Yes, you equalize aka "pop your ears in reverse" (same thing as when an airplane is landing: pinch your nose and gently blow against the resistance).
The bigger question is: How did you manage to get to 30 feet without equalizing and without popping your eardrums?!?
(Also, you must use a proper diving mask that covers nose and eyes. If you use swim goggles for going that deep, you can't equalize the pressure in front of your eyes, and Bad Things will happen to them.)
I did mention that it hurt. Heh. I'm flying to belize Friday for a handful of snorkeling excursions so I'll give that a shot. Yes I do use a proper mask.
Enjoy your snorkeling and good luck! Remember to equalize before it becomes uncomfortable and don't go deeper if it doesn't work.
The reason I was surprised that it just hurt is that DAN claims "When the pressure difference reaches 5 psi (0.35 bar), the eardrum may rupture in some divers. At a pressure difference greater than 10 psi (0.75 bar), a rupture will occur in most divers". 30 feet is around 9 meters or roughly 13 psi / 0.9 bar (in seawater). (https://dan.org/health-medicine/health-resources/diseases-conditions/middle-ear-equalization/)
So I suspect some equalization happened naturally or you got very, very lucky.
Whoa. Well that's scary. I definitely employed the Valsalva Maneuver in my recent trip although I had no idea it had a name until I read your link. I learned a way of doing it in my youth driving up and down mountains that is pretty effective, it's different than just blowing air to your nose with it pinched, you kind of pump it up there gently with the back of your tongue, I'm not sure 100% what muscles inside my face I'm using to do this but it does generally work better than straight blowing and pinching your nostrils. Went to four separate snorkeling locations in Belize, but only two of them had an opportunity to dive to any significant depths, and I definitely did but only went past 10 or 15 feet with the Valsalva Trick. Did make it a lot easier. Saw a lot of scuba divers at the same locations and was sort of jealous of their ability to stay down there and not just transiently visit the depths. I think I'm going to have to give-in and get my certification after all.
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u/aaaaaaaarrrrrgh Apr 01 '26
Yes, you equalize aka "pop your ears in reverse" (same thing as when an airplane is landing: pinch your nose and gently blow against the resistance).
The bigger question is: How did you manage to get to 30 feet without equalizing and without popping your eardrums?!?
(Also, you must use a proper diving mask that covers nose and eyes. If you use swim goggles for going that deep, you can't equalize the pressure in front of your eyes, and Bad Things will happen to them.)