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Used a pro-ear 2000 mask during the last trip, bought just beforehand, so no previous use.
The mask, as a quick intro, purports to keep your ears dry and possibly help with equalization ease, by means of cups over the ears attached to the main facemask space by flexible tubes with a one-way valve to the earpieces.
Mask is for slightly narrow faces (useful to know if you're buying direct, as I did, and don't get to try it on), so for me, slightly uncomfortable pressure against my temples, but underwater, problem not noticable. Sealed fine.
Things I noticed: the mask keeps your ears dry, for the most part, quite well, esp diving. Less well during snorkeling, but usually well enough so that I felt quite comfortable looking sideways without worrying about water getting into my ears.
As long as you're properly equalizing the mask, your earpieces get automatically equalized (not to say that your ears themselves do), and I didn't have to develop any new habits for this to happen. I'm not sure if it helped ease ear equalization, but I didn't have any trouble.
Debris does get into the earpiece tubes, e.g. sand, that can potentially compromise the valve, and the tubes are a bit difficult to rinse out.
As I happen to found out, a new design for proear masks is going into production, so soon there will be more proear masks that will fit more kinds of faces.
One of my buddies bought one of these recently due to equalisation problems she had been having. She saw all the specialists, changed diets etc - yes a real dive nut and eventually the dive shop found out about this mask.
Yes it makes her look like a Tele Tubby but she prefers stick about her mask to the kind of grief we used to give about having to hang around while she descended very slowly. Before anyone gets upset it was all good natured banter and at no point was there any peer pressure or anything like that to make her descend faster.
So if you don't mind looking like something off childrens TV and have equalisation problems give this a try - only problem is hoods......
Friend of mine uses one due to ear problems - its the only way he can dive - we call it the mickey mouse mask w/the big ear cups. - but it works great - he like many others didn't like the actual mask though. - the solution we came up with is to remove the ear cups along with the vent tubes and retrofit them to his big eyes mask - the results; he has the mask he loves and the earpro protection for his ears all in one - thinking about getting one for myself.
Friend of mine uses one due to ear problems - its the only way he can dive - we call it the mickey mouse mask w/the big ear cups. - but it works great - he like many others didn't like the actual mask though. - the solution we came up with is to remove the ear cups along with the vent tubes and retrofit them to his big eyes mask - the results; he has the mask he loves and the earpro protection for his ears all in one - thinking about getting one for myself.
Can you send the retrofit instructions? what kind of glue did you use, etc.
It usually takes me a few minutes to clear and catch up with my dive buddy's and I always suffer after diving. While I was in Puerto Galera (Philippines) in November taking the Padi Advance Course my ears took a beating and were clogged for about 2 weeks. I came across the ProEar on Amazon and ordered as I really didn't have anything to lose. Was in Subic (Philippines) this January taking the Wreck and Deep dive courses and have to say, these worked and I have plans to buy a second set very soon.
Pros: They do keep keep the water out and you can press on them and hear the suction to ensure you have a good seal.
They greatly assisted in equalization
Cons: I felt at times that my right ear suction cup was not working properly and had to fiddle with it to get a good seal. My last two dives no issues.
The tubes going from the mask to the ear cups are secured with plastic rings. One was broken prior to my first dive and the other side broke on the second. This can be resolved with using zip ties. However, suggest you inspect prior to each dive and carry spare zip ties.
It can be a pain getting them on properly and checking the cups to make sure you have suction.
In fairness to ProEar, I did not test these out in a pool prior to use. I strongly recommend doing so that you can get a feel for using these correctly.
Here's the deal. I perfed my eardrum (non-diving injury) a little over a year ago. This same eardrum had been perfed onced before about six years previous to that & had healed with no problems. This time it's healed over the course of a year to a very tiny hole, but small enough I can still blow bubbles through it when I "inflate". I've had several paper patches put on it over the course of the past year, but my local (non-diving) ENT is disinclined to do a full tymplanostomy as the hole is so tiny at this point. He's not much interested in my need to blow bubbles (through my reg, not my ear ) Needless to say I am immensely frustrated with this.
I've never had equalization problems in the past .... has always come quite easy & natural to me. I have eustachians the size of subway tunnels & no sinus or congestion issues.
I'm getting pretty fed-up with this "waiting for it to heal" process & anxious to get back down under. Don't want to miss another year. I'm just a plain ole open water rec diver with approx 50 dives & all my own gear. Mostly plan on just fairly shallow diving in the future - under 60 ft but more usually 35 to 40 ft or so, but would like to do a lot of it.
So, now I'm looking at the Pro-Ears .... anyone with an eardrum perf have experience with these? All I really need to do is keep the sea/lake water from going through the small hole in that one ear & causing potential middle ear problems. Ear has no pain or other problems.
Will these things really keep my ear dry?
And how about fit? I have med short hair & a somewhat rounded face. I do seem to often suffer from leaky mask syndrome with the several masks I've used in the past, but that could be more due to facial hair. In the past I've just worked with that rather than shaving the 'stache/goatee. Anybody who's used a Pro-Ear have problems with leaking around the ear-cups?
(also ---- anyone know an ENT in North Texas with diving medicine expertise?)
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Originally Posted by scubacoots3
) Needless to say I am immensely frustrated with this.