Surf Ears, no more 'WHAT?'

The sound of heavy breathing in my head, an overused joint in my neck cracks as I turn my head. I swallow before a duck dive and the over-amplification of anything interior resonates in my mind. This is how I felt the first time I used ear plugs whilst surfing.

After a string of ear infections and after moving to a windy country with colder water I decided enough is enough lets get some ear plugs. I went for the mid to cheap range 8 euro from a surf shop. How different can ear plugs be? It turns out a lot, not only could I not hear anything apart from my own breathing, I had also lost the ability to surf! Ear plugs without pressure equalization effect your balance in such a way that....in fact lets ask someone who know more about this stuff.

Surf Ears are a type of ear plug that lets sound in, equalizes pressure but keeps water out. A very kind lady called Isabelle, part of the Surf Ears team, has kindly agreed to give us at Surf Bunker some time to talk about why its so important to use good plugs.

SB: Hey Isabelle thanks for sparing Surf Bunker the time. Where are you guys based?

Isabelle: Hi! Our office is based in Malmö, the south part of Sweden (where the surf is) but I’ve been working from both Hawaii and Australia earlier this year. We run office from wherever the surf is!

SB: I have a pair of Surf Ears and they are awesome, what makes them so much better than the competition?

Isabelle: They’re developed by engineers that are surfers themselves and had ear problems. We realized there were no ear plugs on the market that were good enough and decided to make a product that we wanted ourselves; plugs that would stay in place and protect from water while letting through sound.

SB: Will Surf Ears prevent against bone growth over your ear and also against infection?

Isabelle: Yes, since these problems are caused by cold water and wind it would be prevented by wearing ear plugs such as surfears.

SB: I have a weird ear shape that seems to reject normal plugs but Surf Ears stay in for me, is that some part of the design?

Isabelle: We made three sizes that all comes in each set to be able to give as many people as possible a perfect fit. That way yo can assemble your own plugs that works best for you. It’s great to hear they fit you well!

SB: Was there a lot of testing that went into the design to get it right? Also I am not sure how something can allow sound in but not water, how is that possible?

Isabelle: Yes, there was a long process before the surfears was finalized. The core part is the special part of the plugs with an acoustic mesh which allows sound to pass through but not water.

SB: I have heard that windy, cold water conditions are the worst for surfers contracting infections, is that true? Should warm water surfers use plugs too?

Isabelle: It is more common with ear problems in cold and windy places but I myself, for example, got a chronic ear infection in warmer waters, so it’s always good to protect your ears. Especially if you’re out traveling, surfing in countries like Morocco you definitely would want ear plugs to protect you from ear infections.

SB: What causes ear infections, is it down to man made pollutants in the water or a natural occurrence?

Isabelle: I would say it’s both. Like I mentioned places like Morocco dirt from the city streets pollutes the water and would cause infections.

SB: Where can we buy Surf Ears? Are you guys working on anything new?

Isabelle: You can order surfears at our web shop: shop.surfears.com!

And there we have it, you need to look after your ears, a small amount of cash right now could save you a huge amount of time out of the water and or a painful operation.