“Has he snuck out for a surf yet?” Dr. Kong turns to my mum.
She shoots me a wry smile before answering,
“No he’s been good, he’s resisted.”
“Well done mate.”
Five weeks into postoperative consultations with my Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) doctor, my cringe proves harder and harder to hide as my recovery nears completion. Resided to the fact that two months out of the water wasn’t nearly as painful as the operation itself I cannot help but think and dread, having to do it all over again when, my other ear goes under the knife. You see, my spirits have been up and down over the past month; bedridden for the first couple weeks, lots of bleeding, 50% hearing, dressings taken out dressings put back in. All while speculation over when I can surf again goes to next level ambiguity. I am left feeling truly scattered.
With prevention the only cure, Surfer’s ear is in every sense of the word ‘a surfing disease’. Since the wetsuit has become so widely available and accepted, levels of incidence and severity have been steadily rising in Australia and across the world. So what is it I hear you ask? External Auditory exostosis or ‘surfers ear’ is an abdominal bone growth inside the ear canal. Exostosis (which in Greek means new bone) typically takes around 5-10 years to grow to a size, deemed large enough to operate on. Unlike swimmers ear*, surfer’s ear develops in response to the stimuli of cold water and the cooling effect of the wind. No one really knows why the ear reacts this way to the cold but once the boney growth is present it doesn’t go away. And now with more and more surfers dedicating themselves to surf throughout winter it should really come as no surprise to the surfing community. Yet for most of us the thought wouldn’t even cross our mind to take any kind of precaution.
And the real problem is only just being realised; it’s not just the oldies experiencing troublesome ears anymore, illustrating what ENT surgeons have been so sure of for years; ‘Surfer’s ear is just another sign of getting old and not at all likely to develop for surfers under the age of 40’ they’d say. However the increasing number of ‘underage’ cases that are beginning to creep into specialist centres is quickly turning that notion on its head. As Associate Professor Dr. Kong from Newcastle Private relays instances of groms as young as 15 undergoing surgery, while my cringe deepens with bewilderment. “In most cases however, all year round surfers have a small amount of exostosis but some simply develop quicker than others. Some people say it’s hereditary also, but there is no evidence,” Dr. Kong explains.
So how do you know if you have surfers ear? Well, if you’re one of those idiots that clears their ears after a surf by jumping up and down and banging their head to the side, there’s a good chance you’re at risk. Other noticeable signs include ringing, gurgling or fizzing sounds coming from the ears. However, the only way find out if this is in fact surfers ear, involves trip to the doctor and then a referral to an ENT surgeon. I was placed on a longish waiting list after my first consultation last year, and was promptly assured from the get-go that surgery was necessary. The procedure I was told, takes around three hours. Allowing time for the surgeon to slowly remove the exostosis using a high-speed drill, while looking through an operating microscope.
Despite my defiant inquisition and attempts at reasoning, I put my head down and prepared myself for the “uncomfortable” operation and the haunting reality of not surfing for a couple months. On average recovery will take around 8-10 weeks, this generally allows enough time for the skin to grow back over the raw ear canal. ‘Uncomfortable’ was certainly an understatement, I thought, over and over again as I sat through that hellish night in hospital. Tossing and turning in a bolt-upright bed, with that massive weight of a bandage on my head and an unspeakable pain throbbing inside. Circulation pumps and painkillers were reapplied constantly, however I wasn’t really in a state to know or feel anything as I unconsciously drifted in an out of sleep. In a nutshell, the experience itself was nothing short of harrowing.
Now, with a clean bill of health and a fresh pair of earplugs, I am ready to face the world again. “If ear plugs are not worn, the exostosis will return.” Dr. Kong warns me before I leave. But he doesn’t need to worry; with the benefit of hindsight, it’s safe to say I won’t be making the same mistake again. While among surfers today, the general consensus of earplug wearing still seems to be about as popular as a snake in a sleeping bag, I hope a story like mine might just change that attitude in water. And as I’ve found the consequences for not wearing plugs far out-weigh any misconceived perception of them anyway.
*Swimmers ear is a minor inflammation and infection of the ear canal caused by prolonged exposure to moisture, commonly prominent in the tropics.
