Ear Barotrauma

[reactive]

Very nice to hear!

[jimmysdevoted]

proplugs you acall them.....
i had extesive damage from flying, since then i have sever tinnitus but no real problems equalizing to 30 feet on a free dive... my daughter has troublke though do you all think it would help?


The ear plugs does it work in conjunction with ear clearing maneuver or instead?
how available are they?

julie

[character157]

Doc's Proplugs: The Doctor's Choice for Ear Protection

Take a look there...from what I have read the vented ones are for diving and they dont let water in your ear till you get to 20 feet. The website also says they prevent ear infections as well.

[matt151617]

Originally Posted by character157

Doc's Proplugs: The Doctor's Choice for Ear Protection

Take a look there...from what I have read the vented ones are for diving and they dont let water in your ear till you get to 20 feet. The website also says they prevent ear infections as well.

Already ordered. I have a test fit kit if anyone wants it, just pay the shipping.

[tal_y]

the ear and nose bleeding , in what depth did iot happen? is this an issue of dive time , or depth pressure?

[Grin]

In theory Proplugs do nothing related to preesure changes of the ear drum.
1. If you plug the ear canal you risk the seal breaking at depth and instant baratroma. Not a good idea at all. Proplugs with little holes in them are OK, but if anythig plugs that little hole you risk major issues.
2. If there is a little hole, as Proplugs have, to allow the pressure to change in the ear canal as you decend/accend, you have changed nothing. The only issue of importance is still related to equalizing the pressure through the estation tube to the inner ear as pressure increases on the outer ear.

I can believe Proplugs have benefits, just not related to presure changes. The only benefit I see is the fact they don't allow the outer ear canal to flood with water freely and thus keep the outear canal warmer. This possibly helping eliminate outer ear infections. And possibly keeping the inner/outer ear canal area warmer and happier(a decent hood may do the same job). That may actually help in clearing as the inner ear environment may stay loose inside, instead of congesting up more solid if diving in cold water.
So it is possible they help, but clearing your ears is still the only item of importance.
If you blew a eardrum, you failed to clear correctly. The Proplugs may help you clear, if a cold environment is casueing a mucused up inner ear to solidify up, or something. But you need to realize that your equalizing proceedure is probably the most important thing to examine.

[matt151617]

Originally Posted by tal_y

the ear and nose bleeding , in what depth did iot happen? is this an issue of dive time , or depth pressure?

My guess? It happened in only about 8 feet of water... when my ear finally "popped". I never knew it though... and at 30 feet my instructor had me clear my mask because it had blood in it. I think the lack of Sutafed to help me clear, and equalizing too hard, caused the damage. There was no eardrum rupture.

I'm still going to take my risks and use the ProPlugs... yes, I may rupture an eardrum if they fall out at depth, but it's better than dealing with barotrauma on every dive. With any luck these will give me a fighting chance to continue.

I still get weird noises in my damaged ear... it almost sounds like a fart when I turn my head sometimes.

[matt151617]

Originally Posted by jimmysdevoted

proplugs you acall them.....
i had extesive damage from flying, since then i have sever tinnitus but no real problems equalizing to 30 feet on a free dive... my daughter has troublke though do you all think it would help?


The ear plugs does it work in conjunction with ear clearing maneuver or instead?
how available are they?

julie

Do you mean would they help your daughter on an airplane? If so, I already asked the company about that, they said no, these won't work for that. You'd have to buy a set from somewhere else specifically designed for flying.

[Codyjp]

It sounds like you are dialed in but I had severe pain after a dive. I ended up at Urgent care at 10PM with an ear infection. it was one of the most miserable pains I have felt. A few hours on an Anti biotic and i was good to go. I did 20 dives after 7 days of rest. No problemo.

Also, for the ear issues while flying post, is that during commercial fights? I am a pilot and am quite interested in the end result.

Thanks,
Cody

[Jenn]

I also have a bit of problem equalizing the first 15-20 feet. I have started to use docs vented pro plugs to avoid water coming into my ears I am prone to ear infections. I have noticed though that I am having alittle easier time equalizing since using the docs vented pro plugs. www.docsproplugs.com The lds in my area sells them they are made for diving.