Surfing Waves

Hola a todos!!! Qué tal?

Thanks for the website! So much useful information!!!

At 35, I think it is time to learn to surf!!! My plan (I hope life-changing plan) would be taking surfing lessons in Spain and if I can do this and keep my balance etc eventually take time off my job to move somewhere else and stay for a few months.. travel, meet people, surf, etc
I used to love swimming, could spend many hours a week swimming in a pool or the sea, depending on where I was living. It was my favourite sport.

The last few years have been very tough; I have spent too much time in pain at home or trying to work my way through painful noise. I suffer from a nasty hearing condition called hyperacusis, which makes normal sounds to be perceived as very loud or extremely loud and painful, triggering extreme pressure inside my ears and pretty bad headaches and migraines. So far this has not affected my balance and the sound of the sea feels soothing, as it resembles the white noise hyperacusics listen to for therapy. That's why I thought of taking up surfing.

This may be an uncommon question but due to my hyperacusis I would be very interested in getting advice from surfers with hearing issues and learning from their stories. I mean, does it make learning to surf a lot more difficult?

Hola Juan welcome to SW,
The problem of Hyperacusis is a challenging one and without going through a full medical clinical work up, it would be inappropriate to offer solutions.
The good news is if you have no vestibular issues ( usually indicated by loss of balance) and the white noise of the sea is soothing , then I would say go for it!

Talk to your doctor in regard to whether ear plugs for swimming or surfing are suitable.

There is the risk of getting boney growths in your ear canal if you do end up doing a lot of surfing in cold water ( ear plugs lessen this risk).

Surfing I would guess is ok on what you have said so far. But talk it out before you do. Once you start and get hooked, you will have a whole lot of learning to distract you

Spain has some great surf. I imagine that in smaller waves the sound problem could be manageable. Definitely in big waves it won't be good for you. Ear plugs might help. I have never heard of anyone surfing with hyperacusis so no real information for you. Welcome to Surfing Waves

jaffa1949 wrote:There is the risk of getting boney growths in your ear canal if you do end up doing a lot of surfing in cold water ( ear plugs lessen this risk).

Surfing I would guess is ok on what you have said so far. But talk it out before you do. Once you start and get hooked, you will have a whole lot of learning to distract you

Thank you so much for pointing that out! I didnt know this!

I have already read this, which is informative:

http://es.magicseaweed.com/news/surfers ... ruth/6276/

And also they advertise these earplugs when redirected from link above:

https://store.magicseaweed.com/Eq-Seals ... uct/169178

As a very veteran earplug-wearer, I would advise custom earplugs that totally seal the ear, and also using earplugs for a reasonable time. For some people using earplugs make pressure within the ears build up and it can hurt if one uses them for many hours straight (anyway, that is going to be way better than repeated ear infections that may end up with surgery).

oldmansurfer wrote:Spain has some great surf. I imagine that in smaller waves the sound problem could be manageable. Definitely in big waves it won't be good for you. Ear plugs might help. I have never heard of anyone surfing with hyperacusis so no real information for you. Welcome to Surfing Waves

Thanks a lot for your input!

I have a lot of free time, so this year I would like to take surfing lessons in Spain. I have been browsing the Internet for the right place and it seems it is better to go north, to the Basque Country (also a really scenic area and a great travelling destination for gourmets). Found a school at El Palmar (Andalucía) and also articles about surfing destinations in Spain. I am sure there is a lot of information in these forums as well. El Palmar is actually listed here:

https://surfing-waves.com/atlas/euro ... lucia.html

These are places that seem popular; have you surfed in Spain? Been to any of these?

- Zarautz (Basque Country)

- Mundaka (Basque Country)

- Ferrol

- El Bocal (Santander) - La Vaca Gigante (this one does not look like the one for beginners)

http://nauta360.expansion.com/2015/12/0 ... 42183.html

There seem to be less places in southern spain, as the mediterranean is relatively calm. A very basic question too.. if a wave hits one underwater (wipeout is the word for this, right?) I imagine you have to open your eyes to orientate and swim up in the right direction... well.. there are many beaches in spain where waves bring also a lot of dirt, seaweed etc... so.. are these beaches ok to surf? I mean, it is mainly pieces of seaweed but the break is... brown water full of seaweed.

The closest spot to where I live listed is this one, which is in Murcia:

https://surfing-waves.com/atlas/euro ... gal_a.html

Juan , the Andlucian coast has some other spots as well as El Palma , but a surf school there would be good, get some skill and you could look at Barbate as good left hander. The Basque coast has many world class spots , I would not recommend Mundaka for beginners but there will be surf schools around there.
Any wave that is called El Gigante I would avoid too ( the name says it all.
North of Cadiz there is surf. Is Portugal an option for you, the surf season is longer there.

Spain and Portugal are on my bucket list!

jaffa1949 wrote:Is Portugal an option for you, the surf season is longer there.

Spain and Portugal are on my bucket list!

Portugal is definitely an option. Lots of free time and also love driving!

Browsing these forums, I saw a comment on snowboarders learning to surf and finding out that their snowbordings skills cannot apply to the sea.. this let me thinking about whether windsurfing or kitesurfing skills can apply to some extent to surf. This is something I can practice right where I live, like just walking down the stairs... the wind is suitable for these sports near my house but the waves do not seem surfable (in decades, I have never seen anyone surfing here)

Hola Juan,

De donde eres en Espana?

I learned to surf during the summer in Noja in Cantabria and in San Sebastián. Also took the train out to Zarautz one day for a few hours to rent boards with a few friends, I thought the waves were amazing there. I'm still a beginner but I'm going to Fuerteventura for a surf camp for a week on the 16th of January so hopefully I'll come home a bit better from that and buy my own board!

The school I was with in San Sebastian was called Pukas Surf Eskola, the same people who shape the Pukas boards! They also have a school in Zarautz as well as another in Barcelona. San Sebastián seems to me a perfect place to learn - there's loads of stuff going on away from the surfing to keep you occupied, plenty of nightlife, good buzz about the place, the restaurants you won't need telling about. Zarautz in comparison, from my short visit, seemed a bit sleepy.

Hola Emerald, suelo viajar bastante pero generalmente estoy en Madrid y luego bajo al sur los veranos y de vez en cuando para ir a la playa..

I had a look at the Pukas website, also called another school in Zarautz but they only have surf camp for groups... yeah, San Sebastián is a great place to hang out!

Saludos!

Emerald wrote:Hola Juan,

De donde eres en Espana?

I learned to surf during the summer in Noja in Cantabria and in San Sebastián. Also took the train out to Zarautz one day for a few hours to rent boards with a few friends, I thought the waves were amazing there. I'm still a beginner but I'm going to Fuerteventura for a surf camp for a week on the 16th of January so hopefully I'll come home a bit better from that and buy my own board!

The school I was with in San Sebastian was called Pukas Surf Eskola, the same people who shape the Pukas boards! They also have a school in Zarautz as well as another in Barcelona. San Sebastián seems to me a perfect place to learn - there's loads of stuff going on away from the surfing to keep you occupied, plenty of nightlife, good buzz about the place, the restaurants you won't need telling about. Zarautz in comparison, from my short visit, seemed a bit sleepy.