A combination of cold water and wind exposure is thought to be the cause of surfer’s or swimmer’s ear. Cold water close to the bone of your ear canal can create bony swellings. In the early stages bony swellings cause no symptoms and do not require treatment. They can affect the way that skin and wax migrates along your ear canal and lead to obstruction or inflammatory changes in the skin of your ear canal. Occasionally the bones grow to a point where they block your ear canal completely and cause significant hearing loss.
The increase in the number of people performing water sports around the world particularly in cold water this is likely to become an increasing problem. We can check your ears regularly if you wish and keep a record of progression of any bony swellings related to water exposure with clinical photography and scans. Examining your ear over time, we can give you an indication as to the rate of progression and also the effects of using ear plugs or moulds.
We provide medical treatments for skin conditions of the ear or wax build-up that can be performed in the clinic. In addition some people require surgical intervention to remove the bony growths and we can give advice on this.
