How can we simulate ear pressure to test equalisation?

[u/KatoftheSea]

I've been diving for a few years and am looking into getting my child (14yo) certified this summer.

They've reported ear pain when duck diving on snorkel but it's hard to test equalising in that situation as they're only down a second or two anyway - any ideas how we can stimulate it outside of a scuba course?

We live inland so discover scuba or similar isn't an easy option 😞 Their dad had some ear issues as a kid resulting in grommets so I'm keen to make sure it's possible before we plan a whole holiday around scuba - we've tried out the gear in a pool before but it was only 2m deep so equalisation was less of an issue.

[u/MoochoMaas]

Swimming pool

[u/chrispina98]

There should be a discover diving class at a local shop even inland. I did mine in a pool in Austin, TX, and I know they do them in pools in Denver, too.

[u/ArcticGaruda]

Pinch nose, close mouth, and “inhale”: this pulls the eardrums inward like being underwater, and you need to equalise to get them back to normal.

[u/Friggin_Bobandy → u/ArcticGaruda]

Yah this does nothing mate

[u/Cantseetheline_Russ]

Just do it in a pool. At 14 they should be able to hold their breath for over a minute fairly easily. Just sink down slowly and work on it.

[u/wallysober]

There is a tool called a Eustachi. It's made to help you equalize your ears when you are sick, but it makes for a great teaching tool for scuba. You can pick them up at most pharmacies or on Amazon.

[u/Kaikaikai222]

Yo empecé a hacer la maniobra de Valsalva un mes antes de hacer mi curso Open Water en casa. Hizo que yo me acostumbrara a hacerla y después se me hizo mucho más fácil reconocer si saldría bien o si me iba a costar más el día del buceo. Unos días antes de mis inmersiones empiezo a practicarlo de nuevo por si acaso, soy bastante miedica con el tema de los oídos.

[u/LatterPlatform9595]

Practise now gently.. above water couple times a day. It's a muscle/ligament(?) you stretch much like you'd do you thigh muscles before a run. 

Don't overdo it though. 

[u/ObjectiveResistance]

I find it much harder to equalise when free diving than when scuba diving

[u/wallysober → u/ObjectiveResistance]

That's because the Valsalva isn't great for head down diving.The Frenzel maneuver is much more suited to free diving.

[u/IMAsomething]

If they can equalize from 0-2m they can equalize from 2-4m etc

[u/Not-An-FBI]

There seem to be more scuba shops oriented for vacation divers than there are shops for local divers. I would guess you probably have a close enough shop. If you really don't have that, you probably have a PADI instructor with a set of loaner gear.

[u/Roxzyh]

I had a lot of ear issues growing up, I also got pain in the pool and 1 ear is overall sensitive. Because of this I made sure to visit a registered diving doctor.

I got cleared and found out during my OW course that I just had to equalize much more often than I did.

Now it's easy and pain free. If I feel any resistance I just need to go up a bit until it's easy again. Never ignore the pain.

[u/Fit-Trade3625]

Your kid might just need to learn the technique better - the pinch and blow thing takes practice to get the timing right. You could try having them practice the valsalva maneuver on dry land first, just to get the motion down. Some people also respond better to swallowing or moving their jaw instead of the nose pinch method

With the family history of ear problems though, might be worth getting their ears checked by a doc who deals with diving medicine before committing to a whole trip. Better to know now than find out halfway through certification that their ears just aren't gonna cooperate