ProEar mask

[BryanW]

Hi

I posted a thread on equalization problems in "techniques" and that wise and ever-informative man Eric Fattah suggested possibly using a ProEar mask. I've looked at it on the net and general opinion seems to be that for people with trouble clearing, it could be a good buy. However, I've also read one post on here that says it's rubbish.

Has anyone got any experience with this product?

Thanks, Bryan

 

[donmoore]

I have a few, but don’t use them anymore. The mask itself is pretty good with low volume and good visibility. When you add the volume of the ear pockets though, the total volume is larger than most freediving masks. But if ears are stopping you, they are probably stopping you way before you run out of air for mask equalization.

They absolutely won’t work on my wife, unless she shaves around her ears, which isn’t going to happen. If you have a medical problem that requires water not coming into contact with the ear, they are definitely what you need. In just helping a person with trouble equalizing they are helpful, but you are probably going to eventual want to improve your equalization technique to where you don’t need it anymore and you will want a pure freediving mask.

I would say they make equalization about 12% easier so they won’t cure a bad problem, but they may help you learn the feeling and equalization technique better. Sometimes all you need is a little help, which gets you to a point you can feel whats going on.

If you want to describe your equalization problem, I might be able to give more advice.
don

 

[BryanW]

Thanks Don

My ongoing battle with equalisation is described in the thread "ear training" in the techniques forum, and basically involves tubes closing up after a few dives. Any advice you could give there I'd be very grateful for.

Bryan

 

[samdive]

there is another thread on this in here somewhere

I bought one when I burst an eardrum and wanted to carry on teaching scuba. It leaked like a sieve and was totally useless. Might work if you shaved your head but otherwise impossible. I tried to adjust it to fit better but it just snapped.
Eventually I got my money back.
anyhow it is HUGE I don't think you could freedive far in it

Sam

 

[fjohnson]

The pro ear won't work for freediving.
I purchased one for my wife who has trouble equalizing one ear. I gave it a go and here is my deduction: the proear did not leak as other's stated, (I have very short hair), as I decended I still had to equalize in the same manner as before as the air between the ear pockets and face mask did not exchange/equalize rapidly enough. I could see where if you were scubadiving and could give it time to nuetralize the pressure it may work... but don't count on it at all to work while freediving, unless you have all kinds of time to wait on the way down.
Fred

 

[Jarkko]

Hello!

I've had a ProEar mask for a year now and no problems yet. I have short hair so I've had no leaks after I learned to strap it on correctly. BTW. It's HUGE compared to my Cressi Superocchio.

I got this mask because I thought that I had problems with equalizing my right ear. As it turned out I had a nasty ear canal infection that was causing the pain. Now that my ears are fine I don't think it's any easier to equalize with the ProEar mask but diving with dry ears feels GREAT.

I have to say that I love my ProEar mask because it allows me to keep on diving even if my ears aren't 100% ok.

 

[Aronax]

I have purchased my ProEar Corona a year ago, after severe otitis ended with eardrum perforation.

First I tested the mask during freshwater spearfishing at the depths 5 - 15 m. It worked very good. However, the mask requires special hood to continue diving/spearfishing in the cold waters.
Recently I have tested my mask in the "real deal" (Red Sea), having reached the 30+ m depths without ANY problems with my ear. I assume my personal maximum in this model would be around 35 - 37 m. However, taking into account that mask itself is designed for the comfortable diving within the 0 - 20 m range, this is very good, too.
The ears were dry during my 2-3 hours daily training. I started to equalise from 6 - 7 m, whereas in the "normal" mask my first pinching is at 4-5 m. The equalisation is smoother. I was pleasantly surprised having not found that the equalisation eats more air than the normal mask, although it should. Further, I did not feel that the mask "sucks out" my eardrums, when the air in the earflaps expands on ascent .
The only problem I can mention was slightly unbalanced equalization of my healthy ear comparatively to the perforated one after -20 m. I assume that the reason for this is the overflow of the air through the perforation, which leads to the "underequalisation" of the other ear. By pinching the respective tube of the mask during the equalisation, the problem was completely solved.
As a result, I have decided to continue my freediving/spearfishing activity with this mask. For those who are interested how to increase the comfortable depth in this device, I can send my humble ideas by email.

Respectfully,