Doc's Ear Plugs

I started using them recently. My motivation was primarily to reduce repeated ear infections that I was getting. So far, they seem to work for that purpose quite well. As for the benefits of equalization, I did an experiment where I wore them for one dive, and didn't on another less than a day later, so as to minimize the fickleness of my ears as a variable. At least for me, there seemed to be a definite benefit, albeit a slight one.

Downsides: the sizing is a bit tricky, and if you have cartilage damage to either ear it makes the fit not as secure as it could be. Also, with a 7mm hood on, a size that is slightly too large can be a bit uncomfortable as the hood puts pressure on the earplug, and then on the ear. This seems to go away once I'm in the water though. Out of the water, once you take the hood off there's a risk of the plugs falling out without noticing it. Thankfully, they are cheap and easy to replace. I just choose to leave my hood on most of the time.

Hope that helps. Results may vary, etc.

DONT! I work at a scuba shop. We have had people try stuff like this and screw up their ears in a heartbeat, due to the pressure. You obtain 1 ata of pressure for every 33 feet. At 99 feet you have 4x the pressure you did when you put them (the ear plugs) in at the surface. If one fell out at depth, not only would it cause a ear drum to rupture, but it will also cause some loss of hearing. True its a nice idea, but the risk isn't worth it! Trust me. I may not know much about freediving, but i do know scuba, and this is a baddddd idea. I have problems diving cus ive had tubes in my ears twice, so if i go to fast down, i cant equalize, so I have to take my time. This is just going around the problem. IF your body doesn't want to dive, don't do it. I also know that getting off dairy products about a week or more before a dive helps clean up you system before diving. Equalizing about 200 times a day, 3 days in advance helps to. This is what we tell our students before they take open water. Just my 2 cents.

For $12 im sure its worth a try. Just be very careful on the descent, and always make sure that they are not clogged. For someone who has been having a lot of equalization problems, i think i will try them when i get back in the water.The doctor says i have fluid inside of my ears thats supposedly causing me equalization problems....who knows, but im getting tired of diving three hours and then my ears just locking up....

Dylan, what you are describing sounds like what happens to Ben when he dives back to back days...i wonder if it is not actual congestion but inflamation of the tubes themselves causing blockage...then no amount of clearing would work, only antiimflammatory drugs

Quote from Nick dillon

DONT! I work at a scuba shop. We have had people try stuff like this and screw up their ears in a heartbeat, due to the pressure. You obtain 1 ata of pressure for every 33 feet. At 99 feet you have 4x the pressure you did when you put them (the ear plugs) in at the surface. If one fell out at depth, not only would it cause a ear drum to rupture, but it will also cause some loss of hearing. True its a nice idea, but the risk isn't worth it! Trust me. I may not know much about freediving, but i do know scuba, and this is a baddddd idea. I have problems diving cus ive had tubes in my ears twice, so if i go to fast down, i cant equalize, so I have to take my time. This is just going around the problem. IF your body doesn't want to dive, don't do it. I also know that getting off dairy products about a week or more before a dive helps clean up you system before diving. Equalizing about 200 times a day, 3 days in advance helps to. This is what we tell our students before they take open water. Just my 2 cents.

Dillon I find it hard to believe that the Doc's Ear plugs caused an ear drum to rupture. These things are recommended by DAN for scuba divers. Plus there is a hole in the inside of the ear plug so air can easily escape.

I'm betting those stories you heard were from people that were using regular earplugs and not the Doc Pro Ear plugs. Or like lunkbuster was saying.

i dont know about you guys but a lot of times ill dive for an hour (usually this is enough time for the salt water to loosen everything up), get out of the water, hack up the gnarliest wad of gunk out my nose and mouth, then im a lot clearer, everything opens up and i can dive alll day much much better. my bottom time and ability to breath up adequately almost doubles when it works properly. this may be a whole separate issue but regardless theres that.

Nick- whats the deal with getting off dairy. does dairy contribute to congestion?

Quote from spearstuff

Dillon I find it hard to believe that the Doc's Ear plugs caused an ear drum to rupture. These things are recommended by DAN for scuba divers. Plus there is a hole in the inside of the ear plug so air can easily escape.

I'm betting those stories you heard were from people that were using regular earplugs and not the Doc Pro Ear plugs. Or like lunkbuster was saying.

Doc's plugs come in vented & nonvented... be careful what you get & qualities of each.

No, you probably wouldn't. But if one fell out at depth it would. They are designed to be held in by pressure at depth, but if you have a fish bump you in the head, move your hand on it, or even a possible strong current and a wrong movement, then ur f**ked. I'm not an expert on that brand, but most that I've seen are straight BS. Look i agree with yall, its a hell of a idea:cool2:. Shit i wish i came up with half this crap and i would be loaded:thumbsup2:. But, I didn't. Now I don't know about DAN recommending them, or even suggesting them. DAN will RARELY recommend products for divers because of the fact that they themselves are not doctors. 9/10 times when people call DAN they say go to the doctors and get his advice, because they would be liable from a legal standpoint to get their asses sewed if something happened to that person from their advice. But look at this from another point of view. Your spending 12 bucks to cheat the laws of nature. Not only that but your ears. Nature can be fooled for only so long. If you are having problems, take it slow on the way down. If you get a block, go up a few feet and try to equalize. It helps. And as far as dairy, yes dairy DOES contribute to congestion. I don't care what people say, dairy does affect a person one way or another when diving regardless. Dairy will produce mucus which in short clogs up the nasal passages within the skull. I don't want to have a Anatomy an Physiology lesson, so we'll just leave it at that :). But for some people, having dairy has little to no effect to the person. For most it is a contributor to sinus blocks or equalizing in general.

Look in not trying to chop heads off here, I'm just telling yall the knowledge that I've gained, and hopefully this helps you make an educated decisions in the matter. that's all

Nick-

As far as them falling out, I wear a hood, so that's a non-issue. I have worn them scuba diving as well with no issues whatsoever.

That's the personal experience part of it. As far as the potential issues you are describing, with a non-vented plug that would be absolutely true, and a very bad idea. With the vented ones, the theory is that your ear still obeys the laws of physics, and is subject to the same water pressure as it would be if you aren't wearing them. But since there's a ~1mm hole there in the plug, the pressure onset isn't as sudden. Thus, you've got a little more time to get air in your head. It's NOT meant as an excuse to not equalize, like you've implied, nor are they meant to be held in by pressure. They are contoured to fit the outer ear, and not to enter the ear canal at all. The ones surfers wear are non-vented, but have the exact same shaped mold.

They are very good,especially in cold water.I use the vented ones.

The only thing going in my ear is my chicks tongue......I need to hear those white Sea Bass croak .:D

Cheers, Don

Quote from LunkerBuster

Dylan, what you are describing sounds like what happens to Ben when he dives back to back days...i wonder if it is not actual congestion but inflamation of the tubes themselves causing blockage...then no amount of clearing would work, only antiimflammatory drugs

Funny you should mention this Judah. I learned in my PFI class this week that it is actually the membranes and muscles behind my ear that were getting inflamed and blocking the passage of air from the eustachain tubes and through the eardrum.

Only antinflammatory drugs like ibuprofen have been able to clear them.

Quote from fishingdude

Funny you should mention this Judah. I learned in my PFI class this week that it is actually the membranes and muscles behind my ear that were getting inflamed and blocking the passage of air from the eustachain tubes and through the eardrum.

Only antinflammatory drugs like ibuprofen have been able to clear them.

I went to the Nationals tournament in Arkansas this past year, got some ear aches fromt he fresh water that lasted about a week after the tourney when i got home. Ever since then equalization has been progressively getting worse until its forced me to stopped diving completely (for now :rolleyes1:). However, when i do dive like is said, i'm fine for about 3 hours and then bam, ears are locked up and thats it. So i think within those 3 hrs, my tubes are getting more and more irritated until they inflame and completely close. I went to the ENT about a month ago and he gave me Cephalexin (antibiotic) to try and clear up any infection. He really didn't tell me anything at all and seemed like he had no idea what he was talking about. Today i went to my primary physician and he believes i never had any infection and believes there is no scar tissue that could've been built up and preventing me from equalizing as some people were telling me. He said that he believes there is fluid in my middle to inner ear and he prescribed me something (ill mention the name later, cant remember) to dry up and get all of the fluid out. Maybe equalizing and moving this fluid around is irritating my tubes and causing the issue.? Who knows..Have to take this once a day for 30 days. He also recommended a good ENT, im going to set up an apt. tomorrow.

Ben do you still have equalization problems? Do you take ibuprofen before every dive? Does it work?

I had very annoying ear issues all last dive season. They wouldn't really bother me too badly while diving, but most of my dives were no deeper than 20ft or so. Most of my dives I'd only have to clear once. I dive almost everyday for an hour or two May through August or so. About 30 minutes or so after diving my ears would kind of close up. It wasn't painful, just extremely annoying. When I talked all that I could hear was loud buzzing. I work retail so this sucked. I went to the doctor. She said that I had a lot of fluid inside of my inner ear. Prescribed me antibiotics. They didn't help my problem at all. I tried wearing the vented earplugs, and they didn't make a difference either. I usually go on a few offshore trips, but I found that when I did repeated dives any deeper than 30ft or so I would start to blow bloody mucus crap out of my nose. Anybody else have a similar ear issue? Or know what could cause this?

You can try flushing your sinuses with saline solution before diving.

/\ x2 it is all about the netty pot for the night before and predive morning...i have crap allergies and I rarely have any issues at all with diving or equalizing.

I started having the same problem as Slingingsteel is describing. I can do 15-25 dives over the first 2-3 hours no problem but then it gets harder to equalize....descending and ascending. It's the ascending that worries me.
But I've also realized that I am staying in the water for extended periods with no breaks. I used to be more adamant about drinking fluids more frequently. Given that it comes on slowly, and when I go home I"m thirsty as hell and drink about 8 glasses of water, AND by morning there is no problem, I think it might be from not being properly hydrated. There is obviously no lasting damage given that it clears up so quickly.
I'm going to down a Gatorade every half hour this Sunday and see what happens.