Surfers ear: hood vs earplugs

[rafd]

I wear earplugs to prevent the progression of exostosis 'surfers ear' but I'm wondering if there is any benefit in earplugs when wearing a neoprene hood? The hood will keep the wind chill off but cold water will still enter the ears - is it the water or wind chill which is the most important effect? This is for northern Europe winter sea temperatures. Similarly is there any benefit to wearing the earplugs with warm water?

[Mikkelza]

Interesting. I will follow this discussion.
I do not have the answers to your questions.
I am placed in northern Europe also (Denmark). I wear hood when cold, and find that very little cold water enter the ears. Therefore I do not use earplugs.

During summer I neither use earplugs, and hope it will not be a problem since the water is (relatively) warm, but would like to know if others know better?
Also, I have started using sunglasses during summer, to protect my eyes. I feel the my eyes can get quite exhausted. My sunglasses has a strap. If I also start with earplugs, it expect a tangle of straps..

[sarc]

I have exostosis it's pretty bad. Since I was diagnosed I wear a lycra headband over the ears when I kite. I wear a helmet over it to keep it in place. Seems to work OK it has not gotten worse. My ear canal used to hurt a bit on cold days, not any more with the lycra. It also prevents ear drum damage in case of major crash (like a kiteloop gone wrong).
After surfing I put a drop of 'Otozambon' ear drops in each ear, seems to reduce the inflammation and to help slow down the growth. So far so good for me!

[FLandOBX]

My audiologist recommends ear plugs, like Surf Ears. https://www.surfertoday.com/surfing/the ... or-surfers
Good ones block wind and water, but do not disrupt your hearing.

Like you, I find that a hood blocks wind, but let's water enter the ear. Wearing ear plugs under a hood isn't comfortable to me. According to my audiologist, a lot of her patients with extosis are roofers who experience cold wind, but not water.

I wear a hood if the temperatures are very cold, but otherwise I try to wear ear plugs (with a neoprene beanie and helmet if I need some warmth, but not the full hood). Even in warm temperatures, I think it's important to keep water out of my ears to reduce the chance of infection.

[Bill C]

I have it also. What do you do when taking a shower?

[sflinux]

is it the water or wind chill which is the most important effect?

I would say earplugs are a short term fix. Hood is long term prevention. Earplugs prevent water going deep in the ear canal which depending on the quality of the water can lead to infection. The hood will prevent bone growth from forming in the ear canal, narrowing the canal making it harder for water to exit, leading to more ear infections. My friend who had the bone drilled out in his ears recommends wearing hoods.

[edt]

I don't know of any scientific studies so what everyone says will be a guess. The cold water is what creates surfer's ear not the cold air. Note that skiers or mountain climbers never get surfers ear even if they don't wear ear protection. Air is a poor conductor compared to water so even though the water is a lot warmer than the air it doesn't matter, it's water that creates the damage. I didn't know about roofer's getting. I guess if you get enough exposure even air can cause it but water is much worse than air.

my unscientific opinion though is that the hood protects from surfer's ear anyway. The reason is that without the hood, your ear will get flushed constantly while with the hood, the water sort of seaps slowly into the ear so there's less cooling.

earplugs provide a huge benefit in warm water. They prevent ruptured ear drums.

[leeuwen]

I am placed in northern Europe also (Denmark). I wear hood when cold, and find that very little cold water enter the ears. Therefore I do not use earplugs.

During summer I neither use earplugs, and hope it will not be a problem since the water is (relatively) warm, but would like to know if others know better?

Unless you kite in some lake the water is to cold probably.
Surf ear can start at 20 degrees water temp.
Here in NL the water barely hits that temp only one or two months a year and Denmark is quite a bit further North.

Regarding the hood: mine is pretty much water tight. Unless I really fully unlucky frontal face-plant I am not getting any water near my ears.

[jkrug]

i also have exostosis. i wear ear plugs to prevent water from getting into my ears...always. that includes showers. once your ear canal gets the bony growth, it gets very difficult for water to leave the ear once it gets in. my hearing really suffers if i get any water in my ear, and it can take days for it to go away. it began in cold climate, and now i'm exclusively in warm climate, but it doesn't go away. i had a friend get the operation on his ears for exostosis and he recommended i shouldn't due to complications and limited success anyway. but...i'm not a doctor, just a patient.

[Herman]

Don’t have any real information, but if you find earplugs uncomfortable under a hood it might be worth considering silicone putty. Best silicone putty I have found is Mack’s Pillow Soft silicone putty earplugs. They will block sound to a large degree.