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isobars
Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20935
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Posted: Wed Feb 26, 2014 9:07 pm Post subject: |
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paulf. wrote: | isn't the problem head in the cold water prone surfing vs. the occasional dunking we get as windsurfers? |
A. Occasional? I fall scores of times times in a good day. It's probably highly individualized how much time a surfer vs a WSer spends with his head immersed, and WSers spend more time in the wind. And surfers tend to get bigger exostoses in the ear facing their prevailing wind.
B. It doesn't have to be cold. 60s does it.
C. Cold air or cool wind, including outdoor time in cool or cold weather, counts. My Spokane surgeon got 8 new exostoses patients in one week, and the WSing near Spokane is pretty much nonexistent.
D. My exostoses are unilateral -- all in one ear -- maybe ruling out my outdoor sports, all of which are bilateral. I'm going to ask my surgeon next week if mine may be due to sleeping in a strong breeze in a cold bedroom most of my life. That exactly fits the affected ear, my preferred sleeping position, and my bedroom environment. |
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outcast
Joined: 04 May 2004 Posts: 2724
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isobars
Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20935
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Posted: Thu Feb 27, 2014 11:39 am Post subject: |
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In Googling "Doc's Hood" (with no results), Doc's website supported my suspicion that my exostoses were caused by sleeping in a cold breeze. He recommends an ear band while sleeping. |
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isobars
Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20935
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Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2014 6:19 pm Post subject: |
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OTOH ... my surgeon said if sleeping in a cold environment caused the exostoses, they'd be pandemic among old Eskimos. He can't explain why mine were in just one ear, partly because the cause is only a hypothesis, not established fact.
The normal down (dry) time for exostosectomy is at least one (for chiseling out the ear canal) to two (for the more common drill approach) months. I got lucky; a) I never felt ANY discomfort in the ear post-op, and 2) 10 days later he says it's fully healed and I can go sailing. (I think I'll settle for indoor swimming until the river warms up.)
The moral of that story is that, as I've read regarding selecting surgeons, there are plenty of expert ones in surprising locations (and, I suspect, plenty of lesser ones in huge cities). I went with my gut and research, and it paid off. |
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wdsurf
Joined: 22 May 1999 Posts: 335
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Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2014 7:11 pm Post subject: ears |
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in the old wdsurf magazine dr. paskowitz talked about this problem a few times in his montly colume.wear a hat ,beanie,hood keep the wind off the wet ears |
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darach
Joined: 14 Apr 1994 Posts: 40
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Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2014 7:54 pm Post subject: surfer's ear surgeon |
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Hi isobars,
I saw this post from you…
Further research led to a much closer surgeon for me with excellent experience and reputation plus extensive training in a prestigious CA ear institute.
And wondered if you could please pass on your surgeon's name…I'm looking for one right now and prefer the chisel technique.
Thanks! |
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scargo
Joined: 19 May 2007 Posts: 394
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Posted: Mon Sep 22, 2014 10:07 am Post subject: |
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Good info. Any feelings on vented vs. non-vented? |
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isobars
Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20935
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Posted: Mon Sep 22, 2014 11:30 am Post subject: Re: surfer's ear surgeon |
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darach wrote: | Further research led to a much closer surgeon for me with excellent experience and reputation plus extensive training in a prestigious CA ear institute.
And wondered if you could please pass on your surgeon's name…I'm looking for one right now and prefer the chisel technique. |
I used Dr. Neil Giddings in Spokane with great results, but the center of the existoses universe and of the chisel method is apparently in your back yard, at
http://www.pamf.org/ENT/services/surfersear.html . I also prefer the chisel method, but it's not always superior even in the best of hands; some individual existoses are best handled the old-fashioned way. I went into surgery expecting the latter, but once I was under anesthesia and he could more closely examine my ear, Dr. Giddings decided the chisel was more appropriate.
As for vented vs non-vented, I just took Doc's ProPlug website's advice at
http://www.proplugs.com/surfing.shtml and went with vented. The non-vented plug is for kids with drains in their ears. |
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LeeD
Joined: 12 Jun 2008 Posts: 1175
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Posted: Mon Sep 22, 2014 4:41 pm Post subject: |
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I"ve been surfing for 24 years..
It's the cool convection of breeze blowing past wet ears that causes the problem.
Most of my surfing bud's had ear problems by year 6 in surfing.
Windsurfing, for me in warmer climes and mostly staying dry is less prone to ear exotosis problems.
My ears were diagnosed at 80% closed by DocHazard the the surfer medical convention staff.
Dropping surfing for windsurfing, and windsurfing around 130 days a year, the problem has slowly gone away so water doesn't get trapped taking showers and I'm sure the opening is getting bigger as a result.
Anything that blocks the wind from blowing past your wet ears solves the problem. Longhair, stay dry works too. |
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jp5
Joined: 19 May 1998 Posts: 3394 Location: OnUr6
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Posted: Tue Sep 23, 2014 3:23 pm Post subject: |
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I too have been diagnosed with 80% closure do largely to surfing for nearly 50 years. I wear earplugs or a hood, can't stand to wear both, but now it is just to keep water from being trapped inside my ears. I've had a couple of outer ear infections, not fun. I have to turn up the TV real loud now. I've read the downside of the surgery outweighs the benefit. |
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