How do I prevent my ears from hurting so bad?

[MermaidLiara]

Hi everyone,

Hope you have some advice for me.

When I swim towards the bottom of the pool the water pressure makes my ears hurt so bad. Is there anything I can do about that?


I know I can do that thing where I hold my nose and blow through it, which I'm trying, but is there anything else? Do ear plugs help??


I am a beginner. Can your ears adjust to the water pressure over time?

[Mermaid Riia]

Hi there :) the pressure is what makes your ears hurt and there is no other way than to equalize it.

Here is some youtube links

About pressure and one simple way to equalize: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ow2yZLSPtCc
Few techniques more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riwlHXCQo0o

Hope this helps!

[Mermaid Alea]

I was having trouble equalizing my ears so one day when I was swimming in my friend's small pool I practiced going down and "popping my ears". You should feel your ears pop and the pressure go away and that lets you know you have done it right. Just keep practicing and trying the different techniques to see which one works best for you.

Once you learn how to equalize it really comes in handy. This girl lost her sunglasses in deep spring water and I went under trying to see if I could spot them and I saw them hit the bottom. I came back up, took a deep breath, then swam down and equalized and I was able to grab the sunglasses. I had never been that deep before and without knowing how to equalize I don't know if that girl would have gotten her sunglasses back. I was so glad I had learned to equalize before that trip!

[Mermaid Tuwala]

I was wondering if it's safe to equalize your ears while wearing those moldable silicone ear plugs?

[AniaR]

No, my ENT doc told me if you're going down with solid ear plugs, you should not go past your own pressure point. There is no where for the "pop" to go when you have solid earplugs. You can blow your ear drum. If you need earplugs (like I do) it's best to buy vented ones like doc pro plug. Keeps water out, but has a vent to let ear/pressure move through it.

I have bad ears so this is something my doc and I talk a lot about!

[Mermaid Tuwala]

Omg thank you so so much Raina!
I was pretty sure it wasn't safe! Do you know where I can buy the vented ear plugs? I too have really bad ears :(

[AniaR]

some diveshops carry them. They work better if you buy in a store because they need to be custom fit to your ears. I bought online and you can buy a pack of sizes to try each one but you wont be able to use them for anything else, and still will need to order a set in your size. I really like mine but I need a better size.

https://www.proplugs.com/

[Mermaid Tuwala]

Okay thanks so much! I called the website and they gave me the number of the Canadian Distributor to call. So, I called them and they regularly deliver to a pharmacy in my area. That pharmacy also has one of their fitting kits. I'm going to get fitted later! The guy thinks they only have the regular ear plugs there (not the vented kind). But I can get fitted and then order the right size from him. I can give you the number if you want to see if there's a place near Hali you can get fitted!

[AniaR]

I looked into it before and there isnt :(

[Mermaid Tuwala]

Oh that's too bad. And weird as Halifax is a MUCH bigger city than fredericton.