How to equalise your ears freediving: Valsalva vs Frenzel, and when to stop

TUREFF• •0

Equalising is the skill that decides how deep most new freedivers can go. Breath-hold time and fitness matter far less in the first metres than whether your ears clear easily on the way down. Done right, it is painless. Done wrong or forced, it is one of the quickest ways to injure your ears and stop diving for weeks.

Why your ears need equalising

Behind each eardrum is a small air space, the middle ear, connected to the back of your nose by the Eustachian tube. As you descend, water pressure pushes the eardrum inwards and the air space shrinks. To balance it, you push a little air up the Eustachian tube into the middle ear. You feel that as a click or a gentle pop. Your mask has an air space too. Breathe a little air out through your nose into it as you go down, or it will squeeze your face.

Valsalva

The Valsalva manoeuvre is what most people do instinctively: pinch the nose, close the mouth and gently push as if blowing your nose. The pressure comes from your chest and breathing muscles. It works fine near the surface, and many snorkellers never need anything else. For freediving it has drawbacks:

as you go deeper, the lungs compress and it becomes harder to push air with the chest
it uses large muscles, which costs oxygen
it is easy to push too hard, and forceful Valsalva is a known cause of ear injury

Most freediving sources describe Valsalva as practical only in the shallow part of a dive.

Frenzel

The Frenzel technique uses the air in your mouth and throat instead of your lungs. With the nose pinched and the throat closed off from the lungs, you use the tongue like a piston, pushing it up and back to compress the air into the Eustachian tubes. Many instructors describe it as making a "K" or "T" sound without letting any air out. Freedivers prefer it because it relies on small muscles, costs little effort, can be repeated quickly on the way down and works deeper than Valsalva. Its limit, further down, is that the air in your mouth runs out, which is where more advanced techniques come in. Those are best learnt from an instructor once Frenzel is reliable.

How to practise Frenzel on land

Pinch your nose and close your mouth.
Close the back of your throat, as if you were holding your breath with your mouth full.
Push your tongue up and back against the roof of your mouth.
Watch your cheeks: if they puff out, the air is going the wrong way. A small amount of pressure in the ears is the target.

Some people get it in minutes, others take weeks. Do it gently and in short sessions.

Habits for the dive itself

Equalise early and often: start at or just below the surface and keep going before you feel any pressure. Waiting for discomfort means the tube is already harder to open.
Go head-down slowly at first: some people find it easier feet first on a line until they are confident.
Keep your chin tucked and your neck relaxed.
Stay healthy: a cold, congestion or hay fever makes equalising difficult. Do not dive with a blocked nose.

When to stop

This is the most important part.

If an ear will not clear, stop descending. Go up a metre or two, try again gently, and if it still will not clear, end the dive.
Never force it, and never carry on down with pain.
Pain, a feeling of fullness that does not go, muffled hearing, ringing, dizziness or blood from the nose or ears after a dive are reasons to stop diving and see a doctor.
Do not take decongestants to push through a blockage while diving unless a doctor has advised it; they can wear off at depth.

Depth comes with relaxed, early equalising, not with effort. A good instructor can often spot what is going wrong in a single session. Which technique works for you, and what helped it click? Share your tips and questions in the comments below.