Skydiving is an amazing venture. Indeed! It’s new, it’s joyful and it’s full of unique senses that you’ve never felt before – and might never feel again (unless you decide to jump some more afterward). How do I stop my ears from popping when skydiving? Let’s dive in!
One of the sensations is that of air pressure. See, anyone who’s flown in a commercial aircraft earlier will understand that the changing air pressure as you go up and come down can seem like your ears are popping. Yet, is that the same when you’re skydiving?
How do I stop my ears from popping when skydiving? Equalizing your ears suggests firmly blowing out your nose while holding the nostrils protected. You can even try to swallow while you are gradually blowing into your nose. This adjusts the air pressure in your ears to match the surface area, making you more relaxed again.
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The Science of Ear Popping
To comprehend if skydiving damages your ears or if you will sense ear pain after skydiving, let’s chat a bit about science. Foremost, the pressure shift, named barotrauma, is the feeling you get when your ears feel blocked or plugged. Air is naturally entangled in our middle ear.
To balance the pressure, the air is passed through the center ear to the throat via the Eustachian tubes – thus the “popping” of the ears. Notably, our ears, noses, and throats are all linked, this clarifies why things like yawning or chewing gum can help unclog your ears.
Tip: Have you ever been wondering if you can wakesurf with a wakeskate? It is possible and perhaps you should learn more about that!
Does Skydiving Cause Ear Pain
Here’s the thing about skydiving ear discomfort. If you have a cold or some type of allergies it is advisable not to skydive. Why? Well, this will induce ear pain while skydiving. The intense pressure differences are intense and can induce injury and sometimes, enduring damage.
Since we’re being very careful with COVID-19, we will have to inform those healing from any conditions to reschedule for another day.
What Should You Wear to Protect Your Ears When You Skydive?
Tandem skydiving learners usually find it useful to get a pair of earplugs to the dropzone. If you’re tense that earplugs will numb the occasion, don’t.
Wearing earplugs on a skydive will solely make the adventure more satisfying and enjoyable, by all means.
Tips on Clearing Your Ears Skydiving
Ok, now we know what generates ear discomfort from the pressure. Yet, if you’re healthy, often you will not feel ear pain while skydiving. Still, even with healthy ears, we are bargaining with altitude differences that generate pressure in our ears. So below are some tips to unplug your ears for skydiving.
Tip: The skydiving center will more often than not provide you with the right skydiving equipment.
#1 Unplug Your Ears By
- Yawning
- Swallowing
- Holding the nose while shutting your mouth
- Opening your mouth broad and force your jaw side to side
#2 Unplug Your Ears on the Ride up to Jump Altitude
Climbing into the skies is like riding a car up in the mountains. Clearing your ears will help you adjust and be all prepared for freefall.
Tip: Have you tried surfing yet? Be conscious of the truth that it is not safe to surf in a thunderstorm.
#3 Unplug Your Ears When the Parachute Opens
This is similar to when free divers dive into the ocean and unplug their ears to keep equilibrium. Occasionally it’s a bit overwhelming to retain the wonderful skydive. Thus, if you don’t clear them in freefall, then surely unplug your ears when things settle down when the parachute opens.
If you have sensitive ears or are inclined to allergies, you might want to talk to a doctor before skydiving. Understanding these things on time will help us better get ready and keep each other safe.
Freezing While Skydiving?
Perhaps you believe you’re going to freeze? Or that you will encounter a panic attack or an episode of hysteria. Anyone who has ever mourned from anxiety or panic episodes knows how tough it is to breathe in those times.
What’s more, don’t you worry about anything! You may feel the pressure at the beginning. Still, you likely won’t panic or be terrified if you’re averagely brave like most individuals are. That really is the truth, by all means. Yet, you may be thinking about how to be sure in that statement?
When you look from the open door of an airplane at 15,000’feet above the foundation, up in the sky, the terrain below looks very unlike what it does from a ridge or skyscraper.
In fact, it presents the Google Earth map. This is why you won’t be spooked and you will not panic. Regardless, you’re going to have mixed-up feelings. Surely, you will feel nervous while putting on your gear and going into the plane. You will overcome this in a minute or a few more, so don’t bother.
If you do a bit of research on the web about other people’s adventures, as most do, you will see that they are mostly favorable. So be courageous and confront your fears, it will be worth it.
Note: It might sound a bit bizarre, but with a sound tool for this, you are able to take your phone skydiving. There is a tool that makes this whole process a lot easier.
How to Properly Breathe While Skydiving
It’s oftentimes thought that you can’t breathe or open your mouth during a skydive, but this is false. You can breathe while skydiving. The point is to de-stress, breathe in using your nose, and breathe out through your mouth. It’s simple as that!
Your breathing relies primarily on the height from which you will jump. The loftier the altitude you are at, the thinner the air and the more demanding it is for you to breathe.
Now, let’s concentrate more on the strategy of breathing itself. When hopping from either height, use the following tips:
- While being in the aircraft, breathe slowly and undisturbed, through your nose and out through your mouth. This will confirm that you have the fitting amount of oxygen to remain focused and calm.
- Take a deep whiff before you leave the aircraft. It is really advisable that you yell. If you have a problem breathing during freefall, yell one more time! This approach is very practical. After all, you will witness for yourself.
- Try to hold your head up and your eyes on the horizon to help the air tumble around you instead of having it flow into your nose and mouth.
Should You Be Scared of Skydiving?
So, what does skydiving sound like? You may be pondering if skydiving is dangerous or scary. Truth be told, it kind of is. If it wasn’t really scary, it wouldn’t be nearly as stimulating. The big victories usually arrive from fronting something that disturbs us and then working through it until we see the victory.
This is true empowerment, for certain. It’s vitally important to adopt the fear, oppose it and eventually breathe through it. This technique is a splendid metaphor for executing anything in life!
The hard part about skydiving is truthfully the fear of the unknown and not the act of skydiving. This indeed goes without saying! The mental challenges of preparing to leave the airplane are where fear lives, but strolling through the door and bouncing into free fall is a delight!
Many would tell it’s even healing! In skydiving, as always, we must estimate risk and reward. Notably, the rewards of skydiving are amazing!
Should I Skydive if I Have Acrophobia?
There is an inaccurate belief that you can’t skydive if you are afraid of heights. Yet, admittedly, fear of heights or acrophobia isn’t so critical for a skydive.
You may think that is not true, but it truly is. It may stun you that standing on a ladder will unfailingly feel more unsafe than being at the exit of an airplane. It may likewise stun you that skydiving will do nothing to instantly fix your acrophobia–though it will help you to address all types of fears, albeit for a systemic reason.
If you have been pondering if your acrophobia can block you from carrying that jump, try not to stress too much. The fear of heights can be a fact. Nonetheless, it does not limit or impact the chance of skydiving. The dread itself is more prominent while being on a ladder, though.
Note: A sound night’s sleep is essential for your exhilarating skydiving venture, by all means. It will decrease your fear and anxiety letting you relish this remarkable adventure.
How to Fight the Acrophobia?
There’s only one reason for this, yet it’s frankly demanding. So, mind these essential measures. Manage all of your fears first. For the prevalence of skydivers, dread of heights is not as enormous of a skydiving siege as the beat when you discern claustrophobia.
Firstly, regard being positive and train being in that locked airplane for a few moments. Henceforth, understand that fear is a useful thing, in fact. It holds your balance and stops you from anything outlandish. Think of your fear as a tool to sustain you from harm on your first skydiving experience.
