Ear Pressure Issues

Goducks,

I tried getting something in the Valsalva thread, and have searched far and wide and read all the other pertinent threads, but I'm still not getting what I want so I'll try in a new thread...

I was recently on a chamber ride (ROTC) when I ran into some problems clearing my ears. Before the flight, the briefer was making sure we could all hear a "pop"when we performed the valsalva. I said I didn't, but I could feel some sort of pressure in my ears which was good enough for them (no sounds though). On the final descent I was having trouble clearing them, and the VS definitely didn't seem to be helping. Swallowing would relieve the pressure for a second, but it was still a struggle -- I ended up bruising my ear drums pretty nicely.

Since then, I have been trying my hardest to get that "pop" when I practice the VS, but it still is nothing more than some pressure (most of the time). If I plug my nose and swallow, I sometimes get a "poomf" and a little dampening of the sound and it all goes back to normal after a quick swallow or yawn... is this what I'm supposed to be getting when I VS?

I'm just a little nervous because I have my FC1 coming up, and I don't know if I can give the Doc what he wants when I'm asked to VS. On top of that, I never want to experience the amount of pain and near-rupture that I did on that descent again.

I've done a ton of reading up on the subject since then, but I don't seem to be getting anywhere with it, so and help and advice is greatly appreciated! I also read about the Ear Planes ear plugs that are supposed to help regulate the air pressure... any idea about these?

Like I said, any and all advice is welcome!

SDA