Talk:Ear clearing

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There is a lack of reference to voluntary opening of the eustachian tubes as a method of ear clearing. I append the following based on the article on French Wikipedia as a possible addition. Peter (Southwood) ^(talk): 17:33, 1 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Voluntary opening of the eustachian tubes

Voluntary opening of the tubes (French: béance tubaire volontaire (BTV) ) is a method of equalising or clearing the ears described by doctor Georges Delonca and used in scuba diving and freediving. It aims to rebalance the pressure between the external ear and middle ear.

the subject must either exercise a voluntary control of the muscles opening the eustachian tubes, or move the jaw to open the tubes when necessary.

This is less easy to execute than the Valsalva maneuver, but the BTV is the gentlest method to clear the ears ^[1]. However, not all divers can perform this manoeuvre. It may be necessary to engage in ear training exercises to re-educate the muscles to perform this manoeuvre.

Notes and references

^ Sports Medicine, Boulevard Saint Marcel, Paris. See Gymnastique de la trompe d'Eustache

French article

I'm not sure the French article is referring to anything different from this article. The source at http://apnee.ffessm.fr/Apnee/compensation.htm describing use of the tongue and soft palate is interesting, but more for the training aspect than for the techniques. Since the tongue exercises seem to reflect the Frenzel maneuver and the soft palate exercises involve swallowing (also used in Toynbee maneuver), I'd tend to see BTV as an alternate view, rather than an addition to our current article.

I do think that we could add something about the training though. I'll add a paragraph to the article - feel free to alter or expand it until we can get it right. --RexxS (talk) 18:28, 1 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I can assure you that BTV is most definitely not the same as the Frenzel maneuver, nor the Toynbee maneuver, nor any of the other methods in the article. I know this from personal experience since I use BTV when I dive, and it requires no action except the use of the muscles that open the Eustachian tubes. They can be held open for a period of minutes if I try, and I have held them open uninterruptedly for the period required to take a hyperbaric chamber down to 6 bar as fast as it can be pressurised (abour 2 minutes). Once the technique has been mastered, no jaw movement or tongue movement or swallowing is necessary. Cheers, Peter (Southwood) ^(talk): 18:10, 28 July 2011 (UTC)[reply]

References

I've just restored the article to the version prior to the removal of several sources. I disagree with removing those citations for three reasons:

Ear clearing is a topic affecting more than just diving and sources referring to mine working, etc. are necessary;
It is never a good idea to remove a top-quality source such as Bennett & Elliott, leaving only a self-published source such as Kay;
Even if the given sources are more than enough to verify the content, this is not a featured article and can be much expanded and improved. Having sources already in place gives a good starting point for any editor wishing to work on this article.

Please discuss before removing further references. --RexxS (talk) 16:24, 20 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Reader feedback: Someone needs to discuss the...

76.30.171.224 posted this comment on 27 October 2013 (view all feedback).

Someone needs to discuss the role of nasal decongestants in scuba diving. I used to try 'Sudafed' in the 1990's and then I think I remember DAN approving Afrin. I am pleased to report that I was able to clear my ears without drugs on my most recent dive! It is also very important to clear early and often ... starting as early as 2 feet under the surface. Never wait until pain sets in to start clearing the ears.

Good point about decongestants. Any thoughts?

• • • Peter (Southwood) ^(talk): 11:18, 9 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

B-Class review

B	The article is suitably referenced, with inline citations. It has reliable sources, and any important or controversial material which is likely to be challenged is cited. Any format of inline citation is acceptable: the use of <ref> tags and citation templates such as `{{cite web}}` is optional. Fairly well referenced. Y The article reasonably covers the topic, and does not contain obvious omissions or inaccuracies. It contains a large proportion of the material necessary for an A-Class article, although some sections may need expansion, and some less important topics may be missing. Looks reasonable as far as I can tell. Y The article has a defined structure. Content should be organized into groups of related material, including a lead section and all the sections that can reasonably be included in an article of its kind. Looks reasonable as far as I can tell. Y The article is reasonably well-written. The prose contains no major grammatical errors and flows sensibly, but it does not need to be "brilliant". The Manual of Style does not need to be followed rigorously. Looks OK Y The article contains supporting materials where appropriate. Illustrations are encouraged, though not required. Diagrams and an infobox etc. should be included where they are relevant and useful to the content. ~~Some diagrams showing the middle ear would help and are normally found in articles on this subject.~~Added a sectional diagram of the ear. Y The article presents its content in an appropriately understandable way. It is written with as broad an audience in mind as possible. Although Wikipedia is more than just a general encyclopedia, the article should not assume unnecessary technical background and technical terms should be explained or avoided where possible. Looks OKY

~~Holding out for some diagrams.~~ Promoting to B. However, if a better description of the Frenzel maneuver could be found it would significantly improve the article • • • Peter (Southwood) ^(talk): 19:21, 11 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]

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[1] Sports Medicine, Boulevard Saint Marcel, Paris. See Gymnastique de la trompe d'Eustache

[1]