Problems with equalizing and hearing afterwards

[Rasmus1504]

Hey guys,

I did admittedly find some info about this subject when doing a search but I'm a little worried about my ears, so I'd like some feedback on my specific situation.

I just took my Open Water Diver certification finishing tuesday (2 days ago). Throughout the whole course I had a lot of difficulties equalizing. Even though I went down very slowly me ears would still end up hurting a lot. When I eventually got down I wouldn't feel anything. My instructor had no idea why I had such a hard time equalizing until asking another instructor. He told him that nordic people (I'm from Denmark) have their ears build in a specific way, which makes it harder to equalize. Don't know if there's any truth to that?

I now how a slight pressure at my ears and I'm a little worried about my ears. 2 questions:
Could my ears have taken any damage? And what do I need to do? I'm not in my home country right now, and going to the doctor would be a hassle, but if I have to, I have to, i guess.

Thanks.

 

[jschultzdanmark]

'Nordic ears built special' - I don't think so

If you equalize frequently and with proper technique (I take it your instructors saw to that), it's something else.

Personally I can mess up my ears if I jump in from +1.5 meters and don't pinch my nose shut - I get water into the canal between mouth and inner ear and equal. hurts like a mother. This 'condition' can last for several days.

My experience w. foreign doctors is not positive and unless you have the opportunity to see a doctor who specializes in divers, I don't think it's worth the trouble.

Good luck with the ears - my best advice would be to let nature work its magic for a couple of days and then re-evaluate

 

[baiyoke]

Even though I went down very slowly me ears would still end up hurting a lot. When I eventually got down I wouldn't feel anything. .

I honestly sounds like you have not been taught what you need to know, or has not correctly understood what is going on when the need to equalize is present. I think you should "start all over again" learning about pressure, air filled spaces and ezualization texhnique...

Shortly:
- Even though I went down very slowly me ears would still end up hurting alot.
Your ears should NEVER hurt. If it hurts, it is tallready oo late to equalize, you are getting your ears irritated, you will have even more trouble when they are irritated, then it will stick even more, it will hurt more often....and so on... and things just get worse and worse... They can be irritated for days...

- When I eventually got down I wouldn't feel anything.
That is because it is not pressure in itself that is a problem, it is pressure CHANGE. You could be at 1000m without a problem (after equalizing), but going to 1050m you would have to eaualize again...

I REALLY think you need to evaluate the hole arear again, and if the instructor cannot help, get to talk to another instructor... Also read old threads on deeperblue on the topic (freedivers seem to know more than most dive-doctors on the topic), and do some research yourself on internet...

Diving should be fun, and not hurt at all...

 

[baiyoke]

And two more things:

- If you have presented the problem and discussed it with the instructor, it sounds strange to me, that he would have no idea... Clearly you are equalizing too late, so at least he should have talked about that. The story about special ears... Never heard about it... I'm not overly impressed with the instructor, but you clearly you are also in lack of knowlege.. not sure wich is wich, but things doesn't add up anyway...

I don't think you need to see a doctor, if you have irritated ears from constant pushing them day after day... However, if there's more to the story, you might have damaged something... So it's your call... Don't expect doctors to know much about equalizing... If you have burst something inside, he probably knows more than most other people... read about symptoms of problems and decide yourself ... I don't have much knowledge about earproblems, but I can understand if your ears are not happy at the moment, after being beaten up for days...

Oh, and one last thing: Don't "test" your ears equalizing them constantly on land, because you are worried... Let them rest, that's what they need!

Hope the best for you, and that you get to dive safely and happy later on...

 

[Rasmus1504]

Thanks for the replies guys.

I obviously didn't know enough about equalizing when performing the dives. At times I think I was told not to equalize before feeling anything(!). Still I found that it didn't help too much to equalize and that the pain in the ears was more or less inevitable.

Anyway, will wait a couple of days before doing anything. Just hope it's nothing serious.

 

[baiyoke]

Still I found that it didn't help too much to equalize and that the pain in the ears was more or less inevitable.

Well, if it still hurt after prober equalization, maybe some part of the airspaces was blocked by mucus, or something like that (and therefore not equalized)... Perhaps someone else knows about this..

I just realized you are talking about problems hearing in the thread header (didn't see it in the post). That is of course not good, but I don't know what it could be... (Last time I couldn't hear, it was an ear infection gone bad).

Anyway - good luck

 

[Rasmus1504]

Hmm I'm not sure if i had actual problems hearing. I had a slight pressure on both ears and I heard everything a little bit more silent i think. Anyway it has almost gone away not, so I dont think it was anything serious.

Thanks