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Trouble equalizing underwater

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WorldsBestGrandma

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Mar 13, 2014
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I have been working on my equalization since my last post. I have successfully learned VTO/BTV and today I finally got the hang of Frenzel. Ive been practicing equalizing all day long at work or wherever I am. I can do it 95% of the time out of water. I equalize hundreds of times a day. But, as soon as I get in the water, I can equalize my ears maybe 5% of the time. Even just floating on the surface. Its like my muscles in my ears tense up and wont let me equalize. Is there anything I can be doing to solve this problem? Has anyone else had this problem?
 
I have been working on my equalization since my last post. I have successfully learned VTO/BTV and today I finally got the hang of Frenzel. Ive been practicing equalizing all day long at work or wherever I am. I can do it 95% of the time out of water. I equalize hundreds of times a day. But, as soon as I get in the water, I can equalize my ears maybe 5% of the time. Even just floating on the surface. Its like my muscles in my ears tense up and wont let me equalize. Is there anything I can be doing to solve this problem? Has anyone else had this problem?


Hiya,

Why are you worrying about Frenzel when you are able to successfully equalize using BTV? For me BTV is the holy grail of "standard" equalization techniques and if you can do this successfully I wouldn't worry about anything else unless you want to go very deep.

Either way, for Frenzel you many want to have a look at:
Frenzel-Fattah Equalizing Workshop: Step-by-Step Guide to Optimal Equalizing for Freedivers and Scuba Divers by Eric Fattah.
This provides a good overview of the Frenzel technique.

Also, simple things you may try to get going is:
  • Equalize completely before you dive down.
  • Equalize regularly - once every -1m or so. Some people wait too long for the next equalization attempt and end up too deep where its then much more difficult to equalize.
  • Make sure you equalize completely. Both ears should give you a positive pop / click . If you don't do a proper full equalization then the next equalization will be more difficult.
  • If you find you reach a depth where you are unable to equalize any further with your head down turn around and try again with your head up.
  • And the most important thing, and the most difficult to initially get right is RELAX. Every singe aspect of freediving becomes more difficult if your body and mind is not in a relaxed state.
 
I was learning frensel so that I could do BTV without using any air from my lungs. Sorta combine the two. I have a feeling I'm not relaxing enough when I try to dive. I always feel like there is so much going on and i can never quite concentrate on equalizing. I'm definitely going to equalize at the surface and then head down. Hopefully Ill be able to work on it this weekend. Thanks for the advice!
 
A point can be a "wrong" position of the head -keep it in a horizontal postion instead of bending it. One is tempted to do so because we want to look towards the bottom, but this does not help equalizing (at least for some people like me...)
 
..... I wouldn't worry about anything else unless you want to go very deep.

Defining very deep: i do BTV until about 90m (where i have to switch to locks) and i'm quite sure there's still more possible. So: stick to that, if you can do it!

  • And the most important thing, and the most difficult to initially get right is RELAX. Every singe aspect of freediving becomes more difficult if your body and mind is not in a relaxed state.

If you're relaxed in your dive, you wouldn't need to turn around or anything. ;)


A point can be a "wrong" position of the head -keep it in a horizontal postion instead of bending it. One is tempted to do so because we want to look towards the bottom, but this does not help equalizing (at least for some people like me...)

Try to bend your head towards your chest. Makes equalization a lot easier. Anyway you should NEVER look down = stretch your neck. Additionally to trachea squeezes and such, it will stretch your tubes, making EQ a LOT harder...
 
Defining very deep: i do BTV until about 90m (where i have to switch to locks) and i'm quite sure there's still more possible. So: stick to that, if you can do it!

Yes, I suppose some perspective on depth should be given here. For me 90m is very deep, but I suppose for someone like Herbert Nitsch not so much.;)

I also agree on sticking to BTV. Even if you are initially not getting it right, BTV requires one to become intimately aware of your Eustachian tube, something that assisted me tremendously when practising other equalisation techniques.
 
By the way....fooling around with my monofin in the sea I noticed that equalizing is a bit easier...does the undulating movement help, perhaps shifting up and down the diaphragm ??
 
The diaphragm should not be part of the equalization process itself. That would mean that you are performing Valsalva and not Frenzel and this is something that you clearly should not do.
Why it is easier when monofinning could be due to several reasons. Psychological, i.e. you are focusing more on the movement and thus relaxing the rest of the body, which aids equalization, or due to different positioning, e.g. your head is tucked in more.
 
I have always been equalizing using Valsalva method (just learned the term). Dalon (http://www.spearboard.com/archive/index.php/t-161197.html) wrote about unintended BTV during cardio exercise. Suddenly I recalled that I also have had them during cardios.

So I googled ahead and found the BTV manual. I thought about doing the exercises for awhile to see what happens. After few times I can get a "crackling" sound out of my ears but cannot get them totally open. I think the sound is related, I can ease the pressure put in by Valsava by a few "cracklings" and my left ear is sometimes both "crackling" and "clicking". To do the sounds I do not actually have to move anything else than something inside my ears. I feel like I cannot hold the contraction needed to make the sounds.

The question for those who can perform the act is that should I carry on the exercise, which I found a bit cumbersome, as in manual or should I just continue to explore and make the sounds more forceful or long lasting?

Thanks!
 
I did BTV when I woke up the day after diving. I was very relaxed from just waking up and knew I knew how to do it. It was like relaxing, or opening something a bit back and a little up from the center of my head. My ears popped from the dive the other day, proving to me it is superior. I was so excited I ran down stairs to tell everyone about finding an invisible muscle inside my head that allows deep diving, "we must have started out as mer-people"! I'm having trouble finding a way to practice it, I need pressure so I know I did it and the pool here is only 15ft. it is difficult for me to focus on BTV while in the ocean.
Going from blowing to BTV will be a hellova upgrade! :D
 
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