Nobody wants 'Surfers Ear' this winter - Do you?
Caused by prolonged exposure to cold wind & water in the ear canal, Surfers Ear is far more than a case of getting some water stuck inside your ear drum (although that might be WHY you keep getting water stuck in there!) This time if year is when you're doing the most damage to your ear canals, so here are three tips to help reduce the chance of developing the condition, and three signs that you might already be suffering from it!
Tips to reduce the chance of developing Surfers Ear
1: Ear Plugs Before you go imagining those little yellow silicone plugs you steal from work, think again. There are specially designed ear plugs for surfers, which actually block the water and wind, without blocking the sound! Hearing is important while you're out there, and those little squishy plugs work in a pinch (get it?), but they do block the sound too, because after all that's what they're designed for.
2: Hooded Wettys You may be surprised to learn that you do NOT lose almost half of your body heat through your head (that's a big myth). In fact your head is no more likely to lose body heat than any other part of your body. But a hood does keep you super toasty considering that it's just your head out in the wind anyway. That's one of the causes for Surfers Ear covered, the other two, water and wind are sorted by the fact that there's a membrane covering the outside of your ear.
3: Surf Hats Not quite as good as the above two items, but better than nothing. You know the type, the one you've got stashed away from your last surf trip to Indo, with the strap and the little flaps that cover your ear. They work in winter too you know! Just the barrier from the wind will do wonders for your ears, and you get an added bonus of keeping your nose out of the sun!
Here's an incentive for you - to treat severe cases of Surfers Ear, surgeons use a 1mm chisel to remove pieces of bone from inside the ear canal. Occasionally, under local anaesthetic only! Picture some guy going to town inside your ear canal with a chisel, next time you're wondering about ear plugs on a windy day. Or perhaps the image of a surgeon making an incision at the rear of your ear, then drilling from the inside-out! No joke, that's how they cure the condition.
But what if you've got some niggling ear problems that you've been ignoring for the last few years? There are three big signs that your ear canals may be constricting, and it might be time to see the doc.
Symptoms of Surfers Ear (Exstosis)
Impaired Hearing: Huh? Whadidyasay? Hearing loss isn't just for oldies - surfers from 25 onwards can have greatly impaired hearing as a result of surfers ear.
Blocked ear canals: If you're noticing water being trapped inside your ear canals more than you used to, perhaps it's because your ear canals are much narrower than they once were?
Ear Infections: Trapped water and salt inside your ear can cause infections if you can't get it out, and in conjunction with the above problems, you're much more likely to notice an increased rate of ear infections if you have surfers ear.
Think you're suffering from any of the above? Next time you're in the doctors, get them to check it out - or better still, if you're not suffering - try the methods above to prevent getting Surfers Ear in the first place. Nobody wants a chisel in their ear…
WA
