Ian Moore – Popped eardrums at SETT

you get a clip that you put on your nose which is really, really tight, but needs to be, and then as the pressure is coming on, so you grab hold of the clip and you actually keep on blowing … as though you’re trying to blow your nose, and every time you try and blow your nose, it pops your ears.

And you keep on doing that and then if you do have a problem, you just raise your hand and they’ll stop what they’re doing and either clear your ears of if you can’t, then off you go to the Sick Bay, see if you can clear your ears out there and do whatever you need to do, and you might have to come back later and requalify, for whatever reason.

Either that or you get a burst eardrum, one of them. I’ve known people, one or two, they knew that if they didn’t qualify, that they could be taken off the submarine until they do qualify.

That’s what it used to be like. You had to qualify, you had to go through the Tank, and if you couldn’t, then you were removed until such time as you could.

I knew a couple of guys, they actually allowed themselves to get a burst eardrum rather than be sent away to come back another day.

Tried to clear their ears couldn’t do it, couldn’t do it, couldn’t do it, keep on trying, keep on trying. It got to a point where their ear just popped.