Hej Jeg fandt lige denne på
http://www.scubadiving.com/
mvh Kasper
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The Equalizer
Five better ways to clear your ears;
Plus tips for beating seasickness.
by Ernest Campbell, M.D.
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This summer I made two quarry dives to 50 feet. On the second dive, I had
trouble clearing my right ear. I went up and tried again, but still no luck.
On the third attempt, I felt it clear--well, sort of. Instead of the usual
pop, I heard a series of squeaks from my right ear. Could it have been
caused by my mask and hood covering the area? I always take Sudafed an hour
prior to diving as a doctor recommended many years ago after a sinus
problem. On the way home, I had mild discomfort in that ear. That night I
took two aspirin, and I was fine the next day. Do you think I damaged my
eustachian tubes? Do they heal? Should I see a doctor?
- Barry Weissman, New York, N.Y.
It is possible that you have some type of blockage of your nasal lining near
the opening of your eustachian tubes, possibly polyps, bony growths, nasal
septal deviation or allergic rhinitis. If it comes and goes, the most likely
cause would be that the mucosa is swelling at various intervals, possibly as
the result of allergy, irritations from fumes or from congestion from any of
a thousand other sources. This may have caused some middle ear barotrauma,
with swelling and serum accumulation in your middle ear.
If a good ear, nose and throat exam fails to expose any pathology in the
back of your nose, then you might need to check into your diving technique.
Descending feet-first on the anchor line or a down line can help you rise
slowly just a foot or two to take the pressure off and help you clear
easily.
Try a Different Clearing Technique
You might also want to try using a different technique for clearing your
ears. The Valsalva maneuver--pinching your nostrils and blowing through your
nose--is the most commonly used technique, but might not be the best one for
you. One problem with the Valsalva maneuver is that it doesn't activate
muscles that open the eustachian tubes, so it may not work if the tubes are
already locked by a pressure differential (see illustrations). It's also
easy to blow hard enough to damage something. Instead of using the Valsalva
next time, try one of these:
The Toynbee Maneuver. With your nostrils pinched or blocked against your
mask skirt, swallow. Swallowing pulls open your eustachian tubes while the
movement of your tongue, with your nose closed, compresses air against them.
The Lowry Technique. A combination of Valsalva and Toynbee: While closing
your nostrils, blow and swallow at the same time.
The Edmonds Technique. While tensing the soft palate (the soft tissue at the
back of the roof of your mouth) and throat muscles and pushing the jaw
forward and down, do a Valsalva maneuver.
The Frenzel Maneuver. Close your nostrils, and close the back of your throat
as if straining to lift a weight. Then make the sound of the letter "K."
This forces the back of your tongue upward, compressing air against the
openings of your eustachian tubes.
Voluntary Tubal Opening. Tense the muscles of the soft palate and the throat
while pushing your jaw forward and down as if starting to yawn. These
muscles pull the eustachian tubes open. This requires a lot of practice, but
some divers can learn to control those muscles and hold their tubes open for
continuous equalization.
Try Medications
In addition, you can use medications that help reduce the swelling around
the opening to the eustachian tubes. Most people use and get good results
from oral Sudafed tablets. Afrin nasal spray, for a day or two only, also is
helpful, but can cause troublesome rebound congestion. Taking oral Sudafed
throughout a dive trip would not be harmful, nor would it cause rebound
congestion. The newer antihistamines (Allegra, Claritin and Zyrtec) might be
helpful, taken on the advice of your physician. Flonase is also helpful for
some people.
For more information on dealing with ear troubles, go to:
www.scubadiving.com/training/medicine/earproblems.shtml or
www.gulftel.com/~scubadoc/entprobs.html.
"Jan Peterson" <jan.peterson@get2net.dk> skrev i en meddelelse
news:aidmhe$k1s$1@news.net.uni-c.dk...
> Hej
> Hvad er årsagen til at man nogle dage bare ikke kan trykudligne
ordentligt?
> Jeg oplevede det en dag her i ferien, hvor jeg i et dyk fra båd til
> startdybde 6 m simpelthen ikke kunne komme dybere. Altså på vej lodret ned
> til de 6 m gik det ok. Men derefter var der ikke noget piv i ørerne. Og
man
> kan jo ikke bare prøve at trykke hårdere og hårdere.
> I går oplevede jeg det igen på en snorkeltur, hvor dykkene ikke gik dybere
> end 3-4 m. I begyndelsen på de første dyk gik det fint. Men pludselig
kunne
> jeg kun få piv'et igemmen i det ene øre. Og på næstfølgende bundtur var
det
> galt på begge ører.
> Jeg trykudligner ved at klemme næsen mellem to fingre og trykke/blæse.
> vh Jan Peterson
>
>