Clearing Ears When Diving

A new diver once told me she was amazed to find out she could clear her ears.  Prior to learning to scuba dive she just endured the pain and discomfort of pressure changes while flying or driving to and from altitude!

As divers we become deeply aware of the air spaces in our heads; our sinuses, middle ear space, eustachian tubes, mucous production and so much more we probably never wanted to know about.  An instructor once told me "diving is all about mucous control." Sounds yucky, but there has never been a more true statement about diving.

Why must we clear our ears?

As we descend pressure pushes inward on the ear drum.  If we continue to descend this pressure will injure or even rupture the ear drum.  The simple solution to this is to, equalize the pressure, aka clear your ears, by allowing air from your throat to flow into the middle ear space via your eustachian tubes.

In your scuba class you are taught to relax your neck muscles and gently blow against pinched nostrils while wiggling the jaw (Valsalva Maneuver); close your mouth and swallow with the tongue against the roof of the mouth (Frenzel Maneuver); the Yawn and Swallow or other method that works best for you.  If this does not work, you must ascend a few feet to lower the pressure and try again.  It is important to clear your ears before you feel discomfort and never do anything forcefully.  It is also important never to dive if you cannot clear your ears or have a cold.

This is more difficult than it sounds, because what is meant by discomfort?  What is meant by forcefully?

Most divers learn how to clear safely without injury through practice with an instructor.

Sadly, some people will never dive because the anatomy of their ears, sinuses or eustachian tubes will not allow them to clear their ears and their diving days are quickly over.  Others may have surgery to correct any anatomical problems.  Some find working with an allergy specialist will help them avoid excess mucous that may make clearing difficult.  

Learning to dive means learning to clear your ears, learning to avoid things that will cause excessive mucous production, knowing when not to dive and much more. 

Your instructor does not know what is going on in your head, so be sure to communicate with your instructor about your ears by using the hand signals your are taught.

Above all don't dive if you are not able to clear your ears.


Visit Divers Alert Network FMI:

http://www.diversalertnetwork.org/medical/articles/Guide_to_Avoiding_Ear_Sinus_Injuries_in_Scuba_Diving

https://www.diversalertnetwork.org/medical/articles/download/DiversGuidetoEars.pdf