earplugs for freediving

[BLUEGILL]

Hoping the experts would have some advice for me on this.I've been surfing for 17 years and have worked in the restaurant business for at least that long , I'm the exec sous chef at a private club and about five years ago I noticed that I was getting head colds and inner ear infections very often, more-so than usual , all throughout the year. I talked with some people and came to the conclusion that the fact that i would go surf and then come in to work and be going in and out of the walk-in refrigerators all night was getting me sick.Surfing usually fills up your sinuses with water and it drains out when you lean over. Well, I decided to wear those funny looking silicon earplugs to help keep some of the water out of my ears at least. After 5 years of doing this its actually really helped and I have had much fewer head colds and ear infections. Question is I've started Diving pretty regularly and am wondering if it is a bad Idea to use the earplugs . Would it have an effect on equalizing or can anyone think of anything negative from doing so??

[Sheri]

Bluegill, you've probably been using Doc Proplugs for your surfing? They also make a model with small holes for scuba/freediving (still keeps most of the water from circulating, but allows for equalization). If you use the ones without the hole for diving, you can cause serious damage to your eardrums. Here's the website, look under "scuba". I tried them for cold water diving....they worked good.

http://www.proplugs.com/

[BLUEGILL]

thanks very much Sheri, Really appreciate it!! that seems to be the perfect solution,Thanks for your time:D

[DanR]

Hey Bluegill, I saw a mask (don't remember where) on a online divestore that had ear muffs/cups as part of the rig, and they were designed to keep water out of your ear and the air space in-between would compress to do the equalization. The site had customer comments and one or two people said that they had severe ear problems and this mask was their answer. I will be happy to dig around through my old links and find where I saw this if you are interested. B cool!
dan

[BLUEGILL]

thanks DanR I actually saw that mask as well,The earplugs from doc's seem pretty cool that sheri recommended so I'm gonig to try those first. For freediving that seems like it would be less bulky for drag purposes, and I haven't had to have my ears drilled out yet so minimal is kind of where i'd like to start. Thanks very much for the Idea its really cool being able to hear feedback from others and knowing that questions can get answered from really good sources
thanks again

[jgullick]

What about the old remedy of Hydrogen Peroxide and Alcohol in a cotton ball. Put it in your ear for a bit / seems to still work good for me.

[Prodigal Son]

Originally posted by jgullick
What about the old remedy of Hydrogen Peroxide and Alcohol in a cotton ball. Put it in your ear for a bit / seems to still work good for me.

Someone at Spearboard told me about this trick. I've used it and haven't developed otitis since then.

[slinger]

someone have a link to the mask with ear cuffs. My grandad blew both his ears, but still loves to dive. Sounds like it would work for him.

[rusty]

Here is a link for one on sale on Ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3629627737&category=16055

I think the seller is leisurepro.com

rusty

[Bob3]

I used to get the nasty ear infections all the time too, but they've become way less frequent since flushing my ears out right after the dive using equal parts alcohol, peroxide & vinegar.
Folks that don't have "wax factories" may want to cut down on the peroxide.
A little wax helps protect the canal, but I have gobs of the stuff.

[thors hammer]

well for last 1,1/2 months ive been sitting on land with a earinfection caused by bacteries in the water (gotta get in the water soon or ill drive everyone arround me insane) the earspecialist told me too find a new hobby cause my ears were narrow and too tender for active spearguning (i told him too shot it cause that aint an option)
well now i heard of the Proear 2000 mask, but cant seem too see how it would work on my open-cell suit, while placed on the inside of the suit it would cause alot of cold scandinavian sea-water entering (im a viking but not that much of a viking)
the Doc's pro earplugs wich is being discussed above sounds like a good alternative the only problem is that all divestores in Denmark claimes that the Doc's earplug are fake and it is not possible to use earplugs while diving.
I strongly suspect that my fellow country-men are way behind on this one so therefor i turn too you, brave men of America,
do any of you have experience with Doc's pro earplugs..do they actually work when you go hunting??
thanks in advance
Thors hammer

[florfreediver]

Bluegill, you've probably been using Doc Proplugs for your surfing? They also make a model with small holes for scuba/freediving (still keeps most of the water from circulating, but allows for equalization).

Hi All,
Carrying on from what Sheri was saying.

From my understanding:-

The ear plugs are a definite advantage in cold water as the small hole will impede water transfer and keep warmer water trapped inside.

For those diving in warmer waters, I suppose the limited transfer of water may help keep any nasties out of your ear. Law of probability.

All-in-all I suppose the ear plugs are a winner but in warmer water I believe the best action is to rinse your ears out after every dive. Even if it is just with Swimmers Ear Drops.

Mike.

Regards,
Mike.