Equalizing your ears is a crucial skill to have especially for people who regularly do activities such as flying, scuba diving or even going in elevation. You will feel uncomfort and pain when the pressure in your ears becomes unbalanced. Luckily, they are many methods to equalize your ears and relief this pressure. 

In our article, we will discuss 6 effective methods to equalize your ears and prevent discomfort. If you are interested in this subject keep reading.

Methods to Equalize Your Ear

Methods to equalize your ears include simple ways to open the lower ends of Eustachian tubes to enable air to enter. Here you are 6 of them:

• Valsalva Maneuver- pinch your nose and blow.
• Passive Method- which requires no effort.
• Voluntary Tubal Opening Method- tense the throat while pushing the jaw forward.
• Toynbee Maneuver Method- pinch the Nose and Swallow.
• Lowery Technique Method- pinch the nose, then blow and swallow.
• Edmonds Technique Method- pinch the nose and blow while pushing the jaw forward.

Valsalva Maneuver- Pinch Your Nose and Blow

This method is the most popular technique among divers. Do it by pinching your nostrils or just close them against the skirt of your mask, then blow through your nose. The overpressure that resulted in your throat will force air up your Eustachian tubes.

But unfortunately, the Valsalva maneuver method has three problems:

• This technique doesn’t activate the muscles that are responsible for opening the Eustachian tubes, so it may not work if the pressure differential locked them.
• If you blow hard you may damage something.
• If you blow against a blocked nose, that may raise your internal fluid pressure including that of your inner ear, leading to rupture of your round windows so you mustn’t blow too hard or maintain pressure for more than five seconds.

The various methods of equalizing including swallowing are considered ways of opening the closed Eustachian tubes by reducing the pressure differential between both the outer and the inner ear. The safest methods of clearing open the tubes by utilizing the muscles of the throat.

Unfortunately, the valsalva maneuver method that is most popular among divers doesn’t activate these muscles but it works on forcing air from the throat into the Eustachian tubes.

That is considered fine as long as the scuba diver opens the tubes ahead of the exterior pressure changes. But if the diver doesn’t do equalization early enough, the pressure differential will close the ends of the Eustachian tubes by forcing the soft tissues together.

After closing Eustachian tubes, no air can get to the middle ears, in turn no equalization occurs, as a result of that Barotroma results. And if you are blowing too hard during Valsalva maneuver, this can lead to rapturing the oval and round windows of the inner ear.

Passive Method- Which Requires No Effort

Scuba divers use this method during their ascents.

Voluntary Tubal Opening Method- Tense the Throat While Pushing the Jaw Forward

Doing this method requires tensing the muscles of your throat and soft palate while you push your jaw forward and down as you do when you start to yawn. These muscles make the Eustachian tubes open by pulling them.

You must practice this method many times until you master it, however some scuba divers learn to control these muscles and can hold the Eustachian tubes open for continuous equalization.

Toynbee Maneuver Method- Pinch the Nose and Swallow

Pinch your nostrils or block them against the skirt of your mask, then swallow. Second tubes will be opened on swallowing while you move your tongue, closing your nose and compresses air against them.

Frenzel Maneuver method- Pinch the Nose, Then Make the Sound of the “K” Letter

Close both your nostrils and the back of your throat as if you strain to lift a weight. After that, make the sound of “K” letter. This will force the back of the tongue upward and in turn compress air against your Eustachian tubes’ openings.

Lowery Technique Method- Pinch the Nose, Then Blow and Swallow

In this method, you combine both Valsalva and Toynbee techniques: blow and swallow at the same time while you close your nostrils.

Edmonds Technique Method- Pinch the Nose and Blow While pushing the Jaw Forward

Do a Valsalva maneuver technique while you tense the soft palate of the back of your mouth’s roof and the muscles of your throat while you push your jaw forward and down.