Review: Doc's Proplugs. EQUALYSEABLE vented earplugs!

[Nicky-Katz]

Namaste!

I've found an absolutely amazing thing yesterday! I was invited to drop in into a diving gig and fin around while divers do their exercises. We met up at a local diving store and... well I ended up with a new pair of ear plugs which ENABLE EQUALIZING and are approved for diving! Hurray I went and bought them ASAP.

They are vented Doc's Proplugs. They come in eight sizes and have a bit different construction, but the ones suited for deep water and higher pressure are the vented ones.

Sooo... Here I go with my review.

The ear plugs are fitted. The stores selling them offer a possibility to try them on. At first the size has to be determined by applying a pattern to the ear. It's just a film with printed silhouettes on it against my ear. Then I got a plug of determined size stuck into my ear. And it fit perfectly! I was so accustomed to constant pressure on my ears from my previous pair wich was too big for me, so I thought the Proplugs would fall out. Anyway, they have a nice feel to them: if you don't think about them, you just don't feel them. Since the Proplugs are vented (they have a small hole in them) I could hear everything very clearly, even if a bit quieter.

And then I took them out into the pool! That was heavenly! My ears stayed dry, I could equalize without problems and I didn't have to take my Proplugs out to be able to hear! And the best thing is - they are virtually invisible! The Proplugs are made of clear material and when one doesn't look directly in your ear, one can't tell you're wearing plugs!


http://i790.photobucket.com/albums/yy182/Opiumsmoke/OpiumSmoke/Catfish/rewiews/IMG_20140426_133400_zps63fe0eea.jpg


That's how they look like. I have a vented pair in size S. They look so tiny on my hand!


http://i790.photobucket.com/albums/yy182/Opiumsmoke/OpiumSmoke/Catfish/rewiews/IMG_20140426_132933_zpsb923435a.jpg


They are tiny, lightweight and clear:


http://i790.photobucket.com/albums/yy182/Opiumsmoke/OpiumSmoke/Catfish/rewiews/IMG_20140426_133007_zps4273ac19.jpg


The tiny hole in them ensures equalyzing possibilyty, BUT still the plugs DO keep out water and protect your ears!



http://i790.photobucket.com/albums/yy182/Opiumsmoke/OpiumSmoke/Catfish/rewiews/IMG_20140426_133030_zps7922c147.jpg


They are INVISIBLE!


http://i790.photobucket.com/albums/yy182/Opiumsmoke/OpiumSmoke/Catfish/rewiews/IMG_20140426_133117_zps801dd6c6.jpg


Well, almost.



http://i790.photobucket.com/albums/yy182/Opiumsmoke/OpiumSmoke/Catfish/rewiews/IMG_20140426_133123_zpsc5c5a1ca.jpg


It was the first time I've spent swimming with ear plugs the entire two hours of my training! Normally I would just put some in while swimming free style to warm up.

All in all: buy them! Save your ears!

P.S.: you can get more information here: http://proplugs.com

[Mermaid Galene]

I bought a pair of these last week but haven't tried them out yet. Glad to hear you like them!

[Nicky-Katz]

Galene, they are simply great!
I'm so glad I got them and had a positive experience, because my doctor warned me I'm prone to pretty much anything connected with ears and swimming.

[Echidna]

sounds great!
are they suitable for any depth?

must-have for anyone with sensitive ears!

Edit: just read they can be worn at any depth.
and blergh, wish I hadn't seen that pic of swimmer's ear.

[AniaR]

I heard about them too but thought you needed to have an ENT fill out forms to get them made for you. They dont sell them here. with my chronic ear problems I'd love to try them.

[Nicky-Katz]

Catluna, yep. Any depth. For divers. I'm so happy I've found them.

AniaR, they come plenty of sizes, and are not custom made. The web site says, there's also a reseller in Canada ( http://www.allstarsales.ca/#!ear-protection/cs1f ). They also sell a fitting kit. So if you can't go to the store to try them on, you could buy a fitting kit, see which one fits and then get your plugs.

Also, it's not much money: mine cost me 20 € and the vented ones from the page here are $13.75

[AniaR]

might be worth trying out anyway. Thanks!

[Nicky-Katz]

You're welcome! :D

[Echidna]

I decided to buy them, problem: no store anywhere near me sells them.

They can be ordered online, but I'm not sure whether I did the measuring right (was a bit messy, no pattern, just me and a tape measure in front of the mirror :p )

Furthermore, my ears seem to be of different size.
I have size medium-small in the right, and small in the left ear.

So now I really dunno what to order :/
should I go with the bigger or the smaller size, or order 2 pairs? :eek:

[Nicky-Katz]

Catluna, I'm not sure about the size. I had the pleasure of personal service and stuff... Does the online store offer a fitting set? It's cheap and worth it, since you can reuse it for other people in your area (with proper cleaning of course :D )

It is actually normal to be not perfectly symmetric. It might be the case, that you'd actually need two different sizes, but I suppose that's unlikely.

[Mermaid Wesley]

Well you shouldn't get the smaller size for sure (I think)


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[Echidna]

Does the online store offer a fitting set?
sadly, no.
but they offer free returns, so I might just order the size I think is right.

[Nicky-Katz]

Hopefully, well... it's not possible to judge, but mine do fit kinde of... loose. I mean I do not feel any pressure on my ears and the plugs can be pulled out without much effort. Anyway, the only way to figure that one out is to try both. That's what I'd do.

[Mermaid Wesley]

I agree.


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[Mermaid Pickles]

Just ordered some, since I have issues with ear infections after swimming. ..not fun. Hopefully they help.

[Nicky-Katz]

Just ordered some, since I have issues with ear infections after swimming. ..not fun. Hopefully they help.

They do! My ears are so happy I use them =^_^=

[Echidna]

I ordered 2 pairs, one for me, one for my mother.
Her pair fits well (I measured us before), but they sent me the wrong size :(

I ordered medium-small, which is in fact one size over tiny and small, and they sent me one that's 2 numbers bigger than that.
needless to say, I can't get them in.

now need to exchange them and the seller says not possible...meh I hate amazon drama, it's one of the worst ugh.