Article: A long and winding journey to become a troglodyte Part 1
- Thread starter The Chairman
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Thank you for the story. I had something very similar happen to me in a cave in Mexico. It was my 15th dive and I did not understand that I had to be vertical to equalize my ears. The divemaster emphasized that we should stay horizontal to avoid kicking up sediment. Anyway, he ended up panicking when I had trouble equalizing.
You don't have to be vertical to equalize . . . a good many of us are essentially NEVER vertical in the water.
Anyway, NetDoc, looking forward to future installments.
Anyway, NetDoc, looking forward to future installments.
It took me a few dives to figure out that I needed to have my ears above my heart to equalize. A great many people are like that. I don't think it has anything to do with technique, just how your ears are constructed.
:cool2:
:cool2:
braper
Registered
Great article thanks.
Why do the ears need to be above the heart? You're equalising air spaces, not preventing accumulation of bubbles in the bloodstream.
A friend (PADI DM) went diving in the Yucatan and left his wife on a beginner dive course with a dive school he thought he could trust. He was appalled later that day when they met up and he discovered she had been deep into a cenote on two of her OW course dives, exiting at a different point from the entry. There are some crass idiots teaching diving.
A friend (PADI DM) went diving in the Yucatan and left his wife on a beginner dive course with a dive school he thought he could trust. He was appalled later that day when they met up and he discovered she had been deep into a cenote on two of her OW course dives, exiting at a different point from the entry. There are some crass idiots teaching diving.
I respectfully disagree. Freedivers always (except for no-limits) dive head down. And they equalize with just one lungful of air. There are different techniques for equalizing, and the worst one (the Valsalva) is the one many beginning scuba divers use because, though it's the worst method, it's the easiest to learn. If that's what you are doing, then, yes, equalizing head down might be very hard. I find the Frenzel to work much better for me, and it works in any position and with limited air availability (freediving). With unlimited air (scuba diving) it is even easier. There are other methods as well, and a good instructor can teach them to you.
tyesai
Contributor
At least he was looking for you...
I've never had any problems equalizing in any position, including head down(which indeed I do anytime I freedive as well), and that's with the Valsalva, the Frenzel never really worked all that well for me.
