A-frame

Aaberg, Denny

Aaberg, Kemp

Abberton, Koby

Abbruzzi, Sid

Abellira, Reno

Abubo, Megan

academia and surfing

Adler, Tom

advertising and surfing

Aeder, Erik

aerial

Aguerre, Fernando

Aichner, Scott

Aikau, Clyde

Aikau, Eddie

Aipa, Ben

air-drop

airbrush

Airshow

Ala Moana

Alabama

alaia board

Alaska

alcohol and surfing

Alexander, Kala

Allen, Chuck

Alms, Paige

aloha shirt

Alter, Hobie

Alvarez, Pepe

Ancell, Kevin

Andaman Islands

Andersen, Lisa

Anderson, Craig

Anderson, Simon

Andino, Kolohe

Angel, Jose

angle

Angola

Angourie

Antarctica

Apocalypse Now

Arabian Sea

Aragon, Janice

Arakawa, Eric

Archbold, Matt

Arena, Eduardo

Ashton, Juan

Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP)

Atlantic Ocean

August, Robert

Aurness, Rolf

Auster, Ken

Australia

Avalon, Frankie

Azores

backdoor

backside

backside attack, Pipeline

backwash

bail out

Bain, Rob

Baja California

Baker, Bernie

Baker, Grant “Twiggy”

Baker, Tim

Bali

Ball, John “Doc”

Ballard, Bill

Ballard, Rochelle

balsa

Baltic Sea

Banks, Jim

Barbados

Barilotti, Steve

Barland, Michel

Barreda, Sergio “Gordo”

Barry, Michael

Bartholomew, Wayne

Baxter, Jackie

Bay of Bengal

Beach Boys, The

Beacham, Debbie

beachboys

beachbreak

Beachcomber Bills Grand Prix

Beachley, Layne

beavertail

Becker, Phil

Bedford-Brown, Stuart

Belgium

Bells Beach

Bendall, Ma and Pa

Bennett, Barry

Benson, Becky

Benson, Blanche

Benson, Linda

Bermuda

Bertlemann, Larry

Common medical condition for surfers worldwide, consisting of bone deposits formed under the skin of the ear canal, primarily from repeated exposure to wind and water; formally known as exostosis. While surfer's ear is painless in itself, the narrowed canal can trap water and wax in the inner ear, increasing the likelihood of infections and tinnitus (ringing in the ears); hearing loss may result if left untreated. The skin of the ear canal is the only place on the body where bone meets skin with no insulating layer of fat or muscle. When the ear is repeatedly exposed to cold, wet air and saltwater, it walls itself off from the elements with added bone growth in the ear canal. "It's a stupid affliction," surf journalist Steve Hawk wrote in 1995, noting that shrinking the ear canal "makes about as much biological sense as blocking a harbor entrance with rocks to keep the boats safe." As early as the 1940s, small numbers of exostosis-affected surfers, sailors, divers, and ocean swimmers were having their ears "drilled," a painful surgical procedure requiring general anesthesia, in which the ear is incised from behind and pulled forward, the ear canal skin cut and peeled back, and the exposed bone growths removed with a series of fine drills and burrs. In 1972, California surfer/physician Dr. Robert Scott, after having his own ears drilled, introduced Doc's Pro Plugs, a set of soft-plastic earplugs attached to a thin nylon tether looping over the surfer's neck to prevent the plugs from washing away. Earplugs were the first preventive measure against surfer's ear, and are still regarded as the best line of defense. Neoprene hoods also help in prevention, as does coating the inner ear with olive oil before surfing (a less-than-popular practice), and rinsing with rubbing alcohol afterward. Surfer magazine reported in 1978 that nearly half of all avid surfers had at least 30 percent obstruction of the ear canal due to surfer's ear. Virtually no ill effect is felt until the ears are at least 75 percent closed, however, and a huge majority of surfers get by for the remainder of their surfing days without medical treatment. Bone scraping and laser surgery are now used as alter- natives to drilling; all procedures are expensive—between $3,000 and $5,000 per ear—and will keep a surfer out of the water for two to 12 weeks. Once treated, the condition is likely to return, and quickly, unless preventive measures are taken.

surfer's ear

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