oregonsurf.com

So after hearing a lot of horror stories about surfer's ear, people having to get their ears drilled out and 30 something year olds losing their hearing because of the cold water and wind that leads to surfers ear I thought it may be a good idea to try out some ear plugffs as a preventative measure as I still want to be able to rock out to Led Zep when I'm 40.

I have found my hearing isn't what it was only about 3 years ago before I started surfing and I am pretty sure I am feeling the beginning effects of surfers ear as I surf primarily in super cold water and the conditions are often windy.

Some info on surfer's ear:
http://www.faldoc.co.uk/surfers_ear.htm

testimonials for proplugs:
http://www.proplugs.com/testimonials.shtml

So anyways while in Oregon last weekend I picked up a pair of proplugs and 2tone did as well. I tried them out for the first time this weekend. 2Tone bought too small of a size and hers kept falling out and frustratign her, so it's important to make sure when you buy them you get the right sdize. The plug should fit very snugly inside the ear. So while 2TOne's dsdn't work for her due to being the wrong size, mine were great.

I really liked wearing them, they kept the cold air and water out of my ears and being that they're vented they let the majority of the sound in. Occasionally water would block the venting making you unable to hear though the cure for this was just to tap the ear plug with your finger and the suction would draw the water out right away. While the tiny holes for hearing let in a small amount of water, the water is generally warmer by the time it gets in and it's not enough to really plug up your ears.

THe plugs were comfortable after a while I didn't even notice them and they have a nice leash string that you can tuck into the neck of your suit. Mine didn't come out a single time in the 3 sessions I have used them. I have fairly big ears so I used to havea problem getting a lot of water trapped inside my ears though with the proplugs by the end of the session there is very little water that enters my ear canal and I am not trying to shake it out for the remainder of the day.

I'd definatley reccommend the proplug to anyone if they have ear problems it's a great way to keep things from getting worse and if you're just starting to get into surfing it's a great idea as a preventative measure so that you don't have to have some doc drill out the bone growths in your ears which is not only expensive, and painful, but it also results in you being out of the water for 2 months after the procedure which is not something I am wanting to have to endure. Go out and get them, at 10 bucks it's silly not to.

http://www.surfline.com/surfaz/surfaz.cfm?id=919

I wont take this poll or answer this question phrased this way. What a jinx. I can say I have not yet purchased this product.

Give it a try at the very least you'll be shaking less water out of your ears after a session and you gotta keep your ears in tact so you can be rocking out to Foghat for years to come.

Smart post TJ
It's something thats easy to overlook until its too late
and the surgery sucks
I have one friend whos had it done
biggest bummer(for him) was it kept him out of the water for 6 weeks
I hate not being able to hear people in the line-up
but considering the alternative
gonna get myself a few pair

Actually the proplugs are vented so you can hear pretty well, it's slightly muffled but I can hear better with the plugs in than I can with a hood on. THere are other plugs which aren't vented but they are supposed to affect your equilibrium and the pressure can be bad for your ears. The only draw back to the venting (it's pretty much a tiny pin hole, which is what your ear canal will end up like if you don't use plugs) is that it lets in a tiny amount of water though the water let in is a very small amount and not enough to clog up your ears. That little amount of water can be swiped out after a session with the good old pinky in the ear technique.

what?

It's like a scooping dry wet willy

anyone ever try an ear dryer?

After every session, I doosh the ears with rubbing alcohol. Drys them out immediately and it's fun to buy your ears a coupla drinks.

I think it really helps to shake the water out of your ears soon after it enters. If you let your ears get all jammed up with water and leave it like that your whole session then i would imagine that problems would arise. poo factor?

Bison wrote:anyone ever try an ear dryer?

I've been wondering about that after seeing it in a few ads.
I get clausterphobic (sp?) wearing plugs or even a hood for that matter.

I refuse to wear plugs, and like six2 hoods make me anxious.

Im already over half way to deafness from water, maybe I need to break out my sketch pad and invent some water proof muffs. Pink fuzzy ones?

All well, if I cant hear the bastards in the line up I wont have to acknowledge such crap as "my wave".

The Betty wrote:I refuse to wear plugs, and like six2 hoods make me anxious.


All well, if I cant hear the bastards in the line up I wont have to acknowledge such crap as "my wave".

Or, "Going Left" when you know dam well it's only going to open up right.

I've been putting up with a bacterial infection in my ears for the past couple of weeks now. No surf until it clears up. Maybe I should look into some plugs (no quite surfing spots with tons of animal feces in the water.)

Sixtwo240 wrote:

The Betty wrote:I refuse to wear plugs, and like six2 hoods make me anxious.


All well, if I cant hear the bastards in the line up I wont have to acknowledge such crap as "my wave".

Or, "Going Left" when you know dam well it's only going to open up right.

Or "you sick twisted bitch, I know you saw me there" haha