Can't Equalise When Freediving? 9 Common Reasons and Fixes
Why freedivers can't equalize ears past a few metres: nine common causes, from head position and late timing to congestion, and a practical fix for each.
If you can’t equalise when freediving, the cause is usually one of a handful of fixable things: using Valsalva head-down, equalising too late, descending too fast, lifting your chin, carrying tension, or a mask that gets in the way. Less often it is congestion or your own anatomy, which call for rest or an ENT rather than more effort. Work through the nine reasons below in order. Most divers find their culprit in the first five.
And if you arrived here after typing “can’t equalize ears” into your phone in the changing room, take a breath. Being stuck at 5 metres is one of the most common problems on beginner courses, and nearly everyone gets past it.
Technique problems
1. You are using Valsalva head-down
The Valsalva, pinching your nose and blowing, works well enough in an aeroplane seat. Head-down, with the lungs starting to compress, it often stops working. If equalising feels fine on land and fails the moment you go head-first, this is the first suspect.
A quick test at home: puff your cheeks, pinch your nose, close your throat and try to clear your ears using only that cheek air. If nothing happens, and you can only clear by pushing from your chest, you are a Valsalva diver.
Fix: learn the Frenzel, which uses your tongue instead of your chest. Our post on Valsalva vs Frenzel explains the difference and includes a four-week switching plan. Until then, descend feet-first.
2. You are equalising too late
When the pressure difference gets big, the soft tissue at the throat end of the Eustachian tube can get pressed shut, and pushing harder doesn’t open it. Many divers wait until they feel pressure before they equalise. By then an easy clear is often already gone.
Fix: equalise once at the surface just before you go down, then every metre or so in the first 10 metres, before you feel anything. Near the surface that can mean equalising on almost every kick. Pressure changes most in those first metres, so that is where you need to be busiest.
3. You are descending too fast
A strong duck dive plus a few big kicks can take you 3 or 4 metres in a couple of seconds. Your equalising can’t keep up.
Fix: slow down. Pull yourself down a line hand over hand, or go feet-first. Once equalising is reliable, bring the kicks back gently. Our guide to the duck dive covers how to start a descent without rocketing down.
Body position and tension
4. Your head is in the wrong place
Lifting your chin to look down the line stretches the front of the neck and tightens the throat. Tucking your chin hard into your chest isn’t much better. Both make the tubes harder to open.
Fix: keep your head neutral, in line with your spine, with your eyes looking roughly along your body rather than at the bottom. Our post on streamlining and head position has drills for finding it.
5. You are tense
A clenched jaw, a snorkel gripped in your teeth, raised shoulders, a nervous stomach. Tension in the jaw and neck works directly against the small muscles that open the tubes.
Fix: take the snorkel out of your mouth before you descend. During your breathe-up, run a quick check from forehead to jaw to shoulders and let each one go. On the descent, let your jaw hang slightly loose.
Mask and gear problems
6. Your mask makes pinching awkward
If you can’t reach your nose easily through the mask, the nose pocket is stiff, or pinching pushes the whole mask into your face, you end up pinching half-heartedly and leaking air through your nostrils.
Fix: choose a low-volume mask with a soft, easy-to-grip nose pocket, and practise pinching with it on at home. Our freediving mask guide covers fit.
7. You are forgetting to equalise the mask
Mask squeeze doesn’t block your Eustachian tubes directly, but it presses on your face, tugs at your eyes and makes you tense up. Divers concentrating hard on their ears often forget the mask completely.
Fix: every few ear equalisations, breathe a tiny puff of air out through your nose into the mask. It takes less air than you would think.
Your body on the day
8. You are congested
A cold, an allergy, dust, pollen, the office AC, Delhi’s winter air: anything that swells the lining of your nose and throat narrows the tube openings. What was easy last week becomes impossible.
Fix: don’t dive. Don’t force it, and don’t use medication to make a dive day happen. Our post on freediving with a cold explains why, including the risk of a reverse block on the way up.
Anatomy, and when to see an ENT
9. Your anatomy needs a closer look
Some people simply have narrower or less cooperative Eustachian tubes. A deviated septum, nasal polyps, enlarged adenoids, long-term sinus problems or old ear injuries can all make equalising harder on one or both sides.
Fix: if you have genuinely worked through reasons 1 to 8 and one ear still won’t clear, see an ENT. Tell them you freedive, which ear gets stuck, at what depth and in which position. They can examine your ears and nose properly and tell you what, if anything, can be done.
Safety: Never force an equalisation. If your ears hurt, stop and come up a little; if they still won’t clear, end the dive. Vertigo, ringing, muffled hearing or blood from the ear after a dive means no more diving and a prompt visit to a doctor. Our guide to ear pain after freediving covers the warning signs.
Quick diagnosis: match the symptom to the cause
| What happens | Most likely reason | First thing to try |
|---|---|---|
| Clears on land, fails head-first | Valsalva (1) or head position (4) | Feet-first descents; practise Frenzel |
| Clears at first, then suddenly won’t | Equalising too late (2) or too fast (3) | Equalise every metre from the surface |
| Fine some days, impossible on others | Congestion (8) | Rest; dive only when clear |
| Face feels pulled, eyes sore | Mask squeeze (7) | Small exhales into the mask |
| Jaw aches after a session | Tension (5) | Snorkel out, jaw loose |
| Same ear, every dive, from day one | Anatomy (9) | Book an ENT appointment |
Where to start on your next pool session
Pick one fix, not all nine. For most people it is the first two: switch to feet-first descents along the pool wall or ladder, and equalise once at the surface plus every metre on the way down. Keep the session short, stop at the first sign of discomfort, and note in your log which ear was slower and when.
Expect the first descent or two of any session to be the stiffest. Many divers find their tubes loosen up after a few easy, shallow warm-up dives, so don’t judge the whole day on dive one, and don’t try your deepest descent first.
The freediving.in community for Indian freedivers is coming soon, so stay tuned.
Frequently asked questions
Why can I equalise one ear but not the other?
Your two Eustachian tubes are rarely identical, so one often opens more easily than the other. Tilting your head slightly, pushing your jaw forward or simply equalising earlier and more gently can help the slow side. If it is always the same ear, especially with pain or past ear problems, see an ENT, who can check for a deviated septum or swelling.
Is it normal for beginners to struggle with equalisation?
Very normal. Equalisation is one of the most common limits on beginner freediving courses, often more than breath-hold. Most people have only ever used Valsalva, and few have had to control their throat and tongue on purpose before. It usually improves with land drills, slower descents and a few relaxed sessions on a line.
Should I keep descending if my ears hurt?
No. Pain means the pressure difference is already too big. Stop, rise a metre or two until the pain eases, try one gentle equalisation, and end the dive if it still won't clear. Pushing on through ear pain is how eardrums get bruised or perforated, and an injured ear can keep you out of the water for weeks.
Can an ENT help with equalisation problems?
Yes. An ENT can examine your eardrums, nose and the back of your throat, and check for allergic swelling, polyps, a deviated septum or enlarged adenoids that make the tubes harder to open. They can also test how your middle ear handles pressure. Go with a clear description of which ear gets stuck, at what depth and in what position.
