surfers ear

[K-man]

Just went over to the KSA site.Check out the new drift site especially the graphics!Rob slater....Plenty of talent
Noticed a ''health''section dealing with surfers ear[mark MCleod],looked thru our health files found nothing.
My two cents.Late 80's.ears were bunged up bad.Major ear infections,very painful to say the least.Got so bad went to the ear specialist.Got lucky,the doc was a surfer!
Said;don't get the operation.they just grow back.[right ear 90..let ear75]
Three good buds went the operation route,and yes;they grew back!
Doc's advise?wear a rubber hat,use ear plugs.
Good advise,No major problems,just have to make sure I wear the plugs.

cheers

[KAVA]

yeah i get pain in my ear canals and 1st thing i do is hit em (cotton swab/Q-tip) with some vinegar. wait a couple minutes, then apply some alcohol in there. the vinegar kills the bacteria and the alcohol evaporates the vinegar and drys up any excess moisture. works great!

[Jerry]

I HAD to have the operation 2 years ago. My left ear only had .03 opening. The colder the water the more it effects the ear. In a few years when I'm living in the Philippines, I suspect the ear-closing effect will reverse course

[K-man]

http://www.santacruzmedical.org/surfersear.html


Grab some snacks,a cool beverage...maybe snuggle up with your honey,and watch the vids.
His method appears to be less intrusive.

[ScottMac]

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[MikeS]

I guess you can call me an expert in this surgery. After 33 years of surfing and 8 operations,I've had more than my share of these surgeries. My last ear operation was two years ago w/Dr Hetzler. He did both ears at the same time. Fortunately with his new procedure its not as obtrusive as having your ear basically almost hacked off and a makita drill boring into your skull. Basically he comes in from outside the ear canal ,enters in and chips away at the bone growth.As he explained its like "peeling an onion"...the bone growth that is.Recovery time was about 2 weeks of no surf. Before it was more like 6-8 weeks.
I might also include, that after the surgery,your chances are far more greater for reoccurence than not having the surgery.Keep this in mind before going under the knife. Had I known this in the beginning, I might have held off.

[K-man]

Interesting...more than once!Did you start using ear plugs after the first operation?The ear plugs and intermitten hat wearing made the difference in my case.
Last checkup doc saw no increase in growth,meaning the condition is stable.Haven't had an earache,or infection in well over 20 yrs.Still have minor sinus problems,and the odd ringing[minor]Chalk it up to huey whispering in my ear.......Your wave chuckie....

[BillL]

I've had the same experience as Kman, I've been using plugs for the last 20+ years with no significant increase in severity, mine are both 90+ occluded. I also use a mixture of 2/3 Alcohol and 1/3 vinegar to help evaporate the water that does get in, it's the same ingredients that's in Swimmer's Ear. When I feel an infection coming on, Hydrogen Peroxide in the canal can nip it the bud.After that Garlic, Mullein oil.
It takes a while to get used to the plugs, I can't hear people too well with them so I'm always taking them out to listen. It helps to have them on a leash so you don't lose them .I use Doc's Pro plugs. They're a bit of a hassle, but well worth it to avoiding the surgery.

[W.G. Facenda]

Doc pro plug, checked my ears in the late seventies and said they were real bad and 90% + closed. I use ear plugs and swimmers ear after surf always. I was going to get surgery once and a specialist said ," a last option is try hydrocortisone neomyaicin drops. They worked after 2 weeks and what a cold feeling , after being closed so long.Both ears are screwed but all you need is a pin hole to hear

[Bill E.]

I get my ears cleaned out every couple years at the doctors office. They pull out a plug of wax the size of a long pencil eraser. This stuff stinks and really helps the problem with sinnus problems and sore throat etc.
Still when I use loud power equiptment, I can feel the bumps rub on each other and is kind of annoying.
Always use a hood in the water!! Too many years of pool swimmin, snow sking, blow boarding and swimmin with no hood took its toll. The ear doctor says it is the worse case he has ever seen (usually treats divers ear and not surfers) but says never operate unless it is totally necessary.

[kidrock]

Had problems real bad back in the 80's, to the point where I had shooting pains in both ears. After that, I started cleaning them after every sesh.

My hearing is toasted, though. The wife is clearly sick of me saying "Huh? What?!?" every time she says something.

After 13 years of marriage, isn't that what every husband does?

[K-man]

That's called selective hearing... Yet,there are certain word that defy hearing loss.FOOD.whispered at a distance,that even dogs cannot hear,tend to be loud and clear.

[crox]

Mine got bad about 14 years ago....I have to go to the hospital every 4 months & have them vacuumed out! [don't try this at home ]

I've been doing that now for the last 12 years...the water is pretty cool here....I now wear a Gath helmet & ear plugs the year round....you get used to it!......If I get water in my ears it's down to the hospital....so I take a lot of care with them.......but hated the plugs for several months when I first had them.....but the result is.....NO OPERATION ...& they've not got any worse.

[Beeline2.0]

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[K-man]

Close enough for rock and roll bee.VACUUMED....That's the ticket[gingerly]Doc uses one of the thinnest straws,bends it around the obstruction Turns on the vacuum machine Sound bad,but doesn't hurt,and gets everythings out.
Worth the 50$.