Need SCUBA Divers opinions

[poconofishy]

Hi everybody,
We are getting ready for a trip to the Big Island. We hope to get SCUBA certified while there. I found a dive mask that is supposed to offer ear protection. I am prone to swimmers ear. Do you think this mask would be beneficial to me? Has anybody ever used or seen these masks before? Please let me know what you think.
Thanks!

www.proear2000.com

 

[fppf]

I would suggest you try and get certified before your vacation. It takes about 30 hours of instruction to get properly trained for basic SCUBA. Most people that go for a resort class never dive again after that. If you can not complete your cert before your vacation most shops offer a travelers course where you do your class and pool work at home and then the open water dives on your vacation. I don't think you want to spend your time in Hawaii in a class room or swimming pool.

As for the mask, I would hold off until you get your cert and a few dives behind you. Then you can make an educated decision knowing the pro's and con's.

As for my opinion for the mask I would never use one. But I also never get ear problems (knock on wood). My wife gets ear infections all the time and there are ways to deal with them. DAN has some good articles on there web site on ear infections. I would not use it because of the increased chance of it failing in the water. If one of those little tubes breaks it could make the mask useless. Loosing your mask will not only end your dive but make it much harder to do a proper accent. We also don't use a mask with a purge valve in it for the same reason. If you did end up using this mask I would carry a standard mask for a spare.

 

[Reefugee]

The general consensus on ScubaBoard is that they are quite nice. Just go to www.scubaboard.com and do a search for "Proear." The only thing I would STRONGLY recommend is that you try the mask out in the pool before purchasing it. You want to make sure that the mask does not leak. It would suck to be in Hawaii and have a mask that constantly leaks.

Also another thing you can do after the dive is rinse your ear out with a solution consisting of 1/3 water, 1/3 vinger, and 1/3 rubbing alcohol.

Have fun diving.

Minh

 

[poconofishy]

Thanks!
I need a prescription mask to correct an astigmatism, so I figured if I'm going to bite the bullet for a prescription dive mask (which I will also use snorkeling) and I have a history of swimmers ear. This may address both issue at once. I will check out scuba board.

 

[David P]

I would suggest getting certified at home as well. Why waste vacation time doing simple follow the leader dives and demonstrating how to flood and clear a mask. Do the boring dives at home, then go and really enjoy the dives on vacation. As far as that mask goes... hoaky! ok Ill admit I wear all black and technical gear but c'mon look at that thing! If you get swimmers ear you can get ear drops that work wonders! You can also look at Doc pro plugs. Stay away from gimicky convolute messes like that thing.

 

[vector]

I get very bad swimmers ear also, but never from diving just swiming pools

 

[bkhd]

After diving I always use swim ear to dry out any water in the ear. It is a habit of most of the people that we dive with. I am going to agree with those who have suggested getting certified at home before you leave. It is valuable to build a relationship with a Local dive shop. They will spend more time certifying you and you will be more prepared for your vacation. They will probably be able to point you in the direction of a dive operator where you are vacationing at as well. www.scubaboard.com is a great place to research and get lots of input. Have a great vacation!

 

[davocean]

WOW, I've never seen that mask b4.
Only thing is I wonder how well they seal?
For years earplugs have been taboo, but recently they came out with plugs made diving that have a simple diaphram.
My friend has used them down to 180' MANY times, and I just started using them.
I'm extremely prone to infection as well, and I use rubbing alcohol everytime I go into water.
Some other people use hydrogen peroxide.
Some use a 50/50 mix of rubbing alc. and vinegar.

 

[oceancowboy]

Several years ago I was on a liveaboard in Maldives. The dive master had one of these that several people used after having some ear issues. All reported that they really liked the "dry" ear and the mask worked fine. Only reported side effect was these were a bit noisy due to the air around your ears and the flow of air when equalizing. I didn't try them myself...just reporting what I saw. This product has been around since at least 2003 when I saw them.

 

[tradosz]

Recently developed an ear infection after diving some local quarries. Last time I can remember an ear infection was when I was a kid, and trust me, that was some time ago. My Son and I will be leaving for Maui Thursday for a family vacatioon and have two 2 dive trips scheduled. I'll be trying a gadget called "Dry Ear" that is basically a warm air blower for ears that will dry ears in about 1 1/2 minutes. Prescription ear drops require the drops stay in for 5 minutes. I'll post results when we return, and hopefully a bunch of photos. If anyone wants to look into this, their website is www.dryear.net.

Aloha!!!!!!!

 

[reefbuzz]

This is excellent advice IMO

"I would suggest you try and get certified before your vacation. It takes about 30 hours of instruction to get properly trained for basic SCUBA. Most people that go for a resort class never dive again after that. If you can not complete your cert before your vacation most shops offer a travelers course where you do your class and pool work at home and then the open water dives on your vacation. I don't think you want to spend your time in Hawaii in a class room or swimming pool.

As for the mask, I would hold off until you get your cert and a few dives behind you. Then you can make an educated decision knowing the pro's and con's."

 

[gillies]

Before you go remember: Q-Tips are bad, wax in your ear is good. Many people swear by the mask you mention. I agree with others that you should certify before vacation. Certification dives are work, not pleasure.

 

[poconofishy]

Follow up

Follow up

Hi everyone!

Thanks for all the ideas, suggestions, tips and advise!

Well Hawaii was incredible! Diving was incredible! The wildlife was incredible! I want to move! The proear mask worked well for me. No problems clearing my ears and no ear infections. I couldn't always get all my hair out from under the ear cups, but it didn't really affect the preformance of the mask. I felt that the training I received was quite good. It was a 4 day course so it did eat up a lot of time. Two days in class and in the pool and then two days doing check out dives. (And a good bit of time spent reading he manual.) The check out dives weren't a big deal. It was like going on a regular diving but spending a few extra minutes on skills. So it was really two days that were spent in a non-vacation type setting. That being said, it may not the best fit for everyone. I think you need to be pretty comfortable in the water to excel. I'm hooked! I can't wait to go again! Hopefully, will be sometime very soon!