Ear advice

Use Blutac.

Agree with the blutac
Flush with Aqua ear after a surf and shower ..get a piece of plastic tube and blow air in the ear canal to dry it out - do this twice ..
Why arent you using the Antibiotic drops ??
Hydrogen peroxide to knock an infection but check on this ?

Agree the hydrogen peroxide will dissolve the ear wax if your wax is blocking the ear but if you remove the protective ear wax, the bare skin in there can get infected - happened to me.
Lengthy trip, mate start using ear plugs or blue tack. An full blown ear infection is painful and could spell misery on a trip to remote areas

Use the blu tac or plugs, seriously you'll end up with an infection. Can go the hole hog with swimming cap followed by helmet. Get a small hairdryer and use it to dry your ear out after each surf, just hold it at a distance that comfortable and dry away. Use the aqua ear as well. Can always use the antibiotic drops as another back up as well.

Get on top of it an manage it asap or you'll end up with am infection in Indo

You don’t want to end up in an Indo hospital with a major ear infection.
I’m 2 weeks away from my first surfers ear operation after having trouble with my ears the last few years.

The last infection hospitalised me and ruined me for weeks. Plugs and aqua ear after every surf and aqua ear after every shower until my op now.
Don’t fuck around with it.
Infection can happen so quick .

I'd say you've already got the start of an infection. I've had thousands of them and have been resisting the op through management. You'll need to use the antibiotic drops (sofradex or whatever) until it clears then religiously use the aquaear after every surf to dry it out. Isopropyl alcohol also works good. And if there's any built up debris in there wax etc then you might be able to find somewhere that does the micro suction. It helps too but you need to get on top of the infection First. Just because it isn't painful doesn't mean there's not infection. Good luck

bigredcouch wrote:

Seeking advice regarding an ear situation I’m trying to manage. Currently in indo at the start of what’s meant to be a pretty lengthy trip. Found out about 12 months ago I’ve got surfers ear (90% grown over) that need surgery, basically.

Haven’t had too many issues since then but she’s flaring up over here. Got aqua ear with me and some antibiotic drops (but not using the drops).

Pretty much whenever my head goes underwater the ear fills up immediately and blocks. Obviously I’m aware surfing with ear plugs/blu tac is best way to keep water out - but I’ve never been able to tolerate/enjoy it.

Wondering if there’s any other ways ppl keep water out or ways to manage it or any indo pharmacy magic that’ll keep infection away etc etc.

Cheers

got

You’ve got wax stuck in your behind your surfers ear I’d say. I had the same thing. Maybe try what I did? Go to Siloam hospital on Sunset Rd Bali. Ask to see the ear nose and throat specialist. She will get her device which has a camera attached to a little vacuum and stick it in your ear and suck the wax out. Finish up with 3% hydrogen peroxide solution applied straight in to dissolve any remaining wax. Problem solved.

The above process was done in one visit without doctors referral. Cost me about $40 all up. This was about 6 years ago.

Or you could just go to an apotek ( chemist ) and buy the hydrogen peroxide straight up and take care of it yourself. It’s easy as and I still do it to this day due to having same surfers ear blockage as yourself. Get the peroxide, lie on your side and drop some in. Lay there for a minute or two until it stops fizzing then roll over and let the wax/ peroxide solution drain out of your ear. Wipe down with happy tissues and you’re good to go!

The peroxide may feel disconcerting when you’re not used to it. Sometimes it gives you a whole body hot flush or might even make you feel a bit nauseous. Fear not! It’s all good and soon you’ll be wax free and no more ear blocked with water.

Good luck.

Strangely enough I found I’ve still got the details of the specialist I saw at Siloam. Plus a bonus photo of the monitor as she vacuums the crud from around the bone growths in my wear canal.

Side note: At the time this ear was blocked from wearing ear plugs all day in 40 degree Pilbara heat doing construction. The doctor at the remote town pushed a “ wick” into my ear and blocked it completely. Enough to drive you insane! Then he poured some dissolving oil in there like molasses and achieved nothing beyond gamming my ear up for days.

He then told me there was no the could do and said I had to see a specialist but first I’d need a referral. Spent a day in Perth trying to see a GP for the referral. $40 and an appointment with a specialist 2 months later! And another couple of hundred dollars no doubt. I’d have gone insane in that time.

Instead we went to Indo and it was fixed in 24 hours for $40 all up.

Best of luck, get that ear fixed and get some sick pits for me BRC.

should have been a viewer warning on that post, I almost retched up my porridge

blu tac works really well. Use decent sized chunks. It stops the flush of water deep in behind the exostosis - where it can stay for days and lead to infections.

After a surf you pull out the blu tac and the outer ear canal is damp and dries quickly. Stick the gobs of tac to the base of your fins in between surfs. Throw it away after it gets dirty.

If surfing a lot I might put some anti bacterial ear drops on my little finger and spread this around the outside of the ear tube to kill bugs (probably not necessary) but never let any liquid of any sort (salt water, pool water, drops, shower water) get behind my growths if I can help it as it then stays there for days. They might get a bit damp but that dries quickly. Keeping the deep inner ear dry or, at most, briefly damp is the key.

I hate not having ear plugs in due to the problems that may happen after the surf. I have stuffed scrunched up bits of plastic bags to use as ear plugs a few times when I forgot the blu tac.

It might make you less inclined to chat in the line up as hearing is dulled but that means more waves. It has no impact on balance and I never even think of it as anything annoying or to be "tolerated".

I can't believe how big wave surfers don't have blu tac in and end up with burst ear drums through heavy wipeouts. I have free dived to 30 feet with blu tac in - no pressure problems - you just need a big gob relative to your ear canal size so it can't get pushed in deep. For me the exostosis blocks the blu tac from going deeper. If my ears were more open I would use a very big chunk spread out a bit so it is way to big to get pushed in further if in big waves where the forces are greater.

I have been 95% closed for 35 years and never get ear infections or blocked ears and have had no additional closure since I started using ear plugs. The old original growth is slow to grow and tends to stabilise if protected. Once you have the operation, the new bone has a tendency to growth faster.

Agree with the blue tac Frog - I also have boney extosis too and find that blu tac is not only cheap and readily available but keeps the water out really well and ear wax sticks to it and comes out too

I have the same as above which has lead to about 50% permanent hearing loss in my right ear.

I use the silicone plugs and usually buy them online. They're cheap, probably about the same as a packet of Blu-tac. I break them in half and half again, so basically use a quarter per ear. I keep re-using them until I either lose one (happens on some wipe-outs) or they get too grimy looking.

You can still communicate no worries as long as you're reasonably close and it helps to be front on. Also, doesn't take long to get used to them. I'm at the point where I wear mine every time and it feels weird without them. Kinda like riding in a car without a seatbelt.

My hearing is not really affected at 95% closure - all you need is a tiny hole (or jagged crack in my case) to hear. Loss of hearing among older surfer is probably due to something other than exostosis (possibly related multiple infections) unless they are totally closed or you have wax problems that block the crack.

Protect early in your surfing career - at least as soon as they are 50% closed - is what I advise younger surfers. That can happen fast - years - not decades for some frothers. It can be bad by 20 years of age and the damage is hidden, so if you have kids who surf, make them aware early.

I forgot to add- my hearing loss is not from surfers ear but as a result of MRSA. Basically, it flares up during the hot humid months and calms down again over winter. At its worst I have to go and have my ear vacuumed out of all the pus twice a week. I'm on a first name basis with my ENT doctor now.

I've had this for well over a decade. Drives me nuts.

That's shit Zen,
I've 90% closure R ear, but not as bad as yours. My ENT doesn't want to drill at present.
Never trust a trigger happy surgeon : )

san Guine wrote:

Never trust a trigger happy surgeon : )

That's funny my local gp who owns the doctors surgery and many others is an old alcoholic who loves grabbing out the knife when anyone shows a possible skin cancer, he loves carving people up.Gets excited about it.