Hi all. New to the forums here. Semi-experienced freediver - self-taught, mainly at Blue Springs in Orange City, FL. After watching someone blackout a few years ago (and not even knowing it was a risk) I figured I could use some more knowledge about the sport (especially considering the guy who BO'd had much more training and experience than me, but I was going as deep as him). I stumbled upon these forums and thought it would be a good place to ask this question. Another thread about different ways of equalizing made me think of it.
I have a really weird thing I can do with my ears, I've done it since I was little. I can easily equalize them hands-free (on the surface and in shallow water - but for the purposes of this post I'm referring to on the surface) by moving my jaw, my tongue, or by simply doing nothing (it seems that way at least, I can just will it to happen and hear a click in my ears and it feels like they fill with air, with no other body parts moving). I don't know from a technical, biological standpoint exactly what happens when you equalize, but it feels like I move a flap inside my ear and it fills with air. I can keep that flap open for as long as I want, and I suspect most of you can do the same thing - hold your nose, blow, and keep that "blow pressure" and you'll feel like the flap is "staying open". Hopefully this makes sense. When the flaps are open and the airs are full of air, all sounds are perceived louder by my eardrums. When I was little I would sit at my desk in school and fill my ears with air and hum to myself (keeping the flaps open, hands-free). I could hum so quietly that no one near my could hear it, but inside my head it was super loud and buzzing.
Ok, so here's the weird thing I can do. With no hands, I move the muscle that causes the "flap" to "open". Then, while holding it open, I breathe in very quickly through my nose. It feels as if the flaps are now inverted. I'm exerting no effort through any muscles (no longer trying to hold the flap any which-way) but the ears feel a weird tightness in them (the opposite of when you clear them) and I can leave it like this for minutes or hours. All outside sounds are perceived QUIETER by my eardrums. I shit you not, I've actually used this at loud concerts or places where noise is getting on my nerves, as a sort of makeshift earplug. When I want to return my "ear valves" to their normal status I simply do a hands-free clear. It's not comfortable to do for too long though and when I clear the pressure it's a huge relief.
Is there anyone else that can "turn their flap inside out", for lack of better vocabulary? I explained this to a vocal instructor once who knows a lot about how all those passageways work and she understood me perfectly but was shocked and said she had never heard of it. I've asked friends and they can't do it either. Am I really that unique?
I have a really weird thing I can do with my ears, I've done it since I was little. I can easily equalize them hands-free (on the surface and in shallow water - but for the purposes of this post I'm referring to on the surface) by moving my jaw, my tongue, or by simply doing nothing (it seems that way at least, I can just will it to happen and hear a click in my ears and it feels like they fill with air, with no other body parts moving). I don't know from a technical, biological standpoint exactly what happens when you equalize, but it feels like I move a flap inside my ear and it fills with air. I can keep that flap open for as long as I want, and I suspect most of you can do the same thing - hold your nose, blow, and keep that "blow pressure" and you'll feel like the flap is "staying open". Hopefully this makes sense. When the flaps are open and the airs are full of air, all sounds are perceived louder by my eardrums. When I was little I would sit at my desk in school and fill my ears with air and hum to myself (keeping the flaps open, hands-free). I could hum so quietly that no one near my could hear it, but inside my head it was super loud and buzzing.
Ok, so here's the weird thing I can do. With no hands, I move the muscle that causes the "flap" to "open". Then, while holding it open, I breathe in very quickly through my nose. It feels as if the flaps are now inverted. I'm exerting no effort through any muscles (no longer trying to hold the flap any which-way) but the ears feel a weird tightness in them (the opposite of when you clear them) and I can leave it like this for minutes or hours. All outside sounds are perceived QUIETER by my eardrums. I shit you not, I've actually used this at loud concerts or places where noise is getting on my nerves, as a sort of makeshift earplug. When I want to return my "ear valves" to their normal status I simply do a hands-free clear. It's not comfortable to do for too long though and when I clear the pressure it's a huge relief.
Is there anyone else that can "turn their flap inside out", for lack of better vocabulary? I explained this to a vocal instructor once who knows a lot about how all those passageways work and she understood me perfectly but was shocked and said she had never heard of it. I've asked friends and they can't do it either. Am I really that unique?
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