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Close your Ears...!

6/8/2020

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Do you experience dizziness when you swim in Open Water?
Well, here's why.
Cold water in your ear stimulates something called the Vestibular-Ocular reflex, this in turn induces Nystagmus. This reflex makes your eyes micro-beat incredibly fast and to the opposite side to which ear the cold water is in.
This is called Caloric Testing. Interestingly, this is also a used as a test for Vertigo.
What's this got to do with my Open Water Swimming? Well, swimming and cold water ending up in both ears is likely to upset that system, possibly even making the reaction excessive.
That excess reaction will manifest as dizziness, in some cases, nausea; imbalance is common too. Think motion sickness and you have the same feelings.

Personally, I have worn ear plugs whilst surfing, swimming, kayaking and other watersports for a long time, so as to prevent Surfer's Ear, but they also help reduce ear infections and the effects mentioned above.  Ear plugs can be purchased off the shelf from swimming shops, amazon, wiggle etc. However, if you really want to protect your ears and dramatically reduce the chances of the occurrence of the Vestibular-Ocular reflex and Nystagmus, then visit an audiologist and have some earplugs made that are specifically moulded to your ears. Specsavers have this facility, Surf-Plugs will send you a moulding kit, or they can even be prescribed on the NHS.
It is very much worth it, if nothing else than to prevent Surfer's Ear, Swimmer's Ear and the other names that describe the body's mechanism for blocking out water from the ear canal by growing more bone in the canal to narrow it. The solution, crudely speaking is an operation with a drill, maybe a chisel as well! 

Below is the link to a video that shows just what's required to undo bony growths, exostoses.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXJzDaqmpoo
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    I'm Dave, Welcome to the AcwaTerra Blog. To find out more about us, check out: http://www.acwaterra.co.uk/about-us.html

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  • Home
  • The Culture Deck
  • About Us
  • Technical Advice
  • Skills, Trips and Expeditions
    • Sea Kayak >
      • Sea Kayak Skills - Intro and Intermediate
      • Sea Kayak Skills - Advanced
      • UK Sea Kayak Trips and Expeditions 2020
      • UK Sea Kayak Trips and Expeditions 2021 >
        • The Slate Isles
        • The Wild West
      • World Sea Kayak Expeditions
    • Surf Kayak >
      • Surf Kayak skills
      • World Surf Kayak Trips
    • White Water Kayak >
      • White Water Skills
      • Overseas - WhiteWater 2020
      • Overseas - WhiteWater 2021
    • Canoe
    • SUP - Stand Up Paddleboard >
      • SUP Skills
  • Acwa Courses
    • British Canoeing Awards >
      • Personal Performance Awards
      • Safety and Rescue Courses >
        • Flat and White Water Safety and Rescue Courses
      • Leader Training and Assessment Courses >
        • White Water Kayak Leader Courses
        • Sea Kayak Leader Courses
        • Surf Kayak Leader Development Courses
        • Paddlesport Leader Awards
      • Instructor and Coach Courses >
        • British Canoeing Paddlesport Instructor Award
        • Core Coach Training
        • Stand Up Paddle-Boarding Coach Courses
      • Guide Courses
      • Navigation Courses
    • Waterskills Academy Courses >
      • Personal Performance and Personal Safety Awards
      • Waterskills Academy Stand Up Paddle-Boarding Instructor and Guide courses
      • WaterSkills Academy Stand Up Paddle-Boarding Workshops
    • Coasteering Guide Training - Waterskills Academy
    • Open Water Swimming
  • Terra Courses
    • Climbing >
      • Mountain Training Instructor Courses >
        • Rock Climbing Instructor Courses
      • Rock Climbing Skills courses
      • Climbing Technique Coaching
    • Mountaineering >
      • Mountain Training Leader Awards >
        • Mountain Leader Courses
      • Winter Walking, Mountaineering and Climbing Skills Introduction
      • Winter Climbing and Mountaineering Week
      • Norway Ice Climbing
    • Skiing >
      • Ski Touring
  • Free workshops
  • Contact us
  • Resources
    • Equipment Reviews >
      • Rockpool Kayaks Bach Eto Sea Kayak
    • Book Reviews >
      • Ski Touring in the Dolomites 2017
  • Blog