32 replies to this topic

[annasea]

I finally sat down and read through my first issue of Alert Diver. Sure, the article featuring SD was great, but what really interested me was an advert for Doc's Proplugs. Has anyone tried these?

I have no trouble equalizing my left ear, but my right ear is extremely fussy and will only equalize if I swallow. (I find this rather difficult to do with a cotton-dry mouth while breathing compressed air.) Also, with my current abilities, it takes me an eternity to descend so any device/advice would be most welcome.

[Scubatooth]

Annasea

I have a set that i use when diving for multiple days in a row or in water that isnt chemically treated. I use them so to minimize any water in my ear canals because i get ear infections really easily because my right canal is angled steeply right before the ear drum so that it traps water next to it and allows for it to sit and allows the bacteria to get to the middle ear.

I didnt realize that i had the angle in my canal until i went and saw a Ear, Nose and Throat Doctor who took a look and let me know. So to prevent this i mix 50% vinegar and 50% pure alchoal and flush both ears out after each dive.

I can dive about 4 days total without them and then they will progressivly shut down to the point where im not able to equalize by the 6th straight day. If i wear the plugs and rinse ouot my ears between dives i have gone weeks straight without any problems. One thing to be aware of is that they are fitted to the person and arent a one size fits all.

Equalizing early and often is the best advise i really can offer, but as you get more dives it will become easer and you pick up different ways of doing so in that now besides the nose pinch method i can do a yawn to pop them without loosing my reg.

FWIW

Tooth

Edited by Scubatooth, 01 January 2007 - 07:49 PM.

[Basslet]

I have problems with my left ear. I have used the proplugs for years now, and they have helped tremendously. I also take sudafed befor every dive to help clear out any congestion. I have really tiny and twisted (figures huh?) Eustachian tubes and both of these tools really helped. I also practice equalizing all the time. When I was in Bonaire, it was like heaven. Not once on any dive did I have a problem equalizing. It was WONDERFUL!!

[ScubaDadMiami]

The first thing to do is to get examined by a Diving ENT. Discuss with the professional, and then pursue the options suggested.

[Basslet]

The first thing to do is to get examined by a Diving ENT. Discuss with the professional, and then pursue the options suggested.

OH yes. Good idea. My ENT who suggested the Sudafed was recommended by DAN and he was a diver. He didn't know much about the proplugs, but he said if they work, then use them

[annasea]

Wow! I'm surprised that people actually use them! (I thought maybe they were the ginsu knives of the dive world. )

Thanks for the suggestions, Dan, Ellen and Howard! I saw my GP in December and she thought one ear drum looked *sucked in* while the other, the troubled one, appeared to bulge out, but neither looked infected. Before xmas, I saw the doctor here at work and he thought everything was fine as well. I'm sure everything is fine, but if a visit to a diving ENT can offer assistance while actually diving and immediately afterward, I'll definitely look into it.

As for practicing equalizing, what exactly does that mean? If you're not actually experiencing pressure on your ears, is it still helpful? (I ask this because I'm guessing you're practicing throughout your daily life which doesn't necessarily involve a change of pressure.)

[Scubatooth]

Annesea

The practicing is the just doing the valsalva (pinch nose and blow against the seal)manuver on land. By doing this has helped me to equalize easier when diving.

Does that make sence.

Tooth

[ScubaDadMiami]

What Tooth said. It is kind of like stretching your muscles before a work out. I have been told that if you practice frequently in the days leading up to a dive, it makes it easier to equalize during the actual dive due to this effect.

Do not perform forcefully. It is just a gentle action that is required. Do it several times a day in the days leading up to the dive.

[Basslet]

I looked all through my Alert Diver last night (twice) and I couldn't find the article featuring SD. Anyway, about practicing, yeah, I do the valsava, I also wiggle my jaw a lot at work and crack my ear tubes. LOL.
Annasea, if you go to the ENT, she/he can do a test to see just how blocked your eustachian tubes are. I had one done at the ENT, and also at Beneath the Sea at the Doc's Pro Plugs booth. It was well worth the wait in line. Very crowded booth.
Another trick I learned on an SD trip to NC was, when you pinch your nose to do the valsava, breath in first before you blow out. It creates a vacuum and makes it just a teeny bit easier to equalize. Also, equalize before you even jump in the water.

[annasea]

Thx for the breathing in tip, Ellen! I'll definitely try it!

I called DAN yesterday asking for a local ENT specialist and found one through the hyperbaric chamber here in Vancouver. Hopefully he'll also have helpful suggestions. I'm not diving again until June () so lots of time to practice.

The Alert Diver article wasn't about SD per se, but featured SD. Something about Cochran computers, I think...

[Scubatooth]

That article would have been the one about the NC trip this past july that we had DAN interns onboard collecting profiles, but i do believe there was a article one equalization in that same issue. I will go look later when i get home and can pull it from my portfolio.

Tooth

[6Gill]

Thx for the breathing in tip, Ellen! I'll definitely try it!

I called DAN yesterday asking for a local ENT specialist and found one through the hyperbaric chamber here in Vancouver. Hopefully he'll also have helpful suggestions. I'm not diving again until June () so lots of time to practice.

The Alert Diver article wasn't about SD per se, but featured SD. Something about Cochran computers, I think...

The guy you want to get a referal for is Dr. Greg Grant.
I'm away right now but can get you the info for Gregwhen I'm back in North Van.

[annasea]

The guy you want to get a referal for is Dr. Greg Grant.
I'm away right now but can get you the info for Gregwhen I'm back in North Van.

Hey stranger! The chamber people at VGH recommended Dr. Longridge so I made an appointment for next month. I'll look into Greg Grant as well. Have you seen him personally? Or know of friends who have?

[6Gill]

The guy you want to get a referal for is Dr. Greg Grant.
I'm away right now but can get you the info for Gregwhen I'm back in North Van.

Hey stranger! The chamber people at VGH recommended Dr. Longridge so I made an appointment for next month. I'll look into Greg Grant as well. Have you seen him personally? Or know of friends who have?

I'm in San Diego currently...been all over since early Dec. Not all of it work but my own bed would be nice.
I've never seen him for a medical reason,mostly it is friends that know him or have been treated by him.I don't think he is an ENT doc but is in hyperberic medicine.

[cmt489]

Dr. Longridge is also very good and should probably be helpful. Dr. Eytan David is also excellent. I've not had any experience with Dr. Grant but I also heard that he is very good. (Oh the knowledge you gain from doing med mal and personal injury work...)