Surfer's Ear I'm not talking about swimmer's ear or simple ear infections. This is a video warning of the inevitable bone growth in your ear canals if you kayak in cold (68*F and cooler) water and wind, and the simple way to avoid it. While I'm not a doctor and don't claim to be, I am now recovering from surgery myself, so I wanted to share what I learned so that maybe you can avoid the surgery I just had.

***Update: It's appearing in warm water surfers now too... this study found it in surfers in Australia where the water temp ranged from 69 degrees in winter to 83 degrees in summer. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti... Also, I've switched back to docs pro plugs.

One additional note that I learned from Dr. Hetzler when I was in Santa Cruz was that about 4% of his patients (out of a very large sample size) continue to get bone growth even after removal of the bones and avoidance of cold water and wind. This is, of course, anecdotal, but it's been consistent feedback from his patients. Some patients continue to surf or kayak without ear plugs, opting for more surgery years later. The simple reality is that surgery is completely avoidable if you just wear your ear plugs.

Additional resources:
Dr Hetzler's profile on Sutter Health: https://www.sutterhealth.org/finddoc... called the Kelly Slater of Surfer's Ear surgery: https://surfears.com/2018/10/04/docto...

If you need surgery, I highly recommend Dr. Hetzler and his team. Aside from working out the insurance to get it all covered, his team was outstanding and he did an excellent job on my ears. I was essentially healed in two weeks, but gave it an extra week just to be safe. If you are going to travel for surgery, be sure to check that Dr. Hetzler, the surgery center, and the anesthesiologist are all in network. If one or all of them are out of network, you can get the ones out of network covered as "in network" for the one procedure by calling them and having them file for a waiver/agreement with your insurance company. All three bill separately and the one that's out of network is the one you need to talk to. Your insurance company will call you and you'll likely have to stay on them too. I called about every two weeks and even spent hours on the phone the day before my surgery after flying to Santa Cruz from TN. Ultimately, it all worked out, but I'm happy to help if you have questions.

Another video explanation from Surf Ears: https://surfears.com/surfersear/

recommended ear plugs:
1. Surf Ears: https://surfears.com/product/surfears...
2. Doc's Pro Plugs: https://www.proplugs.com/
3. You can find knockoffs on Amazon, but I highly recommend those two brands.
4. You can also get quality custom ear plugs made by your ENT, but the fit may be slightly tight or loose as you open and close your mouth and they're quite expensive and challenging to replace if lost.

If you want to check out your own ears or your family and friend's ears, here's a link to the otoscope that Dr. Hetzler recommended:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08CXJCXTL?...
The link changes often, so if you're having trouble finding it, copy and paste this to search:

Otoscope,Ear Endoscope,Ear Wax Removal Tool,3 in 1 Ear Scope,720P HD Waterproof Camera with 6 Adjustable LED Lights for Android Phone (OTG+Micro USB+Type C) Window Mac PC with Ear Pick Cleaning Kit

Dr. Hetzler also recommended these two videos for help using the scope properly.
USB Ear Camera used on a Mac:    • USB Ear Camera used on a Mac  imagi...  
USB Ear Camera used on a PC:    • USB Ear Camera used on a PC  High Ma...