Conditions
Surfer's Ear
Surfers fancy themselves as pretty cool individuals, frequently to be seen with tousled blonde hair and wetsuits strategically unzipped to the waist. Fortunately, nature has a sense of humour, so many of them will have Surfer’s Ear. It is caused when the ear becomes partially blocked with bony tissue, and it’s most commonly caused by exposure to cold water. The lining of the ear can be irritated by the cold water, causing over production of the bony substance under the lining of the ear canal. Loss of hearing is the key symptom, as is pain caused by the build up of earwax. This affects the drainage of the ear, allowing infections to develop. Ear plugs are the best way to prevent it forming, but if it’s already too late then a procedure called an exostectomy is performed to remove the boney debris, whilst antibiotics are utilised to clear any remaining infection.
Comments and Questions
You can share your experiences and thoughts with other Embarrassing Bodies site-users below. Comments & Questions are reviewed by moderators, but if you see anything on the site that worries you, please report it and one of our moderators will look at it as soon as possible.
Please note: Unfortunately Channel 4 cannot respond to individual inquiries. If you have any concerns, you can check out NHS Choices, but ultimately it is always best to check with a health professional.
Hi, I have had chronic itchy ears now for many years. The doctors dont seem to be curing them, ive been prescribed many medicines. Things like Eumovate ointment, ive even been given antibiotics to clear infections when they have been at their worst. But the problems always return. However, I once read an article "online" with all the same symptoms and a suggestion was a oil called "Derm-oil" but this can only be bought in the United States. I cant seem to be able to contact anyone on the net to be able to help me to purchase some. Can anyone help? please...
hi im 17 and i have very hard wax in my ears i have been to the docs and they give me olive oil and it just got worse so i went to the docs agein and the give antibioxits ear drop form and i am still haveing probs with them wat do u recadmend for this thanks
I have had ear problems for over a year now, it started with pain and the fealing it was bloked,now its has fluid comming out and a lot of disconfort,i have tryed antibiotics but it didnt work Any ideas of what else i can try?
hi guys - i rele wanted to share this with you as i have no idea what this can be.... i was born with a hearing problem in both my ears but more so in the right one. over the years i have had repeated operations to clean them out and to have gromits. I am now 22 years old and have to wear a hearing aid 24/7 in the right ear. now this is where i have the problem. i was told that the right ear is completely blocked (i can even feel it). i have had several operations to try n get rid of it - but it keeps coming back. ive been told the bone in my ear is erroding but thats all ive been told. im in constant pain with the ear and no amount of pain relief will get rid of it. noone will tell me exactly what its called.....does anyone know what this is>?
I had problems for over 3 months, at one stage i was on 2000mg of antibiotics a day[3 lots]-still didn't work,the pain in my ears & head was almost unbearable,along with the crazy itching,my ears smelt bad as well,i was using sofradex as drops,in the end i was put on a antibiotic called-CYPRAFLOXACIN & i had real bad side affects,never take this medication,look it up on nett.My ears did improve though,i didn't even finish pills,i now put VOSOL[made in Australia] in my ears,swimmers ear drops its great stuff.Since all those pills ive had abdominal problems,but Acidophulis/Bifidus yoghurt is fixing that.Donot stick your fingers in ear when itching or cotton buds,my infection was so bad,they were worried it would become serious,cus it can go to the surrounding bones & brain-so be careful-donot leave it-see a doctor.When in the shower donot run water in your ears to rinse them out,hold your head on the side downwards & rinse it out,dry your ears properly,use vosol morning & night as a preventative,ear plugs when swimming-i don't use plugs when i surf-try it,its real freaky sitting out in the ocean with those in your ears[use drops].I hope i have been helpful,because its very painful & dangerous,i even had blood coming out my nose.Take a good Bioflavanoid Vitamin C as well everyday-even though condition is better,i am waiting at the moment to see a specialist,but still gonna surf.CHEERS
when i was younger i used to pour water in my ears for some stupid reson... but its only started affecting me regularly since now when my ear comes in contact of water they decide to block up for like a week and its not good being deff while on holiday, but also when i wake up in the morning i have a tickeling sensation in my ear from earwax running down my ear canal this is quite anoying to is there anything you can do to stop both of these problems? thanks again
hey my sister is 8 and she has a problem whi her ear get really sore and she discharges wax but it look like melted wax running down her ear channel she has this since her 2 years old. and she been to every doctor and no one has the right answer she been tacking medication all her life. shes been in cambridshire to the hospital and she been there 1 weeks and she took medicine form her veins.but it stoppped they it cam back doctors they its to different bacterias in her ears please help thanks...
my right ear has been consistently sore since i came back of holiday from spain. I did lots of swimming in our private pool so this could be the reason. But when I lie down the problem becomes servere and flares up at night. I have been given a spray called Otomize will this clear up the problem or should i purchase another medicine?
i went on holiday 4 weeks ago and every since had bad pains in my ight ear i have been to the doctors and they have gave me antibiotics they dont seem to be workin i have also try ear drops but they still havent worked and the pain is really bad and it is really hard to get appointment at my doctors at the min and i feel as if it is someting stupid has any one got any ideas to help me get rid off it x
hi guys i find dat wen i've been swimmin, it feels like theres still water in my ears. however, theres something called 'swim ear' which gets rid of it nd stops me gettin ear infections, which i got nearly every time i went on hols. also, wen i was younger, i had 'gromits' put in which helped so much. hope this helps u guys
Important Notice
The information provided on this website (including any NHS Choices medical information) is for use as information or for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical care by a qualified doctor or other qualified healthcare professional. We do not warrant that any information included within this site will meet your health or medical requirements. This Embarrassing Bodies site does not provide any medical or diagnostic services so you should always check with a health professional if you have any concerns about your health.
If you want to embed our videos in your site, read our embedding T&Cs here
