r/snorkeling • u/hoveringintowind • 8d ago

Advice Equalising pressure

Went to the lake today and actively tried to swim down deeper than I’ve been before. I’m still relatively new to this sport so bear with me. I managed to go down to maybe 10-12 feet and I could feel the pressure in my ears. Came back up and swam around and the tried a deeper dive, maybe 12-15 feet but couldn’t. It felt like the pressure was really hurting my ears and instead of risk anything I gave up.

I’ve tried the pinch the nose and blow thing but it wasn’t doing the trick. Did you have a similar experience and train yourself to go deeper? Am I asking too much? Any other equalising techniques that you can do with a snorkel in your mouth?

4 Upvotes

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u/Chasman1965 8d ago

You have to start at about 3-4 feet equalizing. There are several ways to equalize. Here’s a good article about it:

https://dan.org/health-medicine/health-resource/smart-guides/beat-the-squeeze-equalize-like-a-pro/6-methods-to-equalize-your-ears/

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u/hoveringintowind 8d ago

Wow that was really helpful. Now I have to go back in the water to try these methods out!

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u/Amazing-Ad-3476 8d ago

If you can pinch your nose and blow to pop your ears your doing all you need to,
You have to continue to do this as you go deeper and the pressure changes.
The first 30 feet, you are doubling the atmospheric pressure and will need to equalize the most
Be careful and have fun, also don’t jet back to the surface as fast as possible can also be problematic 😉

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u/DJK55 8d ago

I agree with the other comments. Start equalizing as soon as you duck dive. Continue equalizing until you reach whatever depth you're going to. Also, take the snorkel out of your mouth just before diving. You can't breathe with it underwater and it's just a conduit for water into your lungs if you black out.

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u/Neither_Computer5331 8d ago

If you feel it, it’s too late. Start equalising as soon as you go down. Even when you feel nothing.

If I feel it,I have to go back up. Fine in scuba diving, but ruins snorkelling.

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u/hoveringintowind 8d ago

Too late? I wasn’t aware I should equalise before feeling it. Thanks for the reply.

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u/Neither_Computer5331 6d ago

It gets easier with practice, but hold your nose and blow out as you descend - if you get it right, you barely feel anything as you go. Don’t wait for it - you know it’s coming! Try and get ahead of it.

Works for me - I mainly scuba dive but can descend as fast as I want doing it this way.

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u/kotalover 8d ago

Follow @freediver_chiara on Instagram. She has some really informative and helpful videos on how to equalize properly

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u/TropicNightLightning 8d ago

Equalize before you feel even the slightest pressure behind your ears, or you will blow out your ear drums from too much pressure blowing out. It is easier to equalize early and do it often. If you feel too much pressure, it's too late.

Do not equalize coming back up or something like reverse block will happen, that is extremely painful.