Surfers Ear

[SJerzSrfr]

Tried a search for this but didnt find much. Im sure there are some others on here who have this. I went to the doc about a year ago for a physical and had him look at my ears due to more and more clogging over the years and he said i had a mild case of surfers ear in both ears. Surfed a super windy cold day a couple weeks ago with no hood for about 15 minutes and my ear has been clogged ever since. it got infected so i went back to the doc to got some drops and antibiotics. the infection and pain have cleared, but the clogged ear remains.

Gonna make an appointment this week to see a specialist. Any suggestions for doctors in the south jersey area? Anyone have the surgery to correct it? If so, how did you have it done? I hear there are a couple of options- 1 being opening up the ear from behind it and going in and drilling out the growths. The second option is a newer less invasive procedure, apparently not as long of a recovery, and they go through the main canal to remove the growths. Any info you guys could pass along would be great.

[mexsurfer]

http://surf.transworld.net/100007728...ear-symposium/

[sharp eye]

http://www2.swaylocks.com/forums/sur...urgical-remedy

lots of great info to comb through

[SJerzSrfr]

some great info there guys. thanks for the help.

[ritecoastsurfer3]

I've been having the clogged ears for a few years now. I've been using the sticky wax ear plugs when in the water and that has helped a lot. Also, I don't take my hood down unless it's warm. The cold seems to make them worse. Now that it is warmer out, I have a lot less discomfort.

[GoodVibes]

Surfed a super windy cold day a couple weeks ago with no hood for about 15 minutes and my ear has been clogged ever since.

I don't know man,surfing Jersey at the end of March without a hoodie on a windy day.Water temp was prob in the low 50's.Little risky gotta say.

[JTS]

Definitely go see an Ear Specialist, to get an accurate diagnosis -one who is familiar with surfers ear (stenosis of the external ear canal) I have had both of mine done (left around 97 - right around 2001) Originally was diagnosed with it in 1985, got bad enough to actually have to have the surgery - got to a point where I couldn't clear the water out of it. I had the older style surgery - slice the ear off, come in from back - high speed drill - 6-8 weeks out of the water. I did a lot of surfing in the 70's and 80's before hoods were as prevalent, also we didn't know as much about surfers ear then.

I went to see quite a few Drs before I found one I felt confident with (some were clearly unfamiliar with the condition or treatment)
Good luck
Jim

[Driftingalong]

Surfy Surfy blog post about the microchisel

[wallysurfr]

this thread makes me want to wrap saran wrap around my head everytime i go in cold water!