Equalize before it hurts, and keep doing it every few feet. Almost every ear problem in diving comes from starting too late, and almost every serious one comes from continuing after it stopped working.
Why the shallow part is the hard part
New divers expect equalizing to get harder as they go deeper. It works the other way around.
Pressure doubles in the first 33 feet and only rises by half as much again over the next 33. The steepest change is right at the top, which is why divers who get through the first part of the descent usually have no further trouble.
It is also why waiting until you feel something is already too late. By the time there is discomfort, the pressure difference is working against you.
Start equalizing before you feel anything, and do it more often than feels necessary.
The technique, and how to use it
The maneuver everyone is taught is to pinch your nostrils closed and blow gently against them. The word doing the work in that sentence is gently.
- Start on the surface, before you go down at all.
- Equalize every few feet on the way down, not when you notice pressure.
- Descend feet first if you can. It is easier than head down, and a line lets you control the rate.
- Go gently. Forcing it hard is its own way to cause injury.
- Slow down if you fall behind. The descent rate is the variable you control.
Swallowing and moving your jaw forward help too, and some divers find those enough on their own. DAN has a fuller guide to equalization technique if you want more than one method to try.
When it will not clear
This is the part worth memorizing, because it is where divers get hurt.
If equalizing is not working, ascend a few feet. That reduces the pressure difference and very often lets the ear clear on the next attempt. Then continue down slowly.
If it still will not clear after a few tries, end the dive. That is the whole answer — not a last resort, and not a failure. Continuing to descend against an ear that has not equalized is how barotrauma happens, and an ear injury costs you weeks of diving rather than one dive.
| What you notice | What to do |
|---|---|
| Nothing yet | Equalize anyway, every few feet |
| Slight fullness or pressure | Stop descending, equalize, then continue slowly |
| It will not clear | Ascend a few feet, let it settle, try again gently |
| Still will not clear | End the dive |
| Pain | Stop descending immediately — pain is the warning, not the threshold |
The reverse block, on the way up
Most divers are taught about the descent and hear nothing about the ascent, which is where the more alarming problem lives.
A reverse block happens when air is trapped in the middle ear on the way up and cannot escape. The usual causes are congestion, poor equalization on the way down, or a decongestant wearing off while you are at depth.
The response is the mirror of the descent: stop ascending, go back down a few feet until the pressure eases, and come up slowly. Swallowing and moving your jaw help; forceful blowing does not, because it raises middle ear pressure further. This is one of several reasons to keep gas in reserve rather than planning the ascent around an empty cylinder — see ascending properly.
It is worse in cold water, and here is why
Divers who equalize easily on a warm-water trip sometimes struggle at home, and assume something has changed about their ears. Usually the conditions changed instead.
Cold water and a tight hood both work against you. A hood seals over the outer ear and can trap air against the eardrum, and cold tends to thicken mucus, which is the last thing a Eustachian tube needs. Tucking a finger under the hood edge to break the seal for a moment is a standard fix worth knowing about.
The other difference is that a cold-water descent is often faster than you intended, because you are wearing more lead to offset a thick suit. That comes back to managing cold properly and to weighting, rather than to your ears.
If both apply on the same dive — a tight hood and a heavy weight belt — then the honest description is that the dive was set up to make equalizing hard before you got in the water.
What actually prevents it
The divers who never seem to have ear problems are rarely doing anything exotic. They are descending slower and starting earlier.
- Do not dive congested. The most reliable prevention there is.
- Use a line where one is available. It lets you control the rate rather than sinking at whatever speed your weighting dictates.
- Get your weighting right. An overweighted diver descends faster than they meant to — see getting your weighting right.
- Stay hydrated. It does no harm and thin mucus clears more easily.
- Do not push through. One aborted dive is cheaper than a month of not diving.
Where this stops being our department
A dive shop can help you with technique, descent rate and weighting. That is genuinely most of it, and an instructor watching you descend will often spot the problem in one dive.
What we cannot do is assess an ear. Pain that persists after the dive, bleeding, muffled hearing, ringing or dizziness all need a doctor, and preferably one who understands diving. If you are unsure whether something counts, it counts. If it has been long enough that your technique may have faded rather than your ears being the problem, a refresher is a reasonable place to start.
Frequently asked questions
Why can I equalize one ear but not the other?
It is common and usually just anatomy — one Eustachian tube clears more easily than the other. Ascend a foot or two, try again gently, and tilt your head so the stubborn ear is uppermost. If one ear never clears, that is worth raising with a doctor rather than working around.
Can I dive with a cold?
It is a bad idea, and the reason is not the descent. Congestion can let you down and then trap you at depth, which is how a reverse block happens on the way up. If you are congested, the dive can wait.
What does an ear squeeze feel like?
Pain or increasing pressure that does not clear when you equalize. It is the signal to stop descending immediately, not to push through. Pain is information, and it is the only warning you get.
Should I take a decongestant before diving?
That is a question for a doctor rather than a dive shop. What is worth knowing is that a decongestant wearing off at depth is a recognized cause of reverse block, so it is not a simple fix.
When should I see a doctor?
Pain that persists after the dive, any bleeding, muffled hearing, ringing or dizziness. Do not wait to see whether it settles, and do not ask us to assess it — that is genuinely outside what a dive shop can do.
Get someone to watch you descend
Most equalization problems are descent-rate problems. Ask an instructor at Divers Den to run through it with you in confined water.