SURFERS EAR important information

Surfers Ear  What's that?
Surfer's ear is a condition of the ear canal where the bony lining under the skin develops a number of lumps (exostoses) that grow into the tube. This can eventually cause a partial or even complete blockage of the ear canal.

So what?
If the ear canal is narrowed water and debris can get trapped behind the narrowing causing a very painful infection which is difficult to treat. In very advanced cases it can narrow enough to cause deafness.

Then what?
Infections may require visits to the Ear Nose and Throat department at the hospital to have the ears cleaned out along with antibiotics.

Yes, but surely they can remove the blockage?
Well yes but... There is an operation where the surgeon digs a hole in the bone behind your ear and drills out the bony lumps. But this is a bit painful, carries the risk of complications and puts you out of the water for at least 2 months. And if you don't mend your ways it can come back again. Generally the operation is a bit of a last resort, although the surgeons like to do it before the canal is completely blocked. Its fearful reputation is perhaps not totally justified, and most complications and pain occur as a result of infection caused by premature return to the water. Nevertheless, "prevention is better than cure"

Is there anything I can do to stop it happening?
Surfer's ear is six times as common in cold water surfers than warm water surfers. The longer you surf the more likely you are to get it. It is thought that it is caused by cold water and air getting into the ears repeatedly over a long period of time.


So if you can keep your ears warm and dry when surfing there is a good chance it won’t get nearly as bad. The usual way to do this is to wear earplugs.

What do you use as an earplug?
The ideal is something tailored to the ear that does not interfere too much with hearing and balance. but your ears need measuring to get the correct size. However they really do work.

 Protect your ears from Surfers Ear with Swim Plugs from;

Audiology Department
General Hospital
Gloucester Street
St Helier
Jersey
Channel Islands
JE1 3QS
Tel: 01534 442551
Fax:01534 442637


SWIM PLUGS

Custom made swim plugs are available from the Audiology Department at a cost of:

INSTANT PLUGS - £10/pair (For use after grommet insertion or for children)

MANUFACTURED PLUGS - £40/pair (For long term ear problems or adults)

MUSICIANS EARPLUGS - from £15 a pair

PLEASE CALL - 442551 -



William Rennox
Audiology Department


THE BEGINNING


Stand up Longboard surfing activity started in Jersey in 1958.

After making contact and subsequent conversations with several of the early surfers in the the classic John Houlebecq picture taken in 1959. Peter Lea,Charlie Maine, Mike Wilkinson,Robin Stevens, Willy Williams and other connected people, Jackie Rumball, Pete Gould, Dave Swanson Beaugie and surfing pioneer, Bobby Burdon in South Africa, as you know part of an exciting three way call with Grimo. From the information and Knowledge gained, there is no doubt that there was group stand up surfing activity in St Ouens bay in 1958.

South Africans Bobby Burdon, Cliff Honeysett and Shorty Bronkhurst introduced the sport to the locals that year. They were employed at Pontins Holiday camp, Plemont from April where Bobby and Cliff made the first surfboards, from floorboards and any off cuts of they could lay their hands on. The trio caught their first waves at plemont beach and then St Ouens, where shortly after Peter Lea bought Cliff's board and the Williams brothers were the first locals to copy, build and surf similar boards along with Brian Rolland mid to late Summer '58.

After discussions at the popular poker dice sessins at the 'Lilly Langtry' during that winter,the Jersey Surfboard Club was inaugurated in May/June 1959 with Peter Lea the driving force. By popular opinion the pic of the new clubs members on the beach was taken mid/ end June. Everything points to and establishes the fact, including the anecdotal evidence, that the early surfers were up and riding waves in St. Ouens bay in 1958.

POINTS OF INTEREST.
1. Cliff, Bobby and Shorty arrived in London in Jan. '58. Whilst visiting the Cinema one evening they watched a short promotional on Jersey and saw the surf breaking in St. Ouen's Bay. The rest is history. They arrived in the Island the beginning of March, stayed at a Guest House in St.Helier, the owner suggested they should go up to Pontins, they did, met the manager who happened to be South African and landed themselves jobs. After meeting Harry Swanson whilst surfing at the 'Splash' they officially started on the beach. Other South African Beach Guard/ surfers including Denis Everett, Bull Lavarack and Chuky Salzman
came and worked at the Watersplash from '59 on.

2. Willy Williams and his brother Tom were the first Jerseymen to build boards of the type
in the picture. Willie was recognised generally amongst his peers as the best ability Surfer
and paddler of the group.

3. Surfers to be, Pete Gould and Mike Forrest, as part of the Victoria College swimming team competed against the South Africans at Pontins in 1958.

4. Jackie Rumball went out with Denis Everett in the summer of '59. Their names are on the top of Denis's ski ( pic ) She was sixteen at the time.

5. Bobby and Cliff who built the first boards, were the most influential in terms of surfing activity of all the South Africans and stayed the longest, returning regularly each year with new ideas and board designs. Bobby participated in the first C.I. contest, placing second.

6. Graham Sutton at 20 yrs of age was one of the youngest of the group in the photo. He was one of the few who carried on surfing through to the '80's from the original Club members. He travelled extensively with Denis E. and lived and worked in S.A. before coming back to the Island. Tragically passing away recently, he is remembered with much fondness, as a great friend and character by us all.

7. Bobby Burdon is 71yrs young, has a longboard which he surfs occasionally, and only last month finished shaping and glassing a couple of mini mals.


The Jersey Surfboard Club, a club with an early beginning and no ending.....


Gordon Burgis Former British, European and Channel Island Champion and team member of the 1968 British team who went to the World Championships in Peuto Rico

Hawaiin connection

Jersey Surfing's association with Hawaii

As a researcher into the life of Hawai'i's Crown Princess Victoria Ka'iulani, I was intrigued to learn about the history of surfing in Jersey. The Crown Princess spent a good portion of her short life in the UK, and time also at La Chaire in Rozel
with her friend Mrs. Rooke. The Princess, while an exquisite Victorian royal of modern stamp, was loyal to her ancient Hawaiian heritage and was an expert waterwoman - surfer, canoeist, swimmer. Her surfing prowess is taken note of in the British Surfing Museum's displayed recreation of her alaia surfboard. I was intrigued to see that Jersey - which the Princess loved - has a surfing tradition - whilst of somewhat later origin apparently. It would be wonderful if the Princess' time in Jersey could be commemorated after some fashion in Jersey.

Mindi Reid

SURFER'S EAR

All you want to know about Surfer's Ear - Courtesy of Surfline.com

What is 'surfer's ear'? How can it be avoided and/or treated?
asked by Vic Haddad, NorCal

Otolaryngologist Doug Hetzler (MD, FACS) from Santa Cruz, responds:


"Surfer's ear" is a condition where new layers of bone are produced in the ear canal as a reaction to exposure to cold water in the ear canal. The skin of the inner ear canal is the thinnest skin in the body (think tissue-paper thick) and is a very poor insulator. The cold water stimulates a layer under the skin known as periosteum to create new bone layers under the skin.

Over time (typically at least 10 years of serious water time -- one study estimated it took about 3000 hours of cumulative surfing in cold water to cause significant bone growth) the increasing volume of the bone layers may create enough narrowing of the ear canal to start causing problems -- kind of like the waist of an hourglass. This may then cause water to get trapped deep in the ear canal, or earwax or sloughing skin may plug up the narrow waist. Once any of these materials plug up the ear canal, you can start having infections occur deep in the ear canal due to the trapped bacteria and the moist environment and of course experience some reversible hearing loss due to the ear canal being plugged.

The problem is proportionately greater as water gets colder and has become an increasing problem since the invention of the wetsuit, which now allows people to stay in water that formerly would have been tolerated only for very short periods of time.

To prevent surfer's ear you need to minimize the amount of cold water that gets into your ear canal and also minimize the evaporative cooling that occurs when you are sitting on your board with the wind blowing past your wet ear canals. The traditional answer has been to find earplugs that you are comfortable wearing and that will stay in for the duration of a surf session -- most surf shops are knowledgeable about these options. Wearing a neoprene hood can also somewhat serve the same function and wearing earplugs and a neoprene hood is about the best you can do to try to totally prevent the development of surfer's ear.

Treatments for the adverse effects of surfer's ear involve cleaning out obstructing wax/sloughing skin (I am an ear surgeon and my bias is to do this with a microscope with 5X magnification and micro-suctions and micro-tools) and using antibiotic eardrops when ear canal skin infections occur. Various over-the-counter self-treatment products are sold in drugstores, and these may work if the ear canal is not too narrow. If the ear canal is really narrow, putting the various softening agents in your ear canal may only make a soupy mess.

When the symptoms of the obstructing ear canal become intolerable it may be appropriate to consider surgical removal of the ear canal bone growths (medically known as "exostoses"). A variety of operations have been done through the years to remove the exostoses, and the technique that I and a few others are using now is to remove the exostoses via the ear canal with a 1 mm chisel which avoids the need for an incision behind the ear; eliminates the risk of noise exposure that occurs with drilling; aids in preserving maximal ear canal skin and therefore optimizing healing.

NUTRITION - Healthy eating for competition

Professional Cook Amanda Carney looks at how to improve your surfing through healthy eating. For those who are entering surfing competetions please take note...

HEALTHY EATING
Fuels your body
Balances blood sugar highs & lows
Improves fitness

FIT TO COMPETE?
DO YOU EAT WELL?
Increases stamina
Gives you energy

EATING FOR SPORTS
So you have your board, wetsuit, etc how do you help yourself from inside out?
Consider swallowing food packed with nutrients you need
Use good nutrition to your advantage, just like the pros
Calcium & iron are 2 important nutrients for kids-especially athletes of any kind
Calcium builds strong bones-less likely to break under stress & strain of heavy activity
Without iron, kids get tired more easily

BRING ON THE LIQUIDS
Athletes need water before, during & after exercise (or event)-if you get dehydrated you won’t feel well or perform well
A sports drink is ok once in a while but remember it’s loaded with sugar & calories-will give a little energy boost but will fade fast leaving you feeling drained
Fruit juice mixed with water is another refreshing drink

TIME TO PRACTICE OR COMPETE
You’ll get energy from the foods you’ve been eating all week, but still a good idea to eat well on the day
If you’re going to have a meal, have it 1 1/2-3 hours before practice or competition time. If you have a full stomach, your body will need to spend energy digesting food, leaving less for you to use in practice or competition
But you don’t want to be hungry either. Bring a snack, especially for long practices, competitions, or all-day events

BREAKFAST – Ideas:
Wholegrain toast, soft-boiled egg
Quinoa or oat porridge with banana & maple syrup
Muesli, fruit & nuts with Greek yogurt
Pancakes, maple syrup & blueberries
French toast
Fruit smoothies

SNACKS – High energy- Ideas
Fruit, eg. Pears; bananas; apples; watermelon; grapes; tomatoes & oranges
Nuts & seeds, eg. Almonds; brazils; pumpkin (roasted) seeds
Flapjacks
Carrot cake
Muffins, savoury & sweet

LUNCH - Ideas
Soups, eg. Fresh roasted tomato; squash & sweet potato
Wholegrain bread sandwiches, eg. Tuna & salad; grated carrot, hummus, rocket & raisin
Filled omelettes; frittata
Pizza
Filled jacket potatoes
Vegetable fritters such as sweetcorn & zucchini

SUPPER - Ideas
Lasagna, traditional meat or vegetable, & salad
Risotto, eg. Chicken
Spaghetti & meatballs
Fish, especially salmon, tuna, mackerel, served with vegetables
Grilled sweet corn & salad