The first time I suffered outer ear blood vessel rupture, I knew something 'weird' happened when I was down there, but I didn't know until I took my hood off. Even then, I didn't know until my friends told me blood was rushing out of my ear. The 2nd time, I realized as I was sinking towards the light at 80m that my left ear felt funny. Around 70m I realized I had suit squeeze. I considered opening my hood, but it was too late, and 'boom' suddenly my outer ear 'equalized itself' with blood. Then, on the ascent, I knew that there would be blood pouring out of my ear.
You could probably use suit squeeze down to about 20 metres without outer ear risks, but still, there is a danger, because if you move your head the wrong way, you could break the seal around your outer ear, causing water to rush in and suddenly increase the pressure, which could cause a drum rupture.
If you watch the videos of Loic Leferme's no-limits records, you'll see him open his hood around 20m to equalize the outer ear. Suit squeeze down to 160m+ probably isn't a good idea, as he no doubt found out the hard way.
Eric Fattah
BC, Canada
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