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Hands-free equalization

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
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Hi!
For several years I have been using ,what I found out reading posts here, is frenzel method for eq pressure. It worked so,so, since eq my left ear requires way more force and still I do not succed every time. I tried some swallow like movements with my tongue, same thing. And finally I experienced severe inflamation of ear (dg. otitis externa),stereo, a month ago, probbably combination of polluted sea and inabillity to equlise pressure properly.
Question is, where did you learn to implement all these different methods, could some scuba course help, since I only do spearfishing in apnea.
Would it be possible to do eq with some ear plugs?
Thanks in advance.
 
prle
I use BTV. I find out that it is easy for me. I use it till -20m. If you train your toungh muscle you can pull down the e-tube to eq the ears, hands -free: If you imagine which material where and what makes it works efficiantly, you can achive alone(doing daily practises)
Check this out for all techs;
1:The Simplest technique
2:The Valsalva Maneuver
3:The Frenzel Maneuver
4:The Toynbee Maneuver
5:Beance Tubaire Volontaire (BTV)
6:The Roydhouse Maneuver
7:The Edmonds Technique
8:The Lowry Technique
9:The Twitch
Above all are all techics for ear equalitation. Some works till -10, example tonybee
some works till -30,example BTV. If you wanna goo more deeper, for example -70, need to know frenzel fattah .

http://faculty.washington.edu/ekay/
my english is bla bla
 
Few of the common tips:
Equalize once at the surface before starting your descend.
Don't look down while diving - keep head position nuetral, 90degrees to your direction of movement (just take small glanses).
Equalize VERY frequently, and by very I mean even twice per meter or more (reduce frequency afterwards if that works).
If one ear is lagging (your right ear for example), tilt your head to the opposite side (left) when euqalizing, might help to make the air go inside.
Use the 'search' function and read tons of posts with euqalization tips as none of what I said is new and there are more around here.
Never push it, there's always the next dive!
 
Calling all equalization gurus!!!

Just a thing guys, when you are doing all the wonderfull hands free stuff and residual volume air shift etc

You have all got your neck nice and relaxed havent you? Looking around like a loon for fish will just make everything so much harder on you neck muscles and up you O2 burn anyway. Relaxation!!

I found that the more I learnt about freediving the harder it was to find the relaxation key to allow it all to work. You have ideas of graphs and blood o2 bonding structures cobined with anerobic resperation outputs etc.. Dont try to hard and remember your down there by choice for enjoyment and its a fantastic thing to do with 85 odd Kg of meat, bone and air spaces! Just get your head around the idea, relax and it will all flow.
 
Sedate and DeepThoght,
When practicing at home for example, should I feel that "pop" sound in my ears every time, after which it seems I can hear like a bat? Or just some pressure on my ear drums(I guess)?
And when you say tongue movement, is it like placing back of my tonge to soft palate?
Or mid-tongue to hard palate and pulling epiglotis up?
The thing is I don't no how it should feel like, when not actually diving.
 
Prle
pinch your noise and swallow, you will fell as a deaf because of the ear drum comes in.
To get it to the normal position, you have to open your mount as much as you can or try to yawn, it will come to the normal positıon.
If you manage using just the throat muscles to pull open the Eustachian tube to equalize Just using your tonge and pushing quickly quickly 4 or 5 times, pullıng the e-tube allows air to come into the middle ear. it will come to the normal positıon. If the midle ear air equal to the outer air, it is ok. it is easy but not easy to explain here more. I suggest you before learning equalization technics, work on the ear anotomy, it will be more and more helpfull. I hope you understand . be cool, relax and study
 
Last edited:
Reactions: Evita and Memo
Are there any diagrams etc. on hands free equalisation and exercise techniques?
 
find the fattah document... use the search function for something like "frenzel-fattah document" or something like that, it has some pretty good diagrams and explanations.
 
Polorutz said:
find the fattah document... use the search function for something like "frenzel-fattah document" or something like that, it has some pretty good diagrams and explanations.
Click to expand...

Also for hands free equalisation (BTV)??? Didn't realise Eric also covered that.
Somebody told be Martin Stepanak wrote a short document on hands free!!!

Thanx Polorutz
 
It's not that Eric's document covers BTV. It doesn't. It just has some good diagrams. As far as BTV goes, anatomical self-knowledge won't help a whole lot. It's a matter of muscular isolation and strengthening. Can you swallow? Do your ears pop when you do? Then you know the muscles... Now exercise them with every spare moment you have for the next several months and see how things are in the water after that.

Personally, as for exercises, I create a pressure differential by popping my tubes while doing a hard nasal inhale or exhale, and then practice 1) swallowing without releasing the pressure and 2) releasing the pressure by popping my tubes. I can do BTV well and still I will practice this hundreds of times on any given day.
 
Reactions: ishuyi
With isolation and training these particular muscles , awareness etc.... is it generally that the jaw is relaxed when doing BTV in the water???? Because I would imagine if it is tense it would cause tension in the neck etc. and greater consumption of Oxygen...???
 
I do BTV unhinging (sp?) my jaw and opening it a little bit in order to make it easier for the tubes to open... personally I use BTV in conjunction with frenzel due to the fact that I have narrow tubes and frenzel alone can't equalize for me. I need to do a little effort on BTV in order for the pressure to equalize.
 
I can only do BTV if I do it often - if I haven't done it for a while it becomes difficult or impossible. I think it's a matter of keeping the muscles trained.

Better get started for my trip to the SETT!
 
fabrice said:
BTV = Béance Tubaire Volontaire, the hand free equallization method described by Dr. Delonca.
You'll find more info at :this page

Fabrice
Click to expand...

Wow, I just want to say thanks for that great link, too! Being a long-time scuba diver, I'm used to doing the Valsalva (which isn't good for freediving, since you swallow the air!). I was having trouble getting the hang of the Frenzel (soft palate in neutral position...yeah, RIGHT!, air in mouth, tounge block, push air back with tounge, blah blah..all well and good, until my throat opens and "GULP", there goes my air, down my stomach! Seemingly NO ability to keep my eliglotis closed as I went through the movement). Then, I read the method for doing it on that link (closing the throat, pinching the nose, then trying to make a "guh" sound). As I did it, ALL the right motions happened, from the fleshy tissue of my nose moving, to my Adam's Apple raising...and my ears POPPED! I guess this form is VERY easy for me since, being a trained singer, I have FULL and easy control over my Adam's Apple (which, while singing, raises with high notes, and drops with low notes)...I can "bob" it up and down without effort! Hurray! Thanks again! Hmm, now if I can only get the hang of doing it while I'm swimming and coasting along the pool bottom, simulating a sink phase...

Todd
 
Reactions: ishuyi
Brilliant link and really helpful for hands free! Thanks everyone.....now to figure out how to stop all the funny looks from my work colleagues when practicing this at my desk!rofl or maybe its not the BTV:girlie

pelagicbeing
 
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