peterjmaerz
Guest
Hi Folks,
A cautionary tale concerning the Oceanic ProEar mask:
After recovering from a squeeze some weeks back, I dove a wreck today and, once again, had trouble equalizing, something I hadn't experienced in well over 200 dives prior to the incident a month ago.
As was the case when I suffered the squeeze, I was diving with a hood *and* the proear (the kind with earcups), because I'd just had gauge readers installed and didn't want to use my regular mask without them. (the water's still nippy for me here in South Florida at 75 degrees). When I slid the earcups off my ears (or, more acurately, where my ears were underneath the hood), I found that my ears were "back to normal", i.e., I could instantly equalize normally. Apparently the layer of neoprene between my ears and the mask's earcups served to "seal off" the earcups and prevent my ears from equalizing. Normally, the one-way valves that connect the earcups to the air space in the mask serve to equalize the earcups.
Just something to think about in the unlikely event you try the same configuration I did!
Best,
A cautionary tale concerning the Oceanic ProEar mask:
After recovering from a squeeze some weeks back, I dove a wreck today and, once again, had trouble equalizing, something I hadn't experienced in well over 200 dives prior to the incident a month ago.
As was the case when I suffered the squeeze, I was diving with a hood *and* the proear (the kind with earcups), because I'd just had gauge readers installed and didn't want to use my regular mask without them. (the water's still nippy for me here in South Florida at 75 degrees). When I slid the earcups off my ears (or, more acurately, where my ears were underneath the hood), I found that my ears were "back to normal", i.e., I could instantly equalize normally. Apparently the layer of neoprene between my ears and the mask's earcups served to "seal off" the earcups and prevent my ears from equalizing. Normally, the one-way valves that connect the earcups to the air space in the mask serve to equalize the earcups.
Just something to think about in the unlikely event you try the same configuration I did!
Best,
