Hood vs earplugs for preventing infections

[Diverlady13]

My husband has been having a lot of trouble with ear infections. He's wondering if wearing a hood will help keep water out of his ears at all. He has no trouble equalizing and does use either ear beer or OTC drops, but he still has trouble with ear infections.

I've suggested the Doc's Pro Plugs to him (which I think I'll buy for myself), but he'd like to know if a hood would potentially help him at all. We travel to dive about every 6 weeks or so, but also are on the volunteer dive team at our aquarium, so do dive at least once each week. Unfortunately, this seems to be causing him to have a nearly perpetual, though mild, ear infection.

 

[Marie13]

I know people who dive dry who always wear a latex hood/neck seal combo. Keeps them from getting ear infections.

 

[Diverlady13]

I know people who dive dry who always wear a latex hood/neck seal combo. Keeps them from getting ear infections.

Ahhh - thanks! That makes sense - to look for a hood with seals. I think the hood he was looking at was not sealed. I'll tell him to look for one with seals instead.

 

[Marie13]

Ahhh - thanks! That makes sense - to look for a hood with seals. I think the hood he was looking at was not sealed. I'll tell him to look for one with seals instead.

The drysuit latex hood doesn’t allow any water in.

Is your husband diving wet or dry?

I don’t think there are any wet hoods that are “dry.”

 

[Diverlady13]

The drysuit latex hood doesn’t allow any water in.

Is your husband diving wet or dry?

I don’t think there are any wet hoods that are “dry.”

I see what you're saying. We currently dive wet. Even if we start diving dry, we'd be diving wet at the aquarium as it's hookah rather than scuba. I'll try to encourage him to try the earplugs. At least he can try them out here before we go back to Mexico next month.

 

[Cali Native]

Thought I'd mention I had a nasty ear infection a few years back and told the Ear Nose Throat Dr I had been using ear drops after diving and he said nope

don't use anything after diving just clean water to rinse and go easy on that.

I wasn't prone to ear infections just got a bad one that wouldn't clear up and no problems since .

 

[Diverlady13]

Thought I'd mention I had a nasty ear infection a few years back and told the Ear Nose Throat Dr I had been using ear drops after diving and he said nope

don't use anything after diving just clean water to rinse and go easy on that.

I wasn't prone to ear infections just got a bad one that wouldn't clear up and no problems since .

Thanks. I think my husband is a bit prone to ear infections. I do feel like if he could completely clear up the infection then the issue might stop. However, his doctor won't seem to prescribe enough antibiotics to totally knock out the infection. I think last time the doc gave 5 days worth of pills and then wouldn't call in a refill even though the infection had improved substantially. Doc was looking for another office visit.

My husband is definitely open to not using drops, but he started the drops due to the issues he was encountering. I will tell him to try just using a small bit of clean water. At least that's something he can try while were at home rather than while traveling. Seems like the water just doesn't want to release...not sure I'm describing that correctly. I've been having a bit of the same issue with water in my ears, but not with infections. My thinking is that his eustachian tubes are a bit swollen (maybe due to the infection) rather than there still being water in there, but I obviously can't tell since they aren't my ears.

 

[BoltSnap]

I'd look for a diving medicine trained ENT and look for the root cause there not on the internet.

 

[fmerkel]

Doc's ProPlugs work great. Been using them for 20+ years. Make sure they fit. Make sure the equalization port is open.
I suggest something like a little mineral, baby, or olive oil in the ear before the dive. Coat the canal, make it a bit more waterproof.
Use ear beer ASAP after getting out of the water. You want to get the contaminated water out of the ear canals. The alcohol in the ear beer breaks the water surface tension and makes it easier to drain out. If you have small or crooked canals getting the water out can be more difficult.

Those are generally good ways to deal with the problem. If those don't work it really might be worth an ENT visit.

 

[Diverlady13]

I'd look for a diving medicine trained ENT and look for the root cause there not on the internet.

I'm NOT looking for the root cause on the internet. I didn't ask for a diagnosis of anything. I'm simply trying to find the best way to keep the water out so that the infection can clear with treatment.

Edited to add that DH is definitely willing to see an ENT, but he really feels as if it's an infection that never fully cleared up. Just looking to see what kind of solution he can use to prevent the water intrusion so that diving doesn't result in perpetual infections.