Earplugs, people. Earplugs.
Growing up in Canada changed the learning curve on living by the ocean and making surfing a major part of my life. Ask me about snow and frost bite, and I’ve got you covered. But issues that come up because of an over abundance of water time? You might as well be asking be about building a space ship.
Unfortunately for me, I had no idea about ear health until one atrocious day that had me in excruciating pain and begging an ear specialist to see me before he could add sugar to his morning tea.
I had been spending a lot of time in the water, really trying to get my wave count up and get to the next level in my surfing. I had even accepted a challenge to do “Wet January,” which a lot of people thought was either drinking every day or getting laid every day (or even both. How great would that have been?). But this challenge was actually just about surfing everyday. There was no “am I surfing today,” just when and where?
Back to the ear holes. I had already been having some ear issues in the months leading up to Wet January and had previously gone to see the ear specialist with no success. My symptoms were simply a persistent throbbing that was exacerbated when I had any alcohol or listened to loud music. The doctor got out all his tools and probes and put them to work. But after a thorough investigation he still had no idea what the problem was and even sent me for a CAT scan.
The CAT scan results came back and other than getting sweet, albeit expensive copies of my brain art, they were otherwise useless. My head was clear. I figured if the experts say I’m fine, I must be, right? Wrong! A month later and 3 weeks into my Wet January I woke up with a feeling I can only describe as being stabbed with an ice pick in the ear. I actually went to the mirror expecting to find one, but instead just saw some not so super attractive massive swelling happening. For real.
I was in an insane amount of pain. I couldn’t believe it. I called work to let them know there was no way I would be in and called the ear specialist and begged them to see me that day. They were amazing and were able to slip me in for a 15-minute appointment after tears and cries lubricated the appointment book.
I slapped back a handful of Panadol to get me to my appointment and by the time I saw the doctor, it was like I was seeing the messiah riding in on his white horse. “Please help me,” was what my teary and puffy eyes said.
He saw me right away and took one look in my ear and said, ”Now Miss, what have you done to these poor ears? It looks like you have an open wound in them.” I wasn’t surprised. It felt like an atom bomb had gone off in them.
After a painful session of scraping and digging, he finally gave me drops and some seriously heavy painkillers and sent me on my way. He also told me I had to not only stay out of the water, but also keep my ears completely dry for 14 days. I was gutted. After all the hard work I had put in Wet January was not going to happen for me this year.
The good thing was I learned a whole heck of a lot about ears and ear health in the process. Now, I am religious about using swimmer’s ear drops after every session and you can’t drag me into the water after a good rain. No here, no there. I won’t do it. It’s not worth it. I’m a big fan of hearing and pain sucks.
So what’s my advice? Pay attention to your ears. If they feel funky get some drops or see a doctor. Listen to the beach signs that say, “Stay out of the water after a big rain.” It’s for your own good. And for God’s sake, if it’s that good that you absolutely have to get in, wear some ear plugs. At the very least give them a good clean out after and blast them with some drops. Hearing is awesome. And having to stay out of the water sucks. Period.
