Expert: Jesse Scott - 4/17/2009

Question
went diving, for the first time ever, in the red sea at Marsa Alam Egypt 3wks ago. loved it & want to do some more. But when we got to 5mtrs deep I had a lot of pain in my ears, tried to clear by squeezing nose, came up a couple of mtrs & pain susbsided. Carried on diving for about 1hr around the reef but each time went deeper the pain came back. Ever since my hearing has been affected, every now & then ears pop like being on a plane & it becomes normal, but after a while the hearing goes again, doctor says ear drums are ok & to wait. I would like to take up diving but if it does this to my hearing I am not so sure, is the hearing loss normal, if so how do you clear,have tried holding nose whilst blowing. help

Answer
Hello Dave, I'm sorry to hear about your ear issues.  First let me state that I am not a doctor so I cannot provide any medical advice or contradict any recommendation he has given.

Hearing loss and pain or not normal for diving.  In your training you should have been instructed with techniques that show you how to properly equalize the air pressure inside  your ears to that of the pressure of the surrounding water.  Typically this is with the Valsalva technique (gently pinching the nose and blowing, which forces air up to the back of the ear drums).  This should be started on the surface before descending and then must be continued each time you descend deeper (about every 6 - 10 feet).  If there is any pain experienced during descent the action is to ascend until the pain goes away, attempt to equalize again, and descend slowly.  If still unable, then the dive should be aborted.

During training, we teach folks how to do this in a pool first while slowly descending toward the deeper end.  In this manner they become accustomed to the technique in a controlled environment.  

If you did not receive this training you should get it or have an instructor work with you to improve your technique.  Prior to that you should gain approval from your doctor to prevent harmful damage to your ears and hearing.  Good luck, Jesse.