Pro Ear Mask

[gert7to3]

vlad: it's also a matter of which force is gentler to resist, a compressible gas or the hydraulic pressure of water.

thas... water is denser than air, do you have a reference to refute my naive physics? That "almost negligible" mass is acting upon a membrane which senses variations in frequencies exerted by changes in air pressure.

Reflexive effects, such as the ones caused by cold water, can have systemic results which go far past their immediate point of contact. If your throat is constricting it will likely affect the eustachian tubes. Now what do you think happens when blood vessels dilate? Does this not increase the volume of the tissues within which those blood vessels are located? Is this not edema? Could this not contribute to congestion resulting in greater effort required to equalize?

I maintain, after extended use of the mask, that there is lower equalization effort. Admittedly this is subjective. However, it is a far more informed opinion than your simplistic declarations and denials. Try the mask some time. It's not as though I'm urging you to try out a bullet proof vest.

Otitis media is a problem for many divers. Infections can develop by repeatedly exposing the outer ear canal to water. If you keep your ears dry, then you won't require any of the various potions to deal with maladies caused by getting your ears wet. If you suffer an infection, this causes inflammation, leading to edema, which in turn can affect equalization.

As to you raising the issue of fraud, the mask keeps the user's ears dry whilst scuba diving. That's the claim and the mask works as advertised. Where is there fraud in this claim?

 

[vladimir]

vlad: it's also a matter of which force is gentler to resist, a compressible gas or the hydraulic pressure of water.

I'm no physicist--what unit is gentleness measured in? It seems like a fuzzy concept to me.

 

[Thalassamania]

For details of the fraud just read post 19. If nothing else, the claim of sound location is clearly and undeniably fraudulent.

If the water is cold enough to have all the effects you are concerned about then you should be wearing a dry suit anyway, and a dry hood is an available and superior solution. If you are diving in polluted water you should be wearing a dry suit with a helmet or at least a dry hood and an FFM.

 

[elan]

so pro ear and vented earplugs do work because, they limit the pressure of water on the ear while diving. the masks works by protecting the ear from the surrounding water pressure (you do have to equalize too however), and the earplugs aid by gradually allowing water in the ear compartment and thus allowing a more gradual pressure gradient increase. it is not a placebo effect

If what you were saying was true and those devices were in fact limiting the pressure on the ear you would get blood vessels blown off in the inner ear as the pressure of the blood will be equal (blood is a liquid and not compressible) to the ambient pressure and it will try to compensate the pressure differential. Once the pressure differential will be more than the strength of the blood vessels the vessels will tear apart

Good snug hood will significantly limit the cold water circulation and before reaching the ear drum the water would be warmed up

 

[elan]

For details of the fraud just read post 19.

I would not call it a fraud... It is just one of the cases where companies use poor education for marketing their product.

 

[Thalassamania]

A false representation of a matter of fact—whether by words or by conduct, by false or misleading allegations, or by concealment of what should have been disclosed—that deceives and is intended to deceive another so that the individual will act upon it to her or his legal injury.

That definition seems to foot the bill.

 

[gert7to3]

vlad...A subjective test. Obtain a 5cc syringe, squirt 2cc of cool water into your ear with it. Then try shooting 5cc of cool air from that syringe into your ear. Report back on which substance had caused the greater perceptible response in your ear. My physics courses never covered this either, but I can still perceive a difference.

Thala... Again try the mask sometime, I'm not trying to sell you on it.

There is a perceptible sense of sound direction with the Pro Ear mask. I would not agree with the enthusiasm of the copywriter, it is certainly not like surface sound propagation. Of course I do have significant hearing loss in one ear.

Since you have a lot of technical diving experience, have you done any hard hat or helmet diving? Is there a sense of sound direction wearing that kind of gear? Or do you have headphones on? Another thought is the independent air chambers of the earcups may provide some directional effect whereas a hard hat or (possibly) a helmet system places the ears in a single air chamber.

 

[Thalassamania]

...

Thala... Again try the mask sometime, I'm not trying to sell you on it.

I don't need to, I used the Scuba Queen back in the day, I know the advantages and drawbacks of the concept.

There is a perceptible sense of sound direction with the Pro Ear mask. I would not agree with the enthusiasm of the copywriter, it is certainly not like surface sound propagation. Of course I do have significant hearing loss in one ear.

It is useless for sound location unless it contradict the laws of physics. The enthusiasm of the copywriter extends well into making fraudulent claims.

Since you have a lot of technical diving experience, have you done any hard hat or helmet diving? Is there a sense of sound direction wearing that kind of gear? Or do you have headphones on? Another thought is the independent air chambers of the earcups may provide some directional effect whereas a hard hat or (possibly) a helmet system places the ears in a single air chamber.

No sound location ability. Sound location is dependent on time delay twixt your ears and is predicated on being close to the speed of sound in air, at sea level. The speed of sound in water is more that 5 times that in air, so the delay is so slight that direction can not be ascertained, at least by the human ear.

 

[elan]

Another thought is the independent air chambers of the earcups may provide some directional effect whereas a hard hat or (possibly) a helmet system places the ears in a single air chamber.

Has nothing to do with it, they will provide no directional effect as the direction detection works on the principal of detecting the phase difference between the signals coming into each of the ears. For the direction detection to be working the same way as it does in the air you will need to place your ears to the distance that is as many times great as the speed of sound is high in the water relatively to the air. No air around the ears will help you.

 

[elan]

Sound location is dependent on time delay twixt your ears and is predicated on being close to the speed of sound in air, at sea level. The speed of sound in water is more that 5 times that in air, so the delay is so slight that direction can not be ascertained, at least by the human ear.

Like he said