Patent ID: 7185655

Claim:
An ear prophylactic device for the ears of users operating at or below the surface of water and other liquid media, at depths less than thirty-three feet as well as depths greater than thirty-three feet, to prevent an ear from being adversely affected by infection and barotraumas, said device comprising: a tapering and centrally void outer ear member configured and dimensioned for a watertight and airtight fit within a user's ear, said outer ear member having a wide end and a narrow end, said outer ear member also having a centrally void flexible protrusion depending from said narrow end and extending into the user's ear canal; a non-collapsing, flexible sleeve having a hollow interior and opposite ends, said sleeve being configured and dimensioned for concentric positioning within said flexible protrusion; a stretchable diaphragm made from water-resistant and air-resistant material; and sealing means adapted for sealing said diaphragm across one of said opposite ends of said sleeve so that when a user of said device is intending to enter a liquid medium greater than thirty-three feet in depth said sleeve is positioned within said flexible protrusion in a manner that places said diaphragm adjacent to said flexible protrusion to allow stretching diaphragm movement toward the user's ear canal to provide pressure equalization in response to changes in liquid pressure, and when a user intends to remain at liquid depths less than thirty-three feet said sleeve is positioned within said flexible protrusion in a manner that places said diaphragm adjacent to said outer ear member to allow stretching diaphragm movement toward the user's ear canal and into said hollow interior of said sleeve to provide pressure equalization in response to changes in liquid pressure, and further so that when said device is secured within a user's ear positioning of said diaphragm blocks entry of all contaminants into the ear canal while it stretches toward the ear canal in response to increasing liquid pressure and thereby protects the user's ear from barotraumas as the depth of the liquid medium around the user increases and decreases according to the user's vertical movement.