VERY hard to equalise.

[Martins]

Hello! First time poster! On holiday in Malta. Having a big problems equalising.

In swimming pool I can do 25meters horisontal swim with no fins on a single breath, do a 200 metre swim and do 2-2.30 static breath hold. Don't have any specific training.

Here on holiday I can't dive deeper than 2-3 meters... Seems almost impossible to equalise. (With freediving fins and no weight belt, so also takes an effort to go down)

Pinch the nose and blow the air? No effect! Pinch the nose and swallow, no effect. Hands free equalising I have not learned. The only way that I am able to equalise is pinch my nose, blow the air AND swallow at the same time. And even than 2 times out of 3 only 1 ear equalises.

Single equalisation takes so much effort, so by the time im 3-5 meters under and need to equalise second time, i'm out of breath and have to come up!

To keep it safe I'm not about to dive 20-30 metres down... But I would be really happy if I'm able to learn to comfortably equalise so I can go 5-10metres down and have a little bit of time there before I have to get up...

P.s. had a "discover scuba" experience couple month ago and also was hell to equalise. Took me ages to get down to 3 metres swimming pool depth.

 

[Jellythings]

Just a few times I've taken a single dose of decongestant which cleared things up for a long time after. I "test" my ears on land before hitting the water, if one or both isn't working right then I know to try again later that day or the next. Also, pre-equalize before your head even goes under the water. I give my ears one good "pop" right before my last breath on the surface and I'm seriously constantly "popping" them on the way down. If I even begin to feel pressure in my ears then I went too far and it is too late. I have to resurface and try again. Decongestants wear off if you do take one so just be mindful of the effects. If you feel your ears aren't working out of the water they certainly won't work in the water. Practicing with scuba helped me in the beginning because I could take all the time in the world to go down 30' "learning" my ears foot by foot by foot as I went, adjusting up or down as pressure dictated.

 

[Dan Black]

Wiggle your jaw, go for a run and get the blood pumping and if you can get some boiling water and breath the steam in threw your nose. At the moment it sounds like your Eustachian tubes are very stiff if you were having problems equalising with scuba feet first as well. Biggest advice I can give is to probably just practice equalising as much as you can to try and open them up a bit more. Try and get onto YouTube and search up 'Adam Stern, equalising because he has some very good information and nifty tips for dealing with equalising for beginners.

Hope this helps, Dive Safe

 

[SubSub]

Have you ever equalized easily? On land, in water or when flying?

Just like Jellythings say, one trick is to do a constant equalization, start before you even put your head under water.

Good thing is to practice the technique on land, make your ears pop easily anytime. If you can do it easily on land, you can more easily do it in water.

 

[Martins]

Have you ever equalized easily? On land, in water or when flying?

Just like Jellythings say, one trick is to do a constant equalization, start before you even put your head under water.

Good thing is to practice the technique on land, make your ears pop easily anytime. If you can do it easily on land, you can more easily do it in water.

 

[Martins]

Sorry. Writing from phone. Strange. On land I can equalise each and every time. In swimming pool swallowing with closed nose works 2 out of 3 times. Now in saltwater seems hell to equalise.

Today I tried again diving with half breath (no weight belt) when I struggle less to go under equalisation also seems a bit easier.

Anyway I have just 2 days left and than heading back to London and not diving for almost a year again ! Thanks for some ideas!

 

[Jellythings]

I do the Frenzel maneuver and it is a surprising amount of pressure that I have to "blow" into my eustachian tubes at least 10-12 times to get to 30'. I don't think swallowing would to anything much if at all. It really does take quite a bit of force to counter that water pressure against the eardrums. Not "blowing my brains out" per-se, but tightly puffing a considerable amount of air pressure into them each time.

 

[SubSub]

To equalize 10-12 times down to 30ft, well it's not unnormal. especially if you have problems with equalisation you have to do it more often.

 

[Jellythings]

Yup. Hahahaha, I can get down to 60' so far but if I so much as let go of my nose for a second I have to stay put where I am. If I just go 1-2' deeper I absolutely must equalize again and then again. If there is even a hint of discomfort in my ears I have to come up a bit or just surface and try again. I should think of a nose clip sometime in the future so I can do some knitting on the way down I cannot even imagine going 3' underwater at any time from any depth without "popping." Even if I'm onshore in water to my waist and have to dunk under to retrieve some dropped item I have to pop my ears! I know people who can just equalize every 8-10 feet but I cannot imagine that for myself. Noooooooo way. I find equalization fascinating because it seems to be the one thing that is absolutely case specific for each individual. It is like many of us literally spend an entire year or more figuring it out for ourselves. Then we get curious about other equalization techniques and the struggle continues...

 

[SubSub]

Well, just look at the pros, many of them hold their nose till the bottom so don’t sweat it.

I myself was swimming since very early age, competing and also doing freediving (on a child level though) and somewhere along that path I automatically picked up equalizing. No one thought me, it just came natural like it does for kids. It is not hard to imagine that it is harder to learn in adult age, just like learning a new language.

With practice comes perfect, it just takes a little longer when you’re grown up!

 

[Will Read]

I would say definitely get some weight so you can dive down easier, yours ears will lock and your breath hold will be awful if you are not relaxed and flapping about trying to get down.
Secondly you must master the Frenzel technique, google it. I had very similar problems and when I made the breakthrough it was unbelievable, it just clicked and I could equalise. You may think you are doing it but you could be doing valsalva.
Easy way it hold your nose loosely but shut (too tight you could burst an eardrum doing Frenzel) try to force air into your tubes and make your nose bulge ,put your hand on your diaphragm , it will not move or tense if you are doing Frenzel. Your using your tounge as I piston , the very back portion (but don't overthink this)
This can help , hold in one nostril ,block other , try to inflate a little.https://www.weldricks.co.uk/product...7WL-oSh4M0ZFOj0Xkigzzt1g1koraPsAaArS7EALw_wcB
Lastly you need to find a jaw / head position that works for you . Keep your chin tucked into your chest , looking down can stretch and reduce tube size. Pherhaps stick your jaw out down and forward , tilt head left or right.I think it is different for different people. Experimenting with this is best done correctly weighted and ideally holding onto a line, try some head up very slow pull downs first and just get the technique sorted , then practise, practise ,practise.
I still have to work very hard and frequent to equalise but I can do it now and descend almost as fast as I want to.

 

[Martins]

Well I had a breakthrough! Had a discover scuba experience and I realised that I'm able to equalise hands free quite easily! It's like jawning position, jaw stretched, and one moment my ear tubes opens up themselves, so if I keep up that position and descend slowly my ears autoequalise. As soon as it clicked the same evening I realised just off the hotel swimming pool there is a deep (for me) sea, and a buoy chained to the bottom. So I went out to practice pulling myself down the line, and after 4-5 tries reached the bottom quite easily. If I'd have to guess, it was around 10 meters. Without pulling myself down the line I can quite easily do half that.

Now the next thing to work on... Increasing active breath hold time. My static breath hold is 2-2.45 depending on the day... But my bounder water time isn't even a minute. Just around 45sec mostly... Guess I'm just flopping around too much and need to relax more!

 

[SubSub]

Congrats! Must be a nice feeling!

It is normal to have a much shorter dive time than what you can achieve during static. Don't even think about pushing things when alone!
You can exercise your dive times by doing some walking apnea.

 

[Martins]

Congrats! Must be a nice feeling!

It is normal to have a much shorter dive time than what you can achieve during static. Don't even think about pushing things when alone!
You can exercise your dive times by doing some walking apnea.

Or I'll just practice like once a week no fins in swiming pool.

Yeah.. I know own about not pushing myself. I usually come up very soon after contractions start.

Haha feeling is not nice! Because I cracked it literally last day of holiday once I missed all the activities that was planned!

 

[SubSub]

Anyways... you cracked it! so now you've got it till your next holiday.

 

[Martins]

since i have no dive computer, no belt and that was my first freediving when equalisation clicked.... how do you think... could it be 10 meters deep?

 

[SubSub]

Very hard to tell, but comparing to my own footage... maybe. [emoji1]

 

[sipadiver]

Personally, I find it difficult to equalise in cold water. 18C 65F. Mucus builds up in my nostrils due to the cold. And when I squeeze my nose gently and try and blow, I get a block. My right ear however is ok. I did have a childhood trauma - a teacher liked to twist my left ear hard. And I have tinnitus in my left ear.

Scuba diving... not so much of a problem. Takes a bit long, but it works out.