Surfing Waves

I'm using the putty plugs, it works but I can't hear people talking to me. These things should do the trick according to the advertisement.

Anybody tried them, is it any good?

I use Doc's Pro plugs but these look a lot better as a product so I will buy a set.
Got the full range, blutac,silicon gel stuff, Doc's , some Olympic type ones all leave me a little oh yeah OK ,just!
I wear hearing aids so a little more protection is needed for the hearing that is left!
I got shot in the right ear with a blank pistol shot when I was acting, haven't been the same since

I have some. I don't really like them to be honest.

They don't feel like they seal properly in my ears, so you get that annoying squelching noise. I also don't find them particularly comfortable. You can hear better with them better than some other plugs, but there is still some noise reduction.

They do come with a few different sizes for the seals, but I can't seem to get on with them. Maybe I have funny shaped ears.

I was also worried that they'd fall out, but they seem to stay in ok.

Thanks for the replies guys.

I think I wait for some more user reports before I dig up almost a million Rupiahs for the Surfears plugs..

Very interested to hear how u like them om Jaffa, I tried the Doc's but didn't like them. The simple putty works for me, didn't have an ear infection since I started using them, but it would be nice to talk to people for a change.

In the wet season (Bali) I also use a nose clip. Also I use a hat with earflaps to help keep the earplugs in place, so u could say I gave up on the cool surfer looks

The good thing of being deaf in the lineup is u don't hear people laughing behind ur back

Uncle Jaffa is too old to be cool.
The older you get the less peer pressure! double

Actually, surfing at age 66 is the coolest thing there is. Paling Cool!

Yes, less peer pressure by true survival of the fittest

I've had a bad experience with earplugs. 2 or 3 years ago water got behind them which turned into a crazy ear infection that had me out for a week. Now I do the best I can to keep my head above water.

Ouch on your behalf, I use a product called AquaEar (not aquadhere a glue). It is topical alcohol ear drops, it kills most of the bacteria that can cause infections.

I am curious, did you do anything to flush the water out?
You can also use *President Obama's method. Hydrogen Peroxide solution CAUTION It needs to be the diluted solution you get from a Pharmacy not full strength.
* He mentions his mother used to treat his ears that way after bodysurfing at Sandy Beach
As with all medical advice check first before you do it!

Om Jaffa, do u use the alcohol ear drops as a precaution after every surf or only when u feel something is wrong?

No I don't use the ear drops after every surf, just if I feel a little watery in the ear, or if I feel the water was dirty.
I occasionally syringe my ears with warm soapy water after a wax softening treatment as I get eczema inside my ears and that can lead to a total wax blockage ( and then my wife hates me as I go totally deaf).
I also use ear candles They work well for me!
If it is really bad I get a medical syringe and a review of the ear canal.
A 66 year old's health strategy patch repair maintain and strengthen. Oh and don't surf while injured, HEAL first.

I swab out my ears with a solution of 50% rubbing alcohol and 50% white vinegar after nearly every surf.....made it through the Bali wet season with no issues while others I know were sidelined with ear infections on a regular basis.

Big H wrote:I swab out my ears with a solution of 50% rubbing alcohol and 50% white vinegar after nearly every surf.....made it through the Bali wet season with no issues while others I know were sidelined with ear infections on a regular basis.

Is that homemade or do u buy it here? U didn't need earplugs in the wet season? Any idea if the east coast is just as dirty in the wet season?
I know a lot of questions, but ears are a serious matter

treat the wet season as risky!
When consider every bit of stream water has started somewhere near the top of Gunung Agung and worked its way down with every village drain and previously dry creek and across the fanned out terraces and the the coast fringe, every duck poo exam poo and what people have done + remains of burnt plastic etc and over course the overloaded sewerage systems . I'd consider every stream as toxic and visiting tourist haven't got the antibodies to cope. Preventative practice is the way to go!

Got it!

I surf east and west during the rainy season. Filthy2 to say the least. I'm 10 yrs now in Indo so Jaffa might have a point about antibodies; solution is homemade and works great.

Surfing pal and relative newcomer to Indonesia (3yrs) uses earplugs and surfed with me daily in Dec-Mar when he wasn't sick. He would go down every three weeks with a bout of ear infection and be out for a week or more in spite of religious earplug application.

Religious application only works in Bali if it is full Hindu, and puja is offered.
If he was sick in other ways then his whole system would have been ripe to get infections.
So many people don't treat cuts etc as quickly as possible they try to tough it out .
The ear infection probably didn't get fully cured just wet down below noticeable symptom level.
Always, always, take the full course of antibiotics if they are needed.

This from a local Bali tread on the subject....any opinions?

Same thread heartily endorses surfersear plugs...say they are available at the rip curl on sunset.


(Local Bali poster-native Balinese)
Ear infections indicate the water you are surfing in is dirty, or the water you are rising off in is infected with a bacterial water tank. The best thing to do once you have healed up. Is to rinse your ears with rubbing alcohol, it will dry out the preliminary surface water immediately. Thereafter, you squeeze some baby oil into your ears. Water will move to the top of the oil from behind the ear drum, making it easier to discharge/exit your ear. The oil provides a natural benefit application to build your ear wax. After you put the oil in the ear, put a cotton to hold the oil into the ear and prevent it from dripping down onto your shoulders. This is the best remedy for maintaining your ears. On another note, there have been rains in the mountains, the rivers in Bali are still flowing a bit, flushing the crap water into the ocean on the kuta, legion, canggu side. You really need to be mindful of the that water as it is a hazard to everyones health. Good Luck.

Big H wrote:Surfing pal and relative newcomer to Indonesia (3yrs) uses earplugs and surfed with me daily in Dec-Mar when he wasn't sick. He would go down every three weeks with a bout of ear infection and be out for a week or more in spite of religious earplug application.

Couple of years ago I had the same problem, earplugs didn't give enough protection. Then I bought a swimmers noseclip, the combination earplugs&noseclip worked. So i guess the polluted water going either into the outer ear or the sinus thru the nose causes the infections.

The noseclip is uncomfortable and gets flushed away during wipeouts so later I used a cord attached to my hat.

After a few months of surfing without earproblems I got sloppy using the noseclip, kept it off until my wave came. After a while I forgot about it al together, now I'm back to only earplugs.

Maybe using earplugs&noseclip together helped healing the infection.

I still give a lot of attention to flushing my ears with warm soapy water and drying with tissues (and cotton bud if I feel water is stuck inside). For sure I will use the noseclip again as prevention when the rain comes.

But whatever I do my ears keep sensitive and sometimes not feel 100%, but they not keep me from surfing so I can live with it.

Tudeo wrote:But whatever I do my ears keep sensitive and sometimes not feel 100%, but they not keep me from surfing so I can live with it.

Always dangerous to say something like that without having some wood around to knock on, already 10 days out of the water because ear problem...

I'm not sure if it was an ear infection cos the pain was only for 1 day.. I immediately got some antibiotic eardrops, Otopain, they sell here over the counter and only used it for a couple of days.

Now it feels ok but I still don't go in the water for another day or so, i want to give it time to heal good.

In the mean time I made the mixture Big H is using so successfully, of 50% rubbing alcohol and 50% white vinegar. Next time after surfing I will use that for sure.