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On this episode we chat to Christian Dittrich, founder and creator of Surf Ears.
Christian talks about his own experience with the pain of surfer’s ear and the amount of surfers that could already have it and not even know.
WHAT IS SURFER’S EAR?
Surfer’s ear is extra bone formed as lumps that grow in the ear canal.
The cause of it is exposure to cold water and wind, especially the combination of the two as the wind creates a chill factor when your ears are wet.
The extra bone growth, also called exostosis is believed to be the body’s defence mechanism to protect the ear drum.
The problem is that the exostosis doesn’t go away afterwards, instead it continues to grow.
As surfers we are frequently exposed to windy and wet conditions and that’s why this condition is common among surfers.
Hence the name; surfer’s ear. The pace of the bone growth will increase with lower temperature and more frequent exposure.
However, how bad it gets varies from person to person as some seems to be more prone to develop exostosis than others. (Read More)
Why aren’t more people in the UK talking about surfer’s ear?
Out of everyone we have spoken to on the podcasts so far the only other people to mention surfer’s ear or ear plugs were
The Night Surfer and The Waveshack
After our chat with Christian it has posed the question why isn’t everyone in the UK wearing ear plugs?
As an island we are surrounded by cold water and a more or less continuous wind, yet every time we go surfing at a guess we see less than 20% of people wearing them (including ourselves before today).
Is this because it’s not known about? Is there a stigma behind wearing plugs? Or is it simply out of sight out of mind?
Let us know what you think by leaving a comment below.
