surfer ear

[baller]

At what point did you guys finally decide to get surgery? Ears totally closed or what? When is surgery absolutely necesary? Would you guys recommend it or try to hold off as long as possible? My friend's dad had the surgery and he said don't get it.

I've been using plugs for about 4 years.. Been surfing for 16 years. I have been to the ENT about 5 times in the past 4 years since I've been having problems with my ears. The procedure is pretty basic. They first use an instrument and dig out huge chunks of ear gunk. Then its on to the vacum suction machine which can hurt a little but feels great afterwards when your ears are clean. My ears are 85% and 90% closed with boney growth(according to the doc)..

I've noticed guys starting to use the same disposable silicon style plugs that I use. They keep all water out and I think they keep the ear canal warmer. My biggest problem is slamming hard on my ears, closeout barrels, excessive duckdiving and taking shacking waves on the head. This is where the Docs plugs have failed me and how my ears get plugged up.

 

[surf cat]

Years ago Doc Scott would park his bus at the Lane and check Surfer’s ears. He would use a 35 mm SLR with a optic fiber attachment so you could look into your own ears. I learned that my ears were already fairly closed , and would need a operation if I didn’t take care of them. One ear, my windward ear was worse that the other. I was already wearing a sports cap-hood but found it actually held water in making it worse. Doc Scott fitted me with the right size. I normally buy the kind with a rope that attaches them together and a lariat neckless so I don’t lose them. Once you get use to the protection your ears won’t let you forget them. Doc Scott would tell you that Pro plugs reverse surfers ear. You have to keep your ears warm. Have you ever seen those headbands skiers use that cover your ears? Doc Scott would tell you to wear the head band to bed. Especially if your ears are getting bad and won’t drain. Pro plugs are made with a little hole- this helps keep the water out. They also make them with out a hole for people that shoot guns or work around lots of nose. The ear drops people have mentioned are made to dry moisture in your ear after you are done surfing,showering. When the ear cannel starts to close it becomes a perfect spot for infection to grow and multply. See a Doctor for some antibacterial ear drops. I bought one of those ‘ear wax removal ‘ kits from the drug store with the little blue plunger- The plunger comes in handy to use warm water and a bowl to power jet the sand and dead skin from inside your ear drum that causes itching. If you do lots of duck diving you can really put a lot of pressure on your ear drums - protect them. Don’t worry about how they make you look. I have friends that have spent thousands and thousands of dollars on ear drilling because they are too cool to protect their ears. Could that daily surfer have surfed 9,990 days in a row with out Doc’s Pro Plugs? Nowayjose!

 

[Reality Check]

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by Skim:
<strong>Reality check -

I used to train with Charles Gracie in Daly City and then with Ralph Gracie in San Fran.

Did you train?</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Skim,
I trained with Charles Gracie also, he is a good guy.

 

[blakestah]

You should not need to clean wax out of your ears. The ears naturally produce wax, it naturally makes its way out. If you try to clean your ear canal with a Q-tip, you get into trouble by pushing the wax INSIDE your ear canal.

If crap gets in there (non-wax), you can use water to rinse it out, followed by rubbing alcohol to get the water out.

There is literally no evidence or demonstration that surfer's ear reverses itself. It MIGHT happen, but it is largely unknown. What is known is that cold causes it, so keeping the canal warm is key. That means plugs and/or hood. To determine if it is reversible you would need to measure the growth in many people at different time points, and there are no published results with this method.

ANY person who surfs often in NorCal for more than 5 years will develop noticeable bony growth. Some people actually need surgery in this short a period.

If you begin to get infections, this is SWIMMER's ear. The best treatment is DRYING out the canal, which is done with rubbing alcohol after getting wet.

If you do screw yourself with Q-tips, the recommended solution is softening the wax. To do this, fill your ear canal with mineral oil (baby oil), and plug it with cotton. Leave it overnight. Your hearing will be a little wacked for a day. Then, DON'T USE Q-TIPS AGAIN IN YOUR EAR CANAL! You can use the mineral oil multiple times if necessary. But left alone, wax normally clears itself.

 

[Skim]

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by Reality Check:
<strong> </font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by Skim:
<strong>Reality check -

I used to train with Charles Gracie in Daly City and then with Ralph Gracie in San Fran.

Did you train?</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Skim,
I trained with Charles Gracie also, he is a good guy.</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">What year(s)? Did you ever meet a 6ft tall skinny blue belt named Jimmy in 99-00? (that's me)

 

[ECSrfrGrl]

My mom had surfer's ear in both ears and it was making her go deaf, obviously because bone grows over your ear canal... anyway, she had to have a really gross surgury where they drill a new ear canal because of the bone growth... so of course, she being a mom, made my brother and i go to the doctor and have our ears checked out and his suggestions were either to wear ear plugs or just put a few drops of baby oil in your ears before you surf ... especially in cold water/cold air situations

 

[SurfDoc]

I worked with Doc Scott. He's a great and knowledgeable man and a legend. Good earplugs like ProPlugs are essential to all surfers. And Blakestah is right. A little bit of wax is protective to some degree so leave it alone. No q-tips.

Surfers ear is a reactive bony growth. Wind and cold and water one or all or both. Got it? Wear protection!

 

[Wiliwili]

After 7 years of cold water surfing, a Dr. said I had up to 80% closure of the ear canal in both ears. My main problem was trapped water leading to infection, but my hearing was good. I took a break from surfing for awhile and now 12 years later a Dr. didn't find any problems with my ears and my hearing is great. Maybe the problem does reverse. Dunno.