Surfer's Ear

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Beanpole
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Post by Beanpole » Sat Sep 27, 2008 10:29 pm

Docs Pro Plugs fit most of those descriptions. Not that cheap or easy to find but they last for years if you look after them.

zumabeach
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Post by zumabeach » Sun Sep 28, 2008 1:18 am

Have had chronic ear problems for years through surfing. Have tried all the plugs, but none of them work efficiently. Initially, was very sceptical about BluTac but it's by far the best and once you're used to it - that is, you can't hear anything or anyone - it doesn't really matter. Anyway, you're out there to surf, not discuss the meaning of life. BluTac keeps 99.9 per cent of water out, but if you've already got ear nodules, wax will still gets trapped in there. I have them syringed by my GP every six months or so which is a lot less drama than have them drilled. Change the BluTac every dozen surfs or so because it does tend to lose its stickiness and be careful peeling it out of your ears to make sure it comes away in a nice clean lump. Been using it every surf for the last two years and have never had a problem. It really works!

vb
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Post by vb » Sun Sep 28, 2008 3:50 pm

Had the op and now wear crappy silicon things which are usually embedded with sand grain and other gunk. Did see a mate however who was wearing some plastic-looking plugs which he claimed were tops for keeping out the Pacific. They were especially molded for left and right ear. Anyone know of these and where to buy them?

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munch
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Post by munch » Sun Sep 28, 2008 6:12 pm

^^^
elbows wrote:doc pro plugs.
I've used before but they have fallen out, I've got weird shaped ears with big lumps in em :lol: ( well I suppose we all do in this thread) so they just didn't fit right.

Youse get em from surf shops and they should have a fitting set to find out which ones are for you, if you indeed can find "one" for you :?
If it's well engineered it's beautiful .

Beanpole
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Post by Beanpole » Mon Sep 29, 2008 9:01 am

zumabeach wrote:Change the BluTac every dozen surfs or so because it does tend to lose its stickiness. Been using it every surf for the last two years and have never had a problem. It really works!
Zuma I know we're trying to do this cheap but don't you reckon a dozen surfs is stretching it a bit for something that costs a few bucks to buy in the first place?

Where do you keep it between surfs?
Stuck on the dash or in with the wax?

Blue tac works great for swimming but I hate the way it makes your head feel like its full of cement.

Chong
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Post by Chong » Mon Sep 29, 2008 9:36 am

Where do you keep it between surfs?
Stuck on the dash or in with the wax?
Can't speak for zuma but I stick my blu tack to the tail of my board near the leash plug between surfs.

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munch
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Post by munch » Mon Sep 29, 2008 12:59 pm

saltman wrote:and you can then forget about ear plugs, blu tac and all that crap
No you can't, mine noticeably started growing back a couple of years after the op.

And beanpole, blue tac is something you have to get used to :arrow: and you can't wear it one surf, not the next ... otherwise it's all to inconsistent :(
If it's well engineered it's beautiful .

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Shaunm
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Post by Shaunm » Mon Sep 29, 2008 6:10 pm

munch wrote:^^^
elbows wrote:doc pro plugs.
I've used before but they have fallen out, I've got weird shaped ears with big lumps in em :lol: ( well I suppose we all do in this thread) so they just didn't fit right.

Youse get em from surf shops and they should have a fitting set to find out which ones are for you, if you indeed can find "one" for you :?
My ears wont hold plugs in either. I tried ear putty which you can mold to your shape but lost them too.
My noise protection ones fit OK but going under water they got sucked out.

Beanpole
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Post by Beanpole » Mon Sep 29, 2008 9:52 pm

munch wrote:
saltman wrote:
And beanpole, blue tac is something you have to get used to :arrow: and you can't wear it one surf, not the next ... otherwise it's all to inconsistent :(
Still gives me the shits wearing the stuff. Is it too up market to use a new bit every surf or does it have more cred if its covered in dog hair and sand?
Real good if your prone to ear infections.

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munch
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Post by munch » Tue Sep 30, 2008 8:25 am

The crudy'er the more cred :lol: I haven't replaced mine in a year, just seems to get sticker.

And mine were reamed to 10mm, in mid 2002 & early 2003 a doctor, recently had a guess at 4mm the other day :?
If it's well engineered it's beautiful .

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ric_vidal
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Post by ric_vidal » Tue Sep 30, 2008 10:38 am

munch wrote:The crudy'er the more cred :lol: I haven't replaced mine in a year, just seems to get sticker.

And mine were reamed to 10mm, in mid 2002 & early 2003 a doctor, recently had a guess at 4mm the other day :?
Next time get serious, daMunch :wink:

Image

Oh what a bore! :D

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marcus
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Post by marcus » Tue Sep 30, 2008 10:58 am

Beanpole wrote:
zumabeach wrote:Change the BluTac every dozen surfs or so because it does tend to lose its stickiness. Been using it every surf for the last two years and have never had a problem. It really works!
Zuma I know we're trying to do this cheap but don't you reckon a dozen surfs is stretching it a bit for something that costs a few bucks to buy in the first place?

Where do you keep it between surfs?
Stuck on the dash or in with the wax?

Blue tac works great for swimming but I hate the way it makes your head feel like its full of cement.
on the dash near the stereo in a little compartment, or on the nose of a board. also have a blob up inside my helmet

zumabeach
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Post by zumabeach » Sat Oct 04, 2008 8:55 am

I buy a couple of packs of BluTac every couple of months from the local hardware shop. $4? $4.450 each? Something like that. I usally keep one in the car, although living at the beach in Sydney I can hardly be bothered driving unless it's really necessary. In winter, I keep some with my wax and stuff and when I walk down the corner to surf I stick a lump of it up my wettie sleeve and don't put it in my ears until just before I go in the water. In summer, I keep it in my board short's pocket and again don't put it in my ears until I'm about to get wet. For whatever reason, it doesn't actually pick up a lot of gunk and stays pretty clean. The other day I actually dropped it in the sand as I was about to put it in and the few grains it picked up brushed off without a problem. Sometimes it seems to lose its stickiness after half a dozen surfs, sometimes after a dozen. It's a simple if hardly text book solution to a problem most long time surfers will eventually have to deal with. $5000 to have your ears drilled and weeks of pain - and the nodules grow back anyway? Or eight bucks every couple of months and maybe the occasional visit to the GP to have your ears painlessly syringed to remove excess wax? Option number two, thanks very much.

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RickyG
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Post by RickyG » Sat Oct 04, 2008 12:40 pm

After the drops I was given didn't work I went to a specialist last week to get all the gunk sucked out of my right ear. No wonder stuff gets trapped in there. He drew a picture of what he could see in my ear. Instead of a clear circle, with the eardum at the back, there was only the tiniest bit left unblocked.
He asked, 'how long do you plan on surfing?' 'For as long as I possibly can' I answered :lol: He seemd to think I should either stay out of the water or manage it with plugs and drops. I think I know which I'll choose.

According to him most of the growth happens in childhood and adolescence - so any young ones reading this, you've been warned!

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Toby Wan
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Post by Toby Wan » Tue Oct 07, 2008 12:11 pm

nuts situation for a couple of you blokes!!

i've seen a few of you use the term swimmers/surfers ear interchangably, but are they truely the same thing?

Ricky mentioned that its got a lot to do with growing up in the surf.. I didn't really surf much until after school but grew up swimming competitively and think i have a little bit of the old swimmers ear..
went to the doc (GP) a little while ago cause my ears were a bit funny.. I usually use those cotton tips to get excess wax out, prolly not a good idea.. anyway she said I had minor swimmers ear infection kind of thing, but didn't think it was all that bad as far as wax buildup was concerned... should i be getting it checked out again, cause fk me i don't wanna be outta the water any time soon!

edit: will check out Munch's links to threads for some answers too..
edit 2: so i should be worried about growths, not just the infection (although obviously that is a concern too)

basically, do the 2 go hand in hand - swimmers and surfers ear?
If i've got the itchy ear feeling and swimmers ear going on, is it the natural progression that this could/would develop into this surfers ear growth in the ear canals?

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heefcoate
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Post by heefcoate » Tue Oct 07, 2008 12:43 pm

yes it is the same.

also water will get into your ear with blue tac, tho it does not matter, swimmers ear is caused by cold water, a little bit of water will get in but will be warmed up very quickly. It has become more common now because of people surfing in winter more often.

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munch
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Post by munch » Tue Oct 07, 2008 1:10 pm

For me surfers ear is exostosis, and swimmers ear is wax build up and /or mild infection itchy and the like :arrow: aqua ear or something similar (i use isocroc or something with a little bit of vinegar mixed in, read the other threads for info)

Nc's written about what bone growth feels like when he broke his ankle and I won't try and rewrite his insightful comments from memory, but leave it for you to find :arrow: anyway, that's what surfers ear feels like for me, and when it happens after every cold surf it becomes hard to ignore coincidence, though I tried :(
If it's well engineered it's beautiful .

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LordBoard
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Post by LordBoard » Sun Oct 12, 2008 9:41 pm

I got a perforated Ear Drum from surfing in a 6ft+ swell, the wave dumped me then the board bunched back and smashed into my ear at high velocity in the barrell. So my ear drum was damaged and outside some cartlidge.

Either way it never healed up, it got infected and then had to treat it. Now i've got a permanent hole there and BASS + other sounds are not quite as good and lost a bit of hearing.

Since then I wasn't in the water for over a year to prove the healing process, I ulimately got some blu-tac and it works a treat. I started using it in the shower and got used to it. Now I take it surfing and so far no complications. It stays on and water rarely gets through. You have to get the right amount (not too little and not a huge blob). I squeeze it into a slight pyramid and then put it in and pat it around the ear canal and it seals really well. You can still hear through blu-tac, just not as loud. I'd rather protect my ears than have complications again.

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