Originally Posted by alein
First I've got to say that I'm a big fan of sucking bottles. However, I would recommend that you perform this exercise in a seated position, especially if you plan on doing more than four bottles worth.
Now, I'd like to get back to "Ng", "Guh", and other nonsense syllables that seem to resemble the Frenzel. A few attempts with each has convinced me that they are quite close to what I do to equalize, albeit with a significant difference, namely, that they are formed from voiced consonants ng and g. Voiced consonants are what the name implies: consonant sounds that involve using your voice. So b, d, and g are voiced, for example, while p, t, and k are their unvoiced equivalents.
Now the problem with making such sounds in order to equalize is that they require an open air passage from the nose all the way to the lungs (try saying "ng" with a closed epiglotis). This is okay near the surface, but will make equalizing at depth quite difficult.
Alternatively, I would propose you make something like a palatal k sound (this is how I first got Frenzel to work). I call it a k because that is the closest sound I can think of, but it is a sound created using the soft palate instead of the glotis. The general idea is that air is forced against a weakly closed palate, and then the palate is released. It generates a sound which resembles something a chronically congested person might make while trying to displace mucous from his soft palate back into his nose (I once had a habit of doing this). The epiglotis is closed, and most of the pressure is generated by the throat, with some pressure generated by the tongue. This method is possibly too effective at pushing air into the nose (on land I usually feel I have overequalized by doing this), but once you have the feel of it, you can perform the same maneuver without the disturbing explosive sound.
Just as a general comment, I think a big difficulty in teaching equalization is that you can't really feel where the air is moving inside your head. So it's very difficult to tell whether or not you're actually accomplishing anything by making this or that ridiculous face. Instead, I think methods which attempt to reduce the technique to a familiar activity is much more effective, since it won't rely as heavily on "aerosomatic" feedback.
-Adam
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