Neoprene hood question

[Guest guest]

I have a lot of difficulty with my inability to hear while paddling with a neoprene hood on. I have a fuzzy rubber hood that is comfortable in the current water temps, but I suspect it won't be sufficient later in the winter.

Has anybody tried cutting ears holes in a neoprene hood and covering them with a thinner, waterproof material?

[Guest guest]

Sounds like a good idea. Let me take this opportunity to plug my favorite hood, the henderson hyperstretch wetsuit hood with the bib cut off. I do like your idea amn might well try it. I'll start with my 5mm hood which I do not wear that much anyway.

[Guest guest]

Most dive shops sell hoods with 1/4" holes around the ears. They are only slightly better. In the very cold weather most of use hand signals. Save the talk for the beach.

Jim B

Thought for the day: Never be afraid to try something

new. Remember that amateurs built the Ark. Professionals built the

Titanic

P & H Orion

Yellow over White

jim@nspn.org

[Guest guest]

One concern--cutting holes in the hood will decrease the protection it gives your ears from cold water. Sudden cold water striking the eardrum can cause uncontrollable vertigo. I remember in medical school doing "cold water calorics," where we squirted water into comatose patients' ears to evaluate their level of brain activity, i.e. it's a strong reflex. Prolonged cold water exposure also isn't good--it can narrow the ear canal because it stimulates bony overgrowth, "surfer's ear," which can be a painful problem to have corrected later. Because I spend a lot of time on and in the water in the winter, I use earplugs and extra neoprene to prevent water from getting into my ears.

Of course, being totally deaf when I take out my hearing aids, I'm less worried about being able to hear than everyone else : )

I think American Sign Language is ideal for kayakers (ASL is a creole--one of its constituents was the very nautical sign language of Martha's Vineyard, which both hearing and deaf Vineyarders used when fishing). I laugh when I see the Tsunami Rangers' little list of nouns and verbs--they could be using a complete language rather than a few, limited hand signals. Not only can signs be "heard" when voice can't, but they transmit over a much greater distance.

Anytime nspn wants, I'd help with a kayaking ASL class...

Sanjay

[Linda]

Sanjay,

I would love to learn ASL...Especially for kayaking. What a great idea! Thanks for the offer. If you post it they will come!

Best regards,

Linda

[Guest guest]

As an audiologist and person with a unilateral hearing loss, I agree with Sanjay. Cold water against the eardrum, as many NSPNers learning rolling and sculling have experienced first hand, will cause sudden vertigo on the water. And there is the eventual possibility of exostoses.... body growth in the ear canal..... makes fitting those nice small "invisible" hearing aids impossible (something us baby boomers need to keep in mind !).

I agree Sanjay - an ASL / sign language class for necessary signs on the water is a great idea!

Deb

[Guest guest]

I would be extremely interested in classes in ASL. In fact, I was thinking about this subject yesterday.

Dee Hall

Impex Currituck, Blue over Smoky Ivory

[Guest guest]

>I think American Sign Language is ideal for kayakers (ASL is

>a creole--one of its constituents was the very nautical sign

>language of Martha's Vineyard, which both hearing and deaf

>Vineyarders used when fishing). I laugh when I see the

>Tsunami Rangers' little list of nouns and verbs--they could

>be using a complete language rather than a few, limited hand

>signals. Not only can signs be "heard" when voice can't, but

>they transmit over a much greater distance.

Sanjay,

Why do you laugh? Unlike ASL, the Tsunami Ranger hand signals are "one handed", allowing the signer to keep one hand on the paddle at all times. The Ranger's limited vocabulary is geared to what they need to communicate while on the water, in conditions.

"I'm afraid, let's quit" is not something I'd be willing to take both hands off the paddle to sign in 8' breaking seas and 30+ knot winds. This I know from first hand experience.

ASL is fascinating and is obviously well suited to it's intended purpose. It may also be suitable for calm water paddling. The Tsunami Ranger's hand signals appear to be well suited to their intended purpose, which is communicating in big water, or else the Rangers would adopt something else.

Ciro.

"Leaders don't swim" - Gordon Brown

Change Log:

1.1, 12/15/03: In 2nd paragraph, changed "my hands" to "both hands".

[oldsalty]

"I'm afraid, let's quit" is generally communicated by keeping both hands firmly on the paddle and vomiting.

[Guest guest]

>One concern--cutting holes in the hood will decrease the

>protection it gives your ears from cold water. Sudden cold

>water striking the eardrum can cause uncontrollable

>vertigo...

I intended to cover the holes so that water couldn't get in that way, or maybe you are thinking that because the neoprene is not snug against the ears that it would be easier for water to end up in the ears.

I am not a very visually oriented person. I use my ears for a lot more than communication while paddling. There are a bunch of sounds that I consider important. Some are:

- the sound of a wave crest starting to break behind me

- motor boats coming from any direction

- bouy bells or horns

- the distinctive sound of loose objects tumbling inside of a boat while it capsizes

[Guest guest]

This product has been on the market for some time. I remember a MB thread several years ago about them. I've not tried them but have thought about it, particularly because they are advertised to keep water out but let sound it. Maybe they would be an answer. Anybody have experience with them?

http://www.proplugs.com/

Jill

[Guest guest]

Generations of deaf moms and dads have signed one-handed while holding a baby, or the groceries, in the other hand. ASL is easily signed and understood one-handed. In fact, because of its facial grammar, some things can be communicated no-handed.

What the Rangers' code lacks is grammar--there's no way to connect their signs to each other meaningfully. This limits it massively compared with a true language. Instead of saying "hey guys, I just remembered it's my wedding anniversary and I gotta get outta here," the Ranger can only say "GO." (The English sentence can be signed in 4 signs.) Because they use 3-dimensional space grammatically, sign languages are uniquely well-suited to navigation communication. (You can give directions to the nearest supermarket much more easily in ASL than in English.)

I don't really mean to make fun of their efforts or their system. It's just strange how "blind" we can be to sign language, even though it's the 4th most used language in the country. I was just as blind to it as anyone before I was forced to learn it by vanishing hearing, so maybe I have some of the zeal of a convert. Without ASL, my life would be in shambles.

One other reason to prefer "real" sign language is that by doing so we make our sport more accessible to deaf people. Deaf people have already contributed baseball signs and the football huddle to "hearing culture"--maybe we could invite the deaf community to contribute good kayak-communication too : )

Sanjay

[jeffcasey]

For some weird extra-curricular reading along these lines (ASL, enhanced communication), lookup an out of print sci-fi short story: "Persistence of Vision", by John Varley. Bizarre, thought provoking, good healthy fun. If you can't find it and really want to read it, I can loan you the book.