BTV (hands free) dry tips and techniques please

[azapa]

I am desperate to learn and think i am getting there. I can sense the following:

I tighten the upper part of the back of throat, pulling it in and up, a little like the tight part of a yawn, and a sensation of "coolness" happens in my upper jaw as though a cooling of the inner part of my ear. As i relax this tightness (slowly) the sensation remains until finally I feel something "close".

I don't hear the cracking and popping of a forced EQ, and I assume i should not because BTV is about opening rather that pressurizing? Correct please if wrong?

I have tried in water, but very little happens, because I don't maintain, or go slow enough.

Questions when doing dry BTV:

- what do you hear or feel?
- look at yourself in the mirror, do you see anything change, adams apple, thoat, jaw?
- what was the "turning point" for you learning this, or could you always simply do it?
- in the water, is if sufficient to simply hold this muscle postion and let the mouth equalize the inner ear via the open tubes, or are you doing some movement to make that happen?
- what if any are the depths or conditions that BTV starts to fail?

I have downloaded and read all the tutorials BTW.

Thanks so much

[cdavis]

Hi azapa,


BTV means you can open the Eustachian tube valves more or less voluntarily, without frenzel or valsalva. They still "crack" when they open. Some lucky people have voluntary control over the two muscles that surround the valves, and can open them just like you move your fingers. Most folks find some other way, some other motion that pulls open the valves. You will have to find your own way on this one. Once you find it, practice will make it much easier.

BTV works great until you get close to negative pressure. Everybody's different, but for me, 60 is about it for pure BTV. Most of the time, I use a combination of BTV and Frenzel against the mask. It's still hands free, to about 80, but takes both techniques. After 80-90, I usually have to hold my nose and frenzel. Deepest I ever did hands free was 100.

In front of the mirror, all I can see on the outside is a very slight pulling in, directly below the ear and behind the turn of the jaw. Put my hand there and I can feel a muscle moving, but it feels deep below the surface and higher than it looks.

I could always do this, way before I could swim. I always had voluntary control over those two muscles. It was a great day (at about 7 years old) when I discovered that cracking my ears would allow me to get down to the bottom of the pool's deep end. Some divers seem to find those muscles eventually, others find some other combination of movements that accomplishes the same thing.

I normally equalize more or less continuously, crack, crack crack, all the way down. You can get the valves open and leave them open. I've played with it, but never used it extensively.

Hope that helps.


Connor

[trux]

There are couple of documents with instructions. Check them out here:
BTV @ APNEA.cz

Some info about BTV can be also found in some other documents about equalizing:
equalize @ APNEA.cz

[azapa]

thanks Connor, thats a great writeup, but you have told me I'm not really doing BTV, I hear NO crackling. Back to the drawing board. I must say though that playing with those muscle sets is an awareness thing that I may be improving on. I have met people who have taught themselves BTV so it must be possible. I love your being 7 years old description, lucky soul!

I'll have a look at your link Trux, thanks

PS. If anyone out there can do BTV and is Youtube conversant, it would be great to have a video of those moving bits doing their moving!

[fpernett]

Hi Simon
I'm one of the guys blessed by nature. I don't remember exactly when I learned BTV, but at 15 years old, I was diving that way. I have found that teaching this technique is very difficult. In front of the mirror I don't see any external movement, but with my mouth open, I can see that the soft palate and the uvula, move slightly upward while doing the BTV. You should hear some crackles in your ears while doing it.
When I'm going down I repeat the movement many times, and that had become a way to measure my depth and also for timing. I think that in the first 15 meters I make the movement every second.
I can go to 40 with normal BTV, but after that depht I need to do a mouthfill, pressurize the mouth and then do the BTV again. I can't say that works on 100% of my dives. The ears has to be perfect and require a lot of care to keep it working on a busy freediving season.

BTW, congratulations again

[azapa]

thanks frank, actually, you were the one I was thinking about when I wrote the thread. When I saw your CNF dives they looked so easy without breaking your stroke to grab you nose. lucky...................

a big hi to you and your family!

[salibandy]

I wonder for those of you who can do BTV, do you do it more frequently as compared to Frenzel or Valsalva? I seem to equalise more frequently when doing the BTV. I assume I'm just not equalising as 'completely' as when I do the Frenzel. Is there a way to make myself equalise more competely with BTV?

[Jonta]

I just tryed this. I almost do like a yawn but whit my mouth closed of course. I first hear som small crackling noices then a click first on my right ear then on my left do you think i might be doing right. This was dry and i will try it wet next time i get a chance.

[naiad]

Originally Posted by azapa

Questions when doing dry BTV:

- what do you hear or feel?
- look at yourself in the mirror, do you see anything change, adams apple, thoat, jaw?
- what was the "turning point" for you learning this, or could you always simply do it?
- in the water, is if sufficient to simply hold this muscle postion and let the mouth equalize the inner ear via the open tubes, or are you doing some movement to make that happen?
- what if any are the depths or conditions that BTV starts to fail?

- I hear a 'crackle' followed by the sort of 'roaring' sound as if yawning.
- The adams apple moves down, and sometimes the jaw opens just slightly.
- I taught myself BTV, I will explain when I have more time to post.
- In the water it is the same, I try to hold the muscle position.
- I can only do it in very shallow water (up to 2m) for some reason.

[azapa]

wow Lucia, please tell us how you managed. did you set about to learn or were you just "gurning" as I seem to do in the hope that something cool happens...


Jonta, sounds like you have it made. Does it work in the water too?

More tips please from the able.

[ILDiver]

I've been following this thread, I too am looking to pick up this skill. I can get my ears to crackle, but not every time. Underwater though...I tried it in the pool and could not clear.

My question is, once I hear the crackle is that followed by a frenzel? I follow up on Trux's link too.

[azapa]

Hey Chris,

As you read, I can't do it either, but I think I can answer your question: BTV does not use pressurization like Frenzel. It simply opens tubes and allows your ears to be at the same pressure as your mouth/throat cavities. Hi pressure > low pressure areas until they equal.

[cdavis]

The frenzel/btv combination is very effective. Your mask provides a bit of backpreasure against which you can frenzel without holding your nose. If you can get your tubes to open with btv, use frenzel to increase the air pressure in your throat and force air into the open tubes. Alternately, doing a poor or "almost' btv makes it much easier to force the valves open with a minimal frenzel. Works good either way.

Connor

[azapa]

I stand corrected Connor! There are applications in which the combo seems useful.

Here attached is the original doc. I have. It is also linked elsewhere on DB. I found it here too. It looks very good, but most of the exercises will surely get you arrested if done in public some quite hurt.

[AlexF]

I can equalize my ears oppening the tubes with the muscles but only outside of the water. In the water this only works for me for one ear and if there isn't any pressure buildup. This technique works great for airplanes, high elevators, cars and so on, but still haven't found a good way to make it work while diving.

What I do is do a swallowing technique, even if I don't swallow any saliva, I do the same muscle movements and it works perfectly up to 37m. After that I have to use frenzel. If I allow too much pressure to build inside my tubes, the swallowing technique won't work fand I have to go to Frenzel.

I have no clue when I started doing this technique, but I believe it was when I was around 11 or 12. By 15, when I was scuba certified I could already do it. I haven't heard of anyone doing the same equalizing technique.