Opening the e-tubes?

[sai]

On thing that worked for me a few times is: fill your cheeks with air, open the e-tubes and close the epiglottis. Now put some pressure on your cheeks by trying to push the air down again. (of course that won't work because your epiglottis is closed)
I even managed to keep the tubes constantly open that way and never had any clicking sounds. That's a really cool feeling, because you don't feel at all that you're descending.

 

[RPGgrenade]

On thing that worked for me a few times is: fill your cheeks with air, open the e-tubes and close the epiglottis. Now put some pressure on your cheeks by trying to push the air down again. (of course that won't work because your epiglottis is closed)
I even managed to keep the tubes constantly open that way and never had any clicking sounds. That's a really cool feeling, because you don't feel at all that you're descending.

what do you do with the soft palette while doing this? with the thing i learned for myself i keep the soft palette open

 

[kingy killer]

this has happened to me before when i've forced eqing a bit.
i stuck my finger in my clear ear to build pressure in the trouble ear ,
just slowly increasing pressure an depth

 

[gwpcasey]

I know this has been dealt with elsewhere but I can't find it - can you give me a quick summary of what the deal is with the humming?

Thanks!

 

[Simos]

I know this has been dealt with elsewhere but I can't find it - can you give me a quick summary of what the deal is with the humming?

Thanks!

Humming while trying to open your e-tubes is a quick way to know if they're actually opening. If they are closed, the humming 'stays' in your mouth but the moment our e-tubes open you will hear it loudly in your ears

 

[gwpcasey]

Thanks Simos - do you experience it as a dramatic difference? Because I can hear a slight difference but nothing head-shattering.

(And it also depends whether I hum high or low - high notes will resonate in your head to a greater extent anyway, any suggestions on that?)

 

[sai]

It's pretty big difference for me. I can really feel it vibrating inside my head.
Try the lowest hum you can do, it works better with a low noise.

 

[azapa]

the ventilators in a server room seem to make the best tube-open-test sound for me

 

[Simos]

Thanks Simos - do you experience it as a dramatic difference? Because I can hear a slight difference but nothing head-shattering.

(And it also depends whether I hum high or low - high notes will resonate in your head to a greater extent anyway, any suggestions on that?)

Low pitch - makes a massive different to me. You'll know when it happens for sure.

 

[gwpcasey]

Okay then, thanks, I'll be trying some low hums when I next have a private moment. Or I might make my way to the server room...

(The reason I ask is that when I move my jaw and do the thing that feels like I'm opening my tubes, the nature of the ambient sound in the room changes, in the same way - but to a much lesser degree - as it would when I clear my ears on a plane; but humming doesn't change that much in volume or clarity but there is a change in the nature of the hum.)

 

[sai]

Seems like everyone has a server room here for e-tube exercises. I'm going to try it out tomorrow in our server room at work. :t

 

[azapa]

you are welcome to come to chile and try in mine!

 

[Simos]

the ventilators in a server room seem to make the best tube-open-test sound for me

Opening the e-tubes doesn't seem to make a difference to external sounds for me but guess I need to try a server room Simon lol

 

[gwpcasey]

So... I just went into the server room, stuck my head next to them and, sure enough, when I do my little trick with my jaw and my ears and all that, the noise goes from a low electrical hum to sounding like there is a gale force wind blowing into my ear (with the electrical hum remaining in the background and slightly amplified). Much more forceful in my right ear than my left though, which I notice seems to be the opposite of the anecdotal evidence I've read here about one ear being easier than the others.

I'll be flying early tomorrow morning so I'll have a chance to test if it works with that, otherwise I'll be back in the water on the weekend and we'll see if I'm achieving anything at all other than making funny faces.

 

[azapa]

Same here. Although it does not help me EQ. I think that flexing may just produce a physiological improvement in the ear canal (or wherever) that amplifies a particular sound. Maybe you will have more luck, try head up, very slowly down a rope, EQing every second.

Funny thing is that when I try this in the sea, head down (and not equing enough probably), I seem to end up with some partial reverse blocks that I must sort out on the way up to avoid sinus pain.

 

[Simos]

Same here. Although it does not help me EQ. I think that flexing may just produce a physiological improvement in the ear canal (or wherever) that amplifies a particular sound. Maybe you will have more luck, try head up, very slowly down a rope, EQing every second.

Funny thing is that when I try this in the sea, head down (and not equing enough probably), I seem to end up with some partial reverse blocks that I must sort out on the way up to avoid sinus pain.

Flexing and opening the e-tubes alone does not suffice in order to equalise, at least in my case. You need to time the opening with the pressurisation (frenzel) i.e. you open the e-tubes and the split second after pressurise using frenzel. You need to do this all the time (I probably do it a couple of times a second, at least at the beginning of the dive).

Also the one strange thing about yours and gwpcasey's is that when I open the e-tubes and equalise dry, the external sounds (at least in my case) become muffled, not louder.

Why don't you try the following - go into the server room and pinch your nose and equalise normally (and lightly!) using valsava (or frenzel). You should feel your e-tubes pressurised and just see how the outside noise changes. I think it will becomes less loud and muffled, a bit like you've gone a bit deaf.

Obviously you might not be able to pressurise this much if you are hands free but I think that's the effect you'd be looking for in terms of external sounds...

Disclaimer: I have not tried equalising like this deeper than 20m but at least up to that I didn't have any issues with reverse blocks etc. What depths give you the reverse blocks?

 

[azapa]

Well we are getting into details here, we both obviously have too much time on our hands (or our easily distracted from our day jobs),

when I eq (i am doing it now) dry, my tubes often stay open for a while, like now, since the start of this sentence (i type slow) they are open without me doing anything. I can here "server" sounds better when they are open, almost. To close them I sometimes must swallow.

I have done this in a steam room before (I seem to have lots of rooms at my disposal?!) and they stay open for 15 or so mins after EQing (again, without me doing anything). Last time I did this I ended up with some kind of infection, and have been weary to keep on playing. I am sure eternally open tubes would lead to worse infections again.

When I dive in the ocean, all of this goes to hell, but some strange thing works out. Bear in mind here that I have done tons of freediving and taught and seen many more freedivers. I still can't explain it though. Basically, I EQ on the surface, and feel nothing until about 5 or 6m deep. Often when I dive alot this extends to 12m or so. A 20m dive for example with take 3 eq's. This is not good, just how I have become as a lazy spearo. There are only two explanations here:
1. My drums have got used to it and are flexible and don't hurt
2. I do something else or hold something else open in between nose-pinch EQ's.

You can see some videos of me doing CNF dives (using hands to eq and swim) in which I can not be seen to equalize (but I definitely do) they are just few between, but not simple or soft.

In general, as everything, EQ improves slowly with time. I EQ when I burp (accidentally, of course), yawn, or blow my nose. My ears (de) equalize or pop when driving up with only 100m of difference. Basically, the whole deal starts to get more sensitized to the task and starts working better at it.

 

[Simos]

Well we are getting into details here, we both obviously have too much time on our hands (or our easily distracted from our day jobs),

when I eq (i am doing it now) dry, my tubes often stay open for a while, like now, since the start of this sentence (i type slow) they are open without me doing anything. I can here "server" sounds better when they are open, almost. To close them I sometimes must swallow.

I have done this in a steam room before (I seem to have lots of rooms at my disposal?!) and they stay open for 15 or so mins after EQing (again, without me doing anything). Last time I did this I ended up with some kind of infection, and have been weary to keep on playing. I am sure eternally open tubes would lead to worse infections again.

When I dive in the ocean, all of this goes to hell, but some strange thing works out. Bear in mind here that I have done tons of freediving and taught and seen many more freedivers. I still can't explain it though. Basically, I EQ on the surface, and feel nothing until about 5 or 6m deep. Often when I dive alot this extends to 12m or so. A 20m dive for example with take 3 eq's. This is not good, just how I have become as a lazy spearo. There are only two explanations here:
1. My drums have got used to it and are flexible and don't hurt
2. I do something else or hold something else open in between nose-pinch EQ's.

You can see some videos of me doing CNF dives (using hands to eq and swim) in which I can not be seen to equalize (but I definitely do) they are just few between, but not simple or soft.

In general, as everything, EQ improves slowly with time. I EQ when I burp (accidentally, of course), yawn, or blow my nose. My ears (de) equalize or pop when driving up with only 100m of difference. Basically, the whole deal starts to get more sensitized to the task and starts working better at it.

It's past midnight here so no server rooms around lol

My guess is that you are doing a bit of both - flexible ear drums + something in between, it could be that you also equalise your ears without realising when you equalise the mask.

Anyway the less EQ gets in the way of diving the better - don't think there right or wrong, if it works it works

Just be a bit careful when you blow your nose - the body usually should naturally do the opposite (ie close the e-tubes) to protect the ear drums (and probably pushing cr@p into the e-tubes) but since i started freediving it has happened to me that they stay open

 

[azapa]

you didn't mention the burp-eq, does that happen to you too?

 

[gwpcasey]

Flexing and opening the e-tubes alone does not suffice in order to equalise, at least in my case. You need to time the opening with the pressurisation (frenzel) i.e. you open the e-tubes and the split second after pressurise using frenzel. You need to do this all the time (I probably do it a couple of times a second, at least at the beginning of the dive).

Also the one strange thing about yours and gwpcasey's is that when I open the e-tubes and equalise dry, the external sounds (at least in my case) become muffled, not louder.

Why don't you try the following - go into the server room and pinch your nose and equalise normally (and lightly!) using valsava (or frenzel). You should feel your e-tubes pressurised and just see how the outside noise changes. I think it will becomes less loud and muffled, a bit like you've gone a bit deaf.

Obviously you might not be able to pressurise this much if you are hands free but I think that's the effect you'd be looking for in terms of external sounds...

Disclaimer: I have not tried equalising like this deeper than 20m but at least up to that I didn't have any issues with reverse blocks etc. What depths give you the reverse blocks?

I'm a bit confused about the technique here - you're saying that you open the tubes and then you use pressure, such as with Frenzel - to equalise. Do you mean that with the tubes open you don't need to pinch your nose in order to force air into the tubes? So, if you were dry and without a mask then would it also work? Or do you need the partial resistance that a mask (or water) offers against your nostrils in order for it to work?

Also, in terms of the external noises getting louder or muffled - if I Frenzel right now, then the noises definitely get muffled. But if I do it really, really lightly then the first effect, right as it feels like the tubes are opening, is the same as when I'm contorting my face to try and get them open hands-free.

However, one possible give away - I find it hard to hum and release the muscle I need to release in order to get that feeling: does anybody else have that difficulty?