Ear injuries

Encrypted · Criminal Joined: 24 Aug 2003 Posts: 98

Iv herd of ear injuries while wakeboarding, would ear plugs help or just spend the cash and go for a helmet?

aguasurf · Outlaw Joined: 12 Nov 2003 Posts: 180 City: Marietta

they may help, honestly I don't know but in september I burst my left eardrum from smacking my head on the water too hard.......lol at practice one night my ear just started oozing with blood and I couldn't hear for 3 days......it came back so its all good now Mr. Green

aguasurf · Outlaw Joined: 12 Nov 2003 Posts: 180 City: Marietta

I don't think a helmet would help b/c if there is an ear guard there is usually still an air hole and the water will still shoot up in your ear regardless...

BIGMAC · Posted: Dec 03, 2003 9:35 pm Post subject:

Anything is better than nothing. I have blown mine out twice. Once without an earplug and once with. It would have been worse if I wouldn't have been wearing the plug. Now I wear a plug and wear a helmet. aguasurf, It's not really the water rushing into the ear it's the pressure that causes it to bust.

aguasurf · Outlaw Joined: 12 Nov 2003 Posts: 180 City: Marietta

yea the doc said it was a combination of having a little bit of a cold, there was already a little bit of fluid build up and the extra pressure just caused it to explode

salmon_tacos · Posted: Dec 03, 2003 10:06 pm Post subject:

A pair of Doc's Pro Plugs (find a local dealer at www.proplugs.com) costs around $10. IMO, that's some cheap insurance. Everyone seems to agree that, even if they don't totally prevent ear injury, they definitely help. I've never hurt my eardrums but I've heard, from people who have, that it ain't fun. I have some Pro Plugs.

KristianB · Posted: Dec 04, 2003 2:23 pm Post subject:

Wouldn't an earplug just get shoved in real hard? - you end up with a bust eardrum (did that!) and a plug that's hard to get out?

llenta · Addict Joined: 22 Jul 2003 Posts: 788 City: Davis

i've had 3 busted ear drums (once while wearing a helmet with ear cups). i wear the doc ear plugs and a helmet every time i ride. the doc ear plugs, if fitted right, are water tight and almost air tight (there is a very small hole down the middle of them to allow air to escape in the case of a hard blow. this KristianB, prevents what you are talking about. i have never had any injuries with these plugs. they are so cheap ($10) i bought two pairs just in case something happens, i always have a spare. and best of all, they float, just in case they fall overboard Very Happy

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MissJade · Soul Rider Joined: 09 Jul 2003 Posts: 486 City: Austin, TX

I have the doc's proplus too and they are really comfortable and are vented so you can hear. If you get wax ones that don't allow you to hear, then your balance will get thrown off. I busted my eardrum once and it was torture, ask anyone who rides with me. Recently, I hurt my ear again (wasn't wearing plugs) and although it wasn't busted, it really hurt when I touched it. I wear them all the time now. As BIGMAC said, it's not the water, it's the pressure, so the plugs divert pressure away. I have also heard that instead of a helmet, if you are mainly concerned about ears, that a water polo headpiece is really good. It's good to take care of the ears, you don't wanna mess with that. You don't realize how much it sux to blow it until you do.

llenta · Addict Joined: 22 Jul 2003 Posts: 788 City: Davis

sooooo true!!!!!!!!!
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aguasurf · Outlaw Joined: 12 Nov 2003 Posts: 180 City: Marietta

do the usually sell the earplugs at board shops ?

morva · Outlaw Joined: 25 Sep 2003 Posts: 168

Easy to fix...don`t fall off. Twisted Evil

No, seriously, I`ve burst eardrums too, it sucks, hurts, blah blah blah, but the only time I`ve tried ear plugs was when my eardrum was healing up a bit and I wanted to get into the water. I used wax ones so water couldn`t get in.
I don`t know, earmuffs?

BIGMAC · Posted: Dec 04, 2003 11:06 pm Post subject:

aguasurf, I got mine from the ear doctor. Docs Plugs. Never tried the wax ones.

LFADAM · Posted: Dec 05, 2003 7:43 am Post subject:

does it hurt really bad when u pop it? and waht are you doing to pop it? (inverts, faceplants, etc...)

BIGMAC · Posted: Dec 05, 2003 11:56 am Post subject:

smlparksguy133, It is a horrible pain. Almost unbearable at times. Sometimes even the fluid draing with the equalizing is enough to make you yell.

I bust mine the first time when I was learning tantrums. I over rotated and landed on the side of my head. The second time was learning front rolls and I over rotated again. The second time was with a much worse impact but my plug prevented the injuries from being worse.

Jet · Posted: Dec 06, 2003 9:26 am Post subject:

I blew mine out my ear drum a long time ago when I fell just the right way. I havent had the surgery to repair it yet because I think you have to stay out of the water for 6-mo to a year! Since I've had so many Infections in that ear, I know have about 20% hearing loss. You guys take care of your ears! Wear protection. Thanks to Salmon Tacos for the Proplugs site. Those look great. I'll try em..Jet

dick02 · Newbie Joined: 09 Oct 2003 Posts: 10 City: Louisville

Do you lose any of your hearing after your ear heals from a blowout?

Jet · Posted: Dec 08, 2003 9:07 am Post subject:

I don't think they can heal themselfs? The Dr told me they would have to graph some skin from my head and then lay it over my ear drum and let it attach. And then no watersports or sneezing for a year! Maybe if the hole was small enough it might grow back? But I'm not sure..Jet

BIGMAC · Posted: Dec 08, 2003 9:13 am Post subject:

dick02, mine was actually a big perferation. Both times it happened to me they grew back with no relative hearing loss. But I consider myself very lucky.

Boarder4Life3780 · Posted: Dec 08, 2003 9:39 am Post subject:

How do you know what size of pro plugs to get? Would i have to get the more expensive fitting pack?

salmon_tacos · Posted: Dec 08, 2003 10:02 am Post subject:

I'm not sure where you are now but if you can make it to any of these places, they will fit them for you and let you try them on...

Diver Dan Scuba Center
933 Washington
Kenosha, WI 53140
262 652 9399

Wazee Sports Center
W. 10120 Hwy 54 E.
Black River Falls, WI 54615
715 284 5181

Klein Scuba
2210 North Fourteenth Ave
Wausau, WI 54401
715 675 6722

Or maybe....

MDC Sports
36 17th Ave NW Miracle Mile Mall
Rochester, MN 55901
507 288 8802

BIGMAC · Posted: Dec 08, 2003 10:03 am Post subject:

Boarder4Life3780, never heard of a fitting pack.. My doctor fitted mine.

salmon_tacos · Posted: Dec 08, 2003 10:03 am Post subject:

Oh, yeah...I got those from the distributor list on the Pro Plugs website. You'd probably want to call them before you went.

Boarder4Life3780 · Posted: Dec 08, 2003 10:07 am Post subject:

So big mac i could get them from my doctor also?

BIGMAC · Posted: Dec 08, 2003 10:12 am Post subject:

Yea I got em from an ear doctor.

King of the Tigers · Posted: Dec 08, 2003 11:32 am Post subject:

Well, I'll probably get me a pair asap. I've wondered about it for a while. My Dad used to be a competition skier and blew one of his eardrums completely off. (That's what the doc said.) A year later he went back and there was an eardrum there. So either the doc was wrong the first time or a new one grew back. I doubt I'll be that lucky if it happens so I'll make the investment.

MissJade · Soul Rider Joined: 09 Jul 2003 Posts: 486 City: Austin, TX

You could get the big pack, but I just did mine by trial and error. First I got the xs with the leash and lost that right away because the leash is very annoying, mostly because I have long hair, but the leash seems to pull the plugs out when you hit the water. Then I order the smalls without the leash and they fit perfectly. Also, make sure the get the vented ones. You won't even know you have them in your ear.

King of the Tigers · Posted: Dec 08, 2003 12:29 pm Post subject:

So they don't fall out as much without the leash?

salmon_tacos · Posted: Dec 08, 2003 12:41 pm Post subject:

I think it's probably the long hair thing. Mine haven't fallen out with the leash. In any case, I just put the leash through one of the shoulders on my vest so if they did somehow fall out, I wouldn't lose them. The other nice thing about the leash is that it makes them easier to find if you forget where you tossed them in the boat (floor, cupholder, pocket, etc.).

Go_Lake_Euginia!! · Posted: Dec 08, 2003 7:53 pm Post subject:

are the ear plugs anoying at all? and can you still hear fine with them in?

IrishJigga · Newbie Joined: 12 Jul 2003 Posts: 30

Oh my god. I burst my ear drum trying a backroll and tell you what it was the most painful thing I have ever experienced. What was bad was the week after trying to sleep and there is puss draining from your ear and you cannot sleep. I found a good thing to do is drink. A few nights I drank the pain went away i noticed. But if you don't it will make you think twice about trying whatever move you did to blow it out. I haven't been upside down since and its been a whole year.

BIGMAC · Posted: Dec 08, 2003 9:41 pm Post subject:

Go_Lake_Euginia!!, you get use to them. You can hear but not as good.

aguasurf · Outlaw Joined: 12 Nov 2003 Posts: 180 City: Marietta

when mine burst the doc just said to stay out of the water for 2 weeks......i ended up riding again the next weekend and my ears were fine

llenta · Addict Joined: 22 Jul 2003 Posts: 788 City: Davis

aguasurf,

you obviously didn't rupture it that bad.
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