| Pages:
1
2
3 |
magentawave
Junior Nomad
Posts: 51
Registered: 11-14-2012
Member Is Offline
|
|
SURFERS EAR: Would you get your ears drilled/chiseled in Mexico instead of in the US?
I've been surfing and playing in cold water forever and have severe exostosis (surfers ear) so I need to get my ears chiseled or drilled soon so I can
fully enjoy my travels through Mexico. I've been to dentists in Baja and they were fine and cheap, but what do you think about having a very
specialized procedure like having your ears drilled or chiseled which is RIGHT NEXT TO THE BRAIN done in Mexico instead of the US? Any
recommendations?
Thank you.
Steve
|
|
|
captkw
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3850
Registered: 10-19-2010
Location: el charro b.c.s.
Member Is Offline
Mood: new dog/missing the old 1
|
|
Damn,,I could have fun with this!!
[Edited on 12-7-2012 by captkw]
|
|
|
mcfez
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8678
Registered: 12-2-2009
Location: aka BN yankeeirishman
Member Is Offline
|
|
Never heard of this.......damn interesting though!
Here's a clip of the work in progress:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=2...
Good luck with your operation....and here is a great site for you.
http://www.surfysurfy.net/2010/03/wear-ear-plugs-and-hood.ht...
[Edited on 12-7-2012 by mcfez]
Old people are like the old cars, made of some tough stuff. May show a little rust, but good as gold on the inside.
|
|
|
captkw
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3850
Registered: 10-19-2010
Location: el charro b.c.s.
Member Is Offline
Mood: new dog/missing the old 1
|
|
Mcfeez and all
water sport folks get it..not uncommon..myself as a ex diver and many years (38) a high diver (think alcapuco) I have a litte bit of the same
problem...Im just ignoreing it !! K&T
|
|
|
Ateo
Elite Nomad
Posts: 5938
Registered: 7-18-2011
Member Is Offline
|
|
It's real!!! The cold water closes the ear canal over time. I've been lucky so far.
I did recently find out that I have "surfers eye" though............Damn, there are consequences to surfing!!! Don't ever do it. =)
|
|
|
Lee
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3603
Registered: 10-2-2006
Location: High in the Colorado Rockies
Member Is Offline
|
|
| Quote: | Originally posted by magentawave
...... what do you think about having a very specialized procedure like having your ears drilled or chiseled which is RIGHT NEXT TO THE BRAIN done in
Mexico instead of the US? Any recommendations?
Thank you.
Steve |
Are you looking for the most competent but cheapest doctor you can find.
Why not find a doctor in Baja or NOB based on years of experience?
US Marines: providing enemies of America an opportunity to die for their country since 1775.
What I say before any important decision.
F*ck it.
|
|
|
Ateo
Elite Nomad
Posts: 5938
Registered: 7-18-2011
Member Is Offline
|
|
Sorry, wasn't trying to hi-jack.
Pterygium (SURFERS EYE):
Pterygium (pronounced tur-IJ-ee-um) is a common eye condition that affects people who spend a lot of time outdoors. People with pterygium have a
growth of pink, fleshy tissue on the white of the eye. It usually forms on the side closest to the nose.
Pterygium is also known as surfer's eye because it often affects surfers.
It is a noncancerous lesion that usually grows slowly throughout life. Or it may stop growing after a certain point. In rare cases a pterygium can
continue growing until it covers the pupil of the eye and interferes with vision.
A pterygium may affect one or both eyes. When it affects both eyes, it is called a bilateral pterygium.
Pterygium is usually not a serious condition. But it can cause annoying symptoms such as a feeling of a foreign body in the eye.
Symptoms of Pterygium
Sometimes, a pterygium causes no symptoms other than its appearance. An enlarging pterygium, however, may cause redness and inflammation.
In some cases, a pterygium can grow onto the cornea (the clear, outer layer of the eye). This can distort the shape of the cornea, causing a condition
called astigmatism. The result can be blurred vision.
[Edited on 12-7-2012 by Ateo]
|
|
|
Stickers
Senior Nomad
Posts: 572
Registered: 4-12-2006
Location: SoCal
Member Is Offline
|
|
| Quote: | Originally posted by magentawave
I've been surfing and playing in cold water forever and have severe exostosis (surfers ear) so I need to get my ears chiseled or drilled soon so I can
fully enjoy my travels through Mexico. I've been to dentists in Baja and they were fine and cheap, but what do you think about having a very
specialized procedure like having your ears drilled or chiseled which is RIGHT NEXT TO THE BRAIN done in Mexico instead of the US? Any
recommendations?
Thank you.
Steve |
A surfer I know living in Peru just had the surgery but came NOB to have it done. The surgeon in Peru said NO WAY down here. He has had
complications and more issues since, and continues treatment.
|
|
|
willardguy
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6451
Registered: 9-19-2009
Member Is Offline
|
|
add a big dose of polluted water, ear infection, ever consider fishing?
|
|
|
landyacht318
Nomad
Posts: 247
Registered: 7-28-2007
Member Is Offline
|
|
I had my left ear chiseled in 11/07 up in Newport beach. The Surgeon said he had only seen once case worse than mine. Said most procedures take about
50 minutes, said mine took nearly 3 hours. Every time he chiseled out one auditory mountainesque obstruction, another one appeared, like the Andes
mountain chain, all the way to my ear drum.
NO insurance, cost about 10 grand and I refused to pay some of the surgery center's bills which had the audacity to send off the bone chips to be
tested for cancer and charging 750$$.
No significant pain, no hearing loss, no worsening of my tinnitus. Got the Ok to surf 4 weeks after procedure, but gave it 6 total.
My right ear is still 99% occluded, but has not become infected since the left ear has been cleared. I use ear plugs now( and for 10 years prior to
the surgery), make sure to sterilize them regularly, and use 50/50 distilled white vinegar, 91% rubbing alcohol deep into both ear canals as soon as
possible after a surf. The alcohol helps dry the water, the vinegar makes it acidic so bacteria can't grow.
I would not want some inexperienced surgeon learning on my skull. I have heard nightmare stories about the amount of pain some have experienced
afterward. The older technique of peeling the ear off the skull for better access is not acceptable, in my opinion.
While best case scenario for my Right ear is to have the same trusted Surgeon do it, I would consider going to NZ or Australia for the surgery and an
experienced surgeon. I bet even with the costs of flights and accommoditations, it would be cheaper there than here.
Very seldom, perhaps twice a year, I get a very sharp, intense pain in the cleared ear that lasts a few seconds, and then completely and quickly
disappears. This pain would be intolerable if it lasted more than 30 seconds. I would have been chewing hydrocodone into the grave had that degree
of pain lasted for any length of time after the surgery.
I did get a 7 day supply of Hc's after the surgery, and did take them as the doc said don't wait for the pain then take them, just take them as you
would antibiotics, till they are gone.
Glad I did, as the pain afterward was so minor. Keeping the ear dry for 10 days was more an annoyance.
|
|
|
magentawave
Junior Nomad
Posts: 51
Registered: 11-14-2012
Member Is Offline
|
|
| Quote: | Are you looking for the most competent but cheapest doctor you can find.
Why not find a doctor in Baja or NOB based on years of experience? |
Yes exactly! I am looking for a doctor in Mexico that has TONS of experience with this procedure. Do you know of one or how I can find one?
|
|
|
magentawave
Junior Nomad
Posts: 51
Registered: 11-14-2012
Member Is Offline
|
|
I will start fishing again when I get down there (for food only) but I don't see fishing ever replacing surfing. And you're right about combining a
big dose of polluted water with an ear canal that is 93% closed!
| Quote: | Originally posted by willardguy
add a big dose of polluted water, ear infection, ever consider fishing? |
|
|
|
magentawave
Junior Nomad
Posts: 51
Registered: 11-14-2012
Member Is Offline
|
|
What does "NOB" mean? And you are saying that the doctor in Baja did a crappy job?
| Quote: | | A surfer I know living in Peru just had the surgery but came NOB to have it done. The surgeon in Peru said NO WAY down here. He has had
complications and more issues since, and continues treatment. |
|
|
|
Ateo
Elite Nomad
Posts: 5938
Registered: 7-18-2011
Member Is Offline
|
|
NOB = north of the border
|
|
|
Stickers
Senior Nomad
Posts: 572
Registered: 4-12-2006
Location: SoCal
Member Is Offline
|
|
| Quote: | Originally posted by Ateo
NOB = north of the border |
Yes, came up to the U.S. and had both ears done. It seems to be a very delicate and specialized operation and he had health insurance to cover the
cost.
He continues healing with some complications, infections and other issues down in Lima with the local ear specialist.
|
|
|
BajaNomad
Super Administrator
Posts: 5014
Registered: 8-1-2002
Location: San Diego, CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: INTP-A
|
|
http://sprinterlife.com/2012/04/successful-ear-surgery-1.htm...
When I was young, I admired clever people. Now that I am old, I admire kind people.
– Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
We know we must go back if we live, and we don`t know why.
– John Steinbeck, Log from the Sea of Cortez
https://www.regionalinternet.com
Affordable Domain Name Registration/Management & cPanel Web Hosting - since 1999 |
|
|
Bruce R Leech
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6796
Registered: 9-20-2004
Location: Ensenada formerly Mulege
Member Is Offline
Mood: A lot cooler than Mulege
|
|
ouch
Bruce R Leech
Ensenada
 |
|
|
JohnMcfrog
Nomad
Posts: 156
Registered: 8-1-2012
Location: San Diego, Punta Abreojos
Member Is Offline
|
|
Bob, one of my best friends, and I have been surfing for over 50 years together. He had his right ear done two years ago, with terrible results. It
was done NOB with a supposedly good Scripps doc. He now cannot hear at all out of the right ear without a hearing aide. He went from 60 % hearing loss
to 90 % in that ear. The hearing aide is a constant issue for him. As on most elective surgery, I elect not to have them.
|
|
|
zoesterone
Nomad
Posts: 127
Registered: 5-8-2011
Location: Mazatlan, soon to be Baja
Member Is Offline
|
|
| Quote: | Originally posted by magentawave
I've been surfing and playing in cold water forever and have severe exostosis (surfers ear) so I need to get my ears chiseled or drilled soon so I can
fully enjoy my travels through Mexico. I've been to dentists in Baja and they were fine and cheap, but what do you think about having a very
specialized procedure like having your ears drilled or chiseled which is RIGHT NEXT TO THE BRAIN done in Mexico instead of the US? Any
recommendations?
Thank you.
Steve |
A doctor I used to work for invented these. Maybe they would help after you have had the drilling. http://www.proplugs.com/company_info.shtml
Dogs are not our whole life, but make our lives whole.
|
|
|
Taco de Baja
Super Nomad
Posts: 1913
Registered: 4-14-2004
Location: Behind the Orange Curtain, CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Dreamin' of Baja
|
|
Get it done NOB, if you really need it. I had my left done several years ago using the "peel the ear off the head and, and chisel the bony growth
away" technique. I did hot have any loss of hearing because of either growth, but the Doc said I might later in life, and should get it done now. So
I trusted him and did it.
I would likely NOT do it again. In fact I have told the doc there is no way I would have my right done, unless I absolutely have to. I still have no
hearing loss in my right ear, but there are certain frequencies I now cannot hear in my left, like a tick of a certain clock: if I put my left ear on
a pillow, i can hear the ticking, if I put my right on the pillow, no ticking. There my be other frequencies lost as well - who knows? I believe
this loss is from the loudness of the drill and chisel used; after all, the ear drum is right there.
Recovery was weeks of pain, and I still get occasional twinges of pain.
Sure, US Docs can and do screw up, but I don't think I'd want to have someone doing this delicate procedure right next to my eardrum in a clinic SOB.
If you have no hearing loss now and no other issues associated with it, you may be better off not doing it at all.
Truth generally lies in the coordination of antagonistic opinions
-Herbert Spencer
|
|
|
| Pages:
1
2
3 |
![[*]](images/xmbforum/default_icon.gif){kind=icon}
