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So it turns out that I have good enough breath hold time to pass FII Lvl 1. My problem was equalization! Even doing just only frenzel I had a problem with my left ear. I've always had the left equalize at a slightly different pressure than the right. Which is no problem with scuba because of such a slow decent compared to freediving. It seems like if I could just ignore the mask squeeze and focus entirely on my ears, it would be no problem. But what was happening was that when I went to equalize the mask, by the time that was done, I was too deep to equalize my ear again. Maybe I was just descending too fast, not sure. This is gonna take some practice! :) Although, I've never had my ears checked or cleaned. My instructor suggested that I get my ears checked out and cleaned. And quit smoking cigarettes, which I did! That should help, lol.
 
If you get your ears cleaned professionally, there are a bunch of techniques for "maintenance" cleanings that don't work as well for serious build-up but should help keep it off. And they're simple things, too. I'd google around if I were you. Just remember, too much of a good thing is still too much....that stuff's in there for a reason.
 
I never understood ear cleaning in relation to equalization, or the ear cleaning process. I would "think" that if the outer ear were so blocked that it interfered with equalization that hearing would also be badly compromised. Does cleaning do anything for the middle ear or Eustachian tubes?
 
I never understood ear cleaning in relation to equalization, or the ear cleaning process. I would "think" that if the outer ear were so blocked that it interfered with equalization that hearing would also be badly compromised. Does cleaning do anything for the middle ear or Eustachian tubes?
My understanding is that it's not a direct cause but does help. The biggest issue is a potential reverse block as far as I understand it.
 
I am not sure what the big deal is about freediving deeper than 90 feet.....
Most of the better reefs to enjoy for a freediver, will be between 30 and 70 feet...more time on the reef, better planning for finding what you want to see....better safety in drops at this depth than deeper than 130......

For the 90 foot and shallower drops, no special equalizing techniques are required...

Moreover, there seems to me to be a lot of nonsense to go through in the freedive classes....to go down a line to some kind of "I am a superman depth"....the 170 and beyond stuff....which has absolutely NOTHING to do with why most of the world might want to try and enjoy snorkeling.

It would seem to be much better for the sport of Freediving, to concentrate more on what is fun, between 30 and 90 feet...at least from my vantage point in south Fl.
 
... For the 90 foot and shallower drops, no special equalizing techniques are required...

The Valsalva got pretty difficult for me by about 50'. I could do it deeper but it was difficult and required expending a lot of energy.

I always admired those guys that could equalize just by jutting their lower jaw forward. That works fine on an airplane but I never could get it to work in the water.
 
I am fine just squeezing my nose through the mask, and blowing into it to as deep as 90 feet....any deeper and I would need to do rib/stretching excercises, as when I have exceeded this depth in the past, I get something like bruising of the lungs. More over, if I was spearfishing at 90 feet, the fish better had swim up to me and pose for the shot, because I don't have time for any stalking or hunting at that depth...

But on 60 foot reefs, which we have all over the S Fl coast, I can stay down almost a minute on the bottom ( once I get acclimated after the first 20 minutes or so) , and if you spend 3 to 4 hours on a reef, you can end up with some serious bottom time :-)

I would not mind being able to spend 2 minutes at 60 feet instead of 45 to 60 seconds at this depth....this is taking a 2 minute breath hold, and turning it into a 3 minute, this makes some sense....Trying to go deeper would seem to be the wrong way to use this freedive training...wrong for the marketing of the sport, and for the appearance of it to the masses.
 
SWB becomes a very real problem after 3 minutes for most of us. To market freediving as a somewhat safe sport then the competitive mindset needs to be minimized. Leave that to the extremists who want to set records. Most people that get into freediving are looking at it as an entry level way to get in the water, a simple way to get to look at pretty reefs, they don't want to be bothered with loads of scuba gear/costs/classes/hassle, they just want things to be simple and fun.
Freediving offers this option, and I don't mean just basic snorkeling, I mean actual breath hold diving which is the next step from just floating around on the surface. Many people start doing this without even realizing they are actually diving. It's a fluid and natural transition.
The more people do this the better they get at breath hold, and before they know it they're up beyond a minute gliding around looking at stuff. This can be true of families just enjoying snorkeling on reefs who love to spend a lot of vacation time in the water. Beyond a couple minutes and deeper than 30 or 40 feet (for most people) will take some official training and/or concentrated effort and commitment.
People who develop good freediving skills are more apt to pursue scuba diving as a way to satisfy the craving for more.
Those that get really good at freediving and get in with the right buddies/people may pursue advanced or competitive freediving as an end in itself.
Should just regular people take PF classes? maybe.
It wouldn't hurt for them to know what SWB is all about and how to minimize the risks. I think a simple recreational basic skin diving course would be a great idea. Not everyone needs to take a high performance class, but some recreational snorkelers/beginning freedivers are good enough just from self practice that they should at least begin to know some of the risks.
Right now there is no basic class that I know of.
 
SWB becomes a very real problem after 3 minutes for most of us…

Heck, it can be a problem after two minutes if you are working hard. This device would be great if it weren't half the price of a rebreather.

Oceanic Safety Systems
 
It wouldn't hurt for them to know what SWB is all about and how to minimize the risks. I think a simple recreational basic skin diving course would be a great idea. Not everyone needs to take a high performance class, but some recreational snorkelers/beginning freedivers are good enough just from self practice that they should at least begin to know some of the risks.
Right now there is no basic class that I know of.

I thought FII 1 was pretty basic. They taught all the safety concerns and problem management techniques as well as breathing exercises, breath holding/equalization and proper entry, finning and streamlining, etc. Compared to the level 2 and 3 course, it's pretty basic. But I guess that depends on how you define "basic". :)
 

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