There are many ways you can injure yourself surfing, one of
both the more common and more nasty is to damage your
inner ear. Tear or perforate your eardrum (by slapping hard
on the wave face or flats, or getting hit by your board) and
your trip is done, son. If you’re away somewhere you can’t
even fly home with ear drum damage, you’ll just be watching
perfect waves unable to venture in the drink, or even into the
shower properly till it’s healed. Obviously prevention is way
better than cure, with the use of earplugs being the best
preventative method. Look for the ones that look a bit like a
Christmas tree, those little rubber flanges grip best and mean
they’re less likely to come out during a wipeout. When
inserting, pull your earlobe down and out from the bottom
and slide the plug all the way in, further than you’d think. Not
only does using plugs prevent burst eardrums, it’ll also help
prevent the particularly hideous cold water condition, surfer’s
ear (the one where treatment involves cutting your lobe off,
pulling it down, drilling the bone away and you not surfing
for six months). Keep your ear canal clean to avoid infections,
and never put something smaller than your little finger in
(cotton buds are out). Do you hear?