Hey guys, I need some advice or input regarding my ears. Before July, I never had been deeper than 55ft (about 17m) so equalization was not a problem. I always seemed to have enough air. Now, after taking a DiveFIT course in July, my depths are increasing, but now I'm having a terrible time equalizing. The second day in class we did negative pressure dives to about 15-18 feet and I never had such pain in my ears. The following 2 days were painful,but with help from ibuprofen I managed to do a couple dives in the 80-90 ft. range. I thought that the inflammation in my ears was the reason I couldn't equalize any deeper, but now I'm convinced it is my technique. I've been on six boat trips with the Divefit gang since my class in late July, and although I've managed 100 feet and several mid-90 dives, the problem continues. I've studied the FrenzelFattah workshop and I can't seem to get my soft palate and epiglottis to work independently. The DiveFIT guys have given me great advice by telling me to pull up a big mouthful at 20m (66ft) and that is enough air to equalize for another 20m (66ft). The problem is, I can't manage to use that air to Frenzel. It either rushes back into my lungs when I try to equalize or I end up swallowing it. Last week, on my 100ft dive I swallowed two mouthfuls of air between 80-100 feet. This left me with even less air to equalize and a big burp on the surface. If anybody has any suggestions as to how I can learn to control my soft palate while keeping my epiglottis closed, I would greatly appreciate it. And gang, I know you have noticed that some of my posts are just an attempt at humor, I'm 100% serious on this one. Thanks in advance for your input. Tony
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