray, mucolytics like mucinex, sometimes decongestants like sudafed, allergy immunotherapy, etc) are going to do more for improving your eustachian tube function than anything else. Beyond that, I agree with the clear often and clear early suggestions.
Nasal saline rinses are fine and seem to help some significantly. I don't think I would recommend the saline rinse as you dive technique though.
Mucus in your sinuses is not going to actually affect your ability to clear your ears, so tapping on your forehead is not going to help. It is however part of the same disease process, ie allergies. For most people, aggressive allergy control (antihistamine, nasal steroid spray, mucolytics like mucinex, sometimes decongestants like sudafed, allergy immunotherapy, etc) are going to do more for improving your eustachian tube function than anything else. Beyond that, I agree with the clear often and clear early suggestions.
I am aware about the thing with the ears earesponsible, my wife explained that to me already, but thanks fort the explanation
As a diving technique?
Well, this of course touches a more general topic of treating allergies, and before taking antihistamine or steroids I would definitely exhaust all other alternative treatment methods and be aware of all the side effects of pumping chemistry into you body. I can only speak from personal experience, but for instance I live in a crappy old moldy house and I had mucus issues for months each winter. Only opening the window a tiny bit during the night got completely rid of all my colds and mucus issues. I was taking some anti allergy pills with loratadine for a while, which kind of helped, but had some bad side effects. I stopped the pills and opened the window at night as said. I assume i had no real allergy, maybe just dust and the dry air inside heated buildings in winter caused the mucus.
Anyway, the rinse definitely helped me as I could equalize with zero problems as said.
You also get a horrible pain in your ears/head when you sinuses are full while flying, i recently experienced that and it was a torture. :yack
OK, good luck. Open your windows and your allergies will be cured. And watch out for those evil chemicals!
Thanks, I will for sure! trying to avoid them as much as I can.
Regarding your attempt to rant, I really hope such posts are an exception, as this forum seems so far very mature and polite. (a real exception for forums in general!)
Its one thing to have another opinion, but another is to patronize other individuals because they have another opinion (or are not native English speakers) and become aggressive and hateful.
earesponsible, you're right sinus and ear blockage are separate problems. Though often I find them teaming up
I agree that chemicals can do wonders short term, though one has to keep in mind there may be undesired and amplified side effects in combination with (free)diving.
And..
Welcome to Deeperblue!
I agree that chemicals can do wonders short term, though one has to keep in mind there may be undesired and amplified side effects in combination with (free)diving.
And..
Welcome to Deeperblue!