Pro Ear Mask

I have over 200 dives using IST's Pro Ear Mask. Had a tympanplasty, a rebuilt eardrum, which is more delicate than the OEM I grew. This mask lets me keep my ear dry. You can also use it with a Doc's Pro Plug ear plug for a belt-and-suspenders approach. I would use this especially if you have a perforated eardrum.

The earcups are equalized by exhaling through your nose which pushes air out to the earcups through little hoses at the top of the mask skirt. You will do a lot more exhaling though your nose, so anti-fog on your mask is important.

About using the mask with hoods. I originally tried the IST hood. I didn't like it because it was bulky, stiff and the neck skirt was too short. I tried cutting out ear holes in a couple of hooded vests. This worked okay, but when I turned my head the hood would sometimes torque the earcups and cause leakage. You also look really goofy with the mask off, but your hood on, a bit like the Six Flags advertising guy. Of course a diver with a mask ring on their face and snot hanging out their nose is not a fashion plate, so who cares? Finally I tried a Henderson hooded vest, with an air vent and just pulled the hood over the earcups. This worked well enough, though there will be some water exchange beneath the hood. this might not work well enough for a drysuit/tech diver doing long deco stops. It works adequately for me diving a 7 mm wetsuit, open circuit, single in 42 degree (F) water.

Finally, if you have a perforated eardrum or are at risk with a tympanoplasty, always take a med along. Especially on a live-aboard or an island trip. I maintain a prescription for Ofloxacin 0.3% otic solution, it's an eardrop to treat infection, if you get a perforation and water in your middle ear. $135, but worth it if can avoid an infection.

Great product. Not perfect but probably as good a solution for a difficult problem as is possible. I have perforated eardrums with tubes in them and I thoughti would never be able to dive or snorkel again until I discovered these masks. It takes a little practice but once you get comfortable with it, and learn how to get a good seal over the ears and how to clear them if water gets in you should be pretty comfortable diving. The ear cups do leak occasionally but they are pretty easy to clear. A couple of times I was having trouble but it was pretty easy to surface, empty the water, then descend again. Even when they do leak it's a small amount and the water settles to the bottom of the cup so as long as you don't turn your head, or get a lot more water in the cups, water won't go in your ears.

Over the past 3 or 4 years I have been struggling with effectively equalizing my right ear. I have called a number of dives or ended up with a middle ear barotrauma as a result of not effectively equalizing. As a last resort, I decided to give the ProEar mask a try.

My first in-water test was restricted to the pool and about 13’ so the results are not 100% conclusive but I think a good test. To begin, I dove my regular Aqualung mask with Doc ProPlug vented ear plugs. I was able to equalize fairly easily both on descent and ascents. I repeated the descent/ascent several times to try and get a better assessment on my ears.

After 10 minutes I switched to the ProEar mask. My first impressions were that the skirt is noticeably softer and much easier to pinch my nose. While you do need to make sure your ears and hair are completely clear of the ear cup edges to keep a good seal, it was not a problem to seat the mask properly. During my descent I noticed that equalizing was easier than with my normal mask and vented ear plugs. I definitely liked not having the sensation of water pressure on my ears. I repeated the descent/ascent process for 15 minutes and found that I could more comfortably equalize on demand with the ProEar mask.

I found the following downsides to the ProEar mask. While the skirt is very soft, I did get a very slight leak when I turned my head. Also, with the cups over your ears, you have a much harder time hearing above water. Both of these downsides are not enough to not dive the mask.

My conclusion is that I will definitely add this mask to my dive bag. I do want to put it to the test in an open water setting to get the full effect. However, for now I can feel the difference in being able to equalize over a traditional mask.

I do want to add that working with DRIS (Kim and Steve) were very helpful in deciding to order this mask. Also, the full black skirt mask is a slightly larger volume mask over the clear skirt masks. The skirts appear to the same when held together but the all black skirt has a slightly deeper and wider frame.