Equalization Head down

[Apnea_Addict]

Hi Simo,

sounds good the idea with the pond - we have one with rope and buoy permanently installed. The rope goes down to and one diving bell that was used for training by police divers.

Holger

[trux]

Originally Posted by Apnea_Addict

... The rope goes down to and one diving bell that was used for training by police divers.

Just a word of caution: be sure to never enter the diving bell if it was not previously "washed" with clean air from a diving bottle or compressor! If not used, the bell captures toxic gases escaping from the pond/lake bottom and can kill you easier than you think. Three guys died in this way in a quarry where I did my scuba exams (though the exams were more 20 years ago, the accident is more recent - some 12 year ago, I think), and in the bell I knew well too. It was a training for novice divers - two of them were sent underwater in a quarry normally used for military and police training. They entered the diving bell and removed their regulators. When the instructor went to join or search them, he found them already dead. He then removed his regulator too - most his buddies suppose he did it voluntarily because he could not bear that the two boys died because he did not instruct them not to go to the bell, or that he did not purge it with clean air beforehand (I do not know if the diving bell visit was planned or not though).

[Apnea_Addict]

Hi Trux,

sad story - this can not happen at the place I was talking about, because the diving bell was set up in a way that it has got an opening at the very top. So I order to use it you need to plug that hole and then some air to force the water out. But if the hole is not plugged, no gases are going to accumulate under the bell.

Holger

[trux]

Originally Posted by Apnea_Addict

sad story - this can not happen at the place I was talking about, because the diving bell was set up in a way that it has got an opening at the very top. So I order to use it you need to plug that hole and then some air to force the water out. But if the hole is not plugged, no gases are going to accumulate under the bell.

Yes, that's the usual way, and it was supposed to be so there, too. However, someone simply did not open the bell after using it, and that's the way it happened. The instructor simply supposed the bell is open as it should be (hence without any air), did not go down to verify it, did not take a bottle to fill or purge it, and did not instruct the novices not to enter the bell, or at least not to remove masks and regulators. Such accident can happen easily with a diving bell if people using it are not fully aware of the seriousness of the risk, and do not double and triple check its security.

[oferdegi]

A very simple trick I do on land, just playing around with all this now, is first to equalize standing upright, and then, after I "get it going", to bend over with my head between my legs and try it there - that is sort of upside down, isn't it?

To make it all easier, I try to combine the Frenzel with a BTV - "move my ears" to product this sound in my tubes, and "yawn" too, just when I apply the pressure (I'm trying to develop as gentle an equalizing technique as possible, for the future of my poor ears).

BTW, I accidentally taught myself to yawn at will - I can now go into an endless series of yawns at any time. Other than being useful to get myself sleepy and use whatever sleep I can get whenever I can get it, I don't really know what it's good for. Any ideas?
Ofer

[Roan]

move your head around so that your neck and sinus's find their "right" position. sometimes your jamming your neck, move it (your head) around on the way down.

[Apnea_Addict]

I was at the pool today - trying it out again.

It seems that I need to start to equalize right away because if I am later - the ears are jammed.

I tried turning at depth and I could feel it get harder at the moment when I was upside down (the pool is 5 metres deep).

I was trying to use a little neckweight, that made sinking at lot easier. If I try dive on a full inhale I have force myself underwater as I seem to float then.

Holger

[daiquiri]

I found an incredibly easy trick to check whether you're doing frenzel or vassilva - in fact, it's so easy I suspect I may be wrong, because it's strange nobody has mentioned it before (or at least I haven't seen anybody writing about this. So you advanced guys out there please check if I'm correct.
What I do is the following - I relax my abs completely, and I put my hand on my belly, or even better, push my ab muscles a little with my fingers to feel them relaxed, and feel if they contract. When I do vassilva, I MUST contract them which I feel at once with my hands, it's so obvious you can't make a mistake. I'm unable to do vassilva without contracting my abs, I can't push strong enough the air from my lungs to pop open my eustachian tubes without contracting those muscles. But, if I do frenzel, I can do it without the least bit of ab contraction, they stay completely relaxed.
So what do you think? Perhaps it works only for those who have tight eustasian tubes - while others can push the air in without contracting the abs? I don't know. Some feedback would be appreciated.

[matrixed82]

daiquiri,
In the performance freediving clinic they made us do that exact procedure to check if we were doing vaslava or frenzel. We also put one hand on the throat, the other on the belly. If you're doing the frenzel you should only feel your neck moving, not your belly. I spent all this time trying to learn the frenzel but I was doing it all along .

[Apnea_Addict]

And what did the PFI people say what you are supposed to do if you can feel yourself doing just the valsava - or seemingly both at the same time ?

Holger

[daiquiri]

Originally Posted by matrixed82

daiquiri,
In the performance freediving clinic they made us do that exact procedure to check if we were doing vaslava or frenzel.

I knew there's nothing new under the sun (although I secretly hoped I invented a new method Anyway at least I'm proud I figured out something myself that PFI is actually teaching on their clinics. And now I can be 100% certain I'm doing the frenzel Thanks for the info.

[DiverTodd]

After reading a very technical and rather intimidating method, I read this technique for doing the Frenzel, and it made it VERY easy for me:

1. Puff a bit of air into your mouth
2. Close your throat (as if you're about to lift something heavy). If the Adam's Apple moves up, you're doing it.
3. Pinch nose
4. Place tounge on roof of mouth, and try to make a "k" or "guh" sound. This provides the proper "piston" action of the tounge.

I've tried this, even on empty lungs, and it WORKS! Last night, I had my first REAL freedives...on my 3rd attempt I got to 34' ! AND all of this in a cold Ohio quarry! I gotta tell ya, at almost 8pm, it was pretty darn DARK at 34'....good thing my descent line was WHITE. (I can't wait to get my freediving wetsuit, though...my stupid 5mm one piece and hood is like wearing a full-body CORK). However, I gave in to nerves and was using the "fail safe" of Valsalva...as a result, my ears were hurting at depth. I still need more dives to really work on the Frenzel and VTO. The fact that I like/prefer going head down doesn't help, either! lol

Todd

[Apnea_Addict]

Hi Todd,

I just tried that in front of the bathroom mirror - with nobody else around.

Works fine - but I tend to forget how to do it once I am upside down in the water. Unlike you it is still something I not completely comfortable with - especially if I have to fight to stay down or go further down.

Holger

[matrixed82]

Originally Posted by Apnea_Addict

And what did the PFI people say what you are supposed to do if you can feel yourself doing just the valsava - or seemingly both at the same time ?

Holger

I think they gave you a 'homework assignment' to go through the Frenzel-Fattah document to learn the frenzel. They didn't put that much emphasis on it, if I recall correctly everyone in the small group (6 of us in total) was doing the frenzel.

[Apnea_Addict]

Last weekend it worked head down up to depth of about 30 feet - at that level we had the first thermocline which may have something to do with the troubles as well.

I was able to try out a monofin and use it for cw for the first time. Equalising seem to go a little easier or maybe it was just because I was concentrating on something else ?

Holger