In This Article
Surfer's ear is the common name for external auditory canal exostoses: benign bony growths in the outer ear canal. Repeated cold-water exposure is strongly associated with the condition. You do not have to surf to develop it, and an occasional cold swim does not establish that you have it. As the canal narrows, wax, debris and water may clear less easily. Surfer's ear is not the same as swimmer's ear, and earwax removal does not remove the bone.1
What is external auditory canal exostosis?
Exostoses are bony projections from the wall of the external ear canal. They can remain symptom-free. If narrowing becomes more marked, water may remain in the canal after swimming and ordinary wax clearance can become more difficult. In some people, retained water, wax or inflammation can contribute to a blocked feeling, recurrent outer-ear infection or conductive hearing difficulty. A blocked ear in someone who swims does not prove that exostosis is present, or that exostosis is the only cause.2
Exostosis does not mean that the ear is making more wax. It changes the shape of the canal, which can make normal wax movement and water drainage less straightforward.
Cold water, wind and cumulative exposure
Research in surfers links colder water and greater cumulative surfing exposure with more frequent and more severe exostoses. Studies in South-West England and in other cold-water sports also show that frequency and years of exposure matter. There is no reliable public rule such as a particular water temperature, number of swims or number of years that predicts an individual's outcome.3 4
The relationship is not limited to sea surfers. A study of white-water kayakers found exostoses in an inland freshwater cohort, so salt water itself is not the issue. Wind and evaporative cooling may add to cold exposure in some wind-dependent water sports, but wind alone should not be treated as a diagnosis.5 6
Is surfer's ear the same as swimmer's ear?
No. Surfer's ear describes structural bony narrowing of the canal. Swimmer's ear means otitis externa, an inflammation or infection of the outer ear canal. A narrowed canal can make trapped water and recurrent otitis externa more likely in some people, but the two conditions remain different. For the separate water, infection and wax-clearance pathway, see swimming, water and earwax.
Can surfer's ear affect wax, water or hearing?
If the canal narrows, wax and water can be harder to clear. That may contribute to recurrent blockage or water trapping. More substantial obstruction, retained wax or canal inflammation can also contribute to conductive hearing difficulty. Hearing change has many possible causes, so it should not automatically be attributed to wax or exostosis.
Use when a blocked ear may not be earwax if you are unsure why an ear feels blocked. Sudden significant hearing loss, severe or worsening pain, concerning discharge, substantial bleeding, significant dizziness or feeling acutely unwell needs an appropriate NHS route, including NHS 111 where appropriate, rather than routine wax care.
How is it assessed and what can an earwax service do?
An external-ear examination can show whether wax is visible and whether a structural canal concern needs a different route. An ear health assessment and otoscopy can help with non-urgent uncertainty about visible wax or the external canal. It is not a full ENT examination or a diagnostic hearing test.
Where wax is present in a narrowed canal, an assessment must establish whether removal is suitable, accessible and within scope. Professional wax management, when appropriate, addresses the wax component only. It does not cure or remove exostosis, and this page does not select a universal removal method. Suspected significant canal narrowing, recurrent symptoms or a structural concern may need medical or ENT assessment.
Does surfer's ear always need surgery?
No. Many people with exostoses do not have symptoms or do not need surgery. ENT teams may consider canalplasty for selected symptomatic structural narrowing. Canalplasty removes bony exostoses and reshapes the canal; Earwax Removal Devon does not provide that surgery. Royal Cornwall Hospitals' current ENT information describes it as a specialist operation and confirms that the decision depends on the individual clinical situation.7
Can ear protection reduce risk?
Physical ear protection can reduce cold-water exposure to the canal. Observational studies in surfers and kayakers found lower risk associations among people who reported using plugs or hoods. This supports risk reduction, not a guarantee of prevention or a claim that existing bone will shrink. Choose any equipment with appropriate professional advice for your activity and ear history; this article does not recommend or rank products.4 5
Why this article retains Harry Enfield in its URL
This page was first published in response to public interest after Harry Enfield appeared on Off Menu episode 341 on 3 June 2026.8 The official episode page confirms the appearance but is not a clinical record. For that reason, this article does not diagnose, quote or explain any individual's hearing history. The medical information above comes from ENT and peer-reviewed sources.
References
Footnotes
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Vallée A. External auditory exostosis among surfers: a comprehensive and systematic review. 2024. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37777626/ ↩
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Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust. Surfer's ear. https://doclibrary-rcht.cornwall.nhs.uk/GET/d10359235 ↩
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Kroon DF, et al. Surfer's ear: external auditory exostoses are more prevalent in cold water surfers. 2002. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12075223/ ↩
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Alexander V, et al. The effects of surfing behaviour on the development of external auditory canal exostosis. 2015. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24619201/ ↩ ↩2
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Moore RD, et al. Exostoses of the external auditory canal in white-water kayakers. 2010. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20066729/ ↩ ↩2
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Wegener F, et al. External auditory exostoses in wind-dependent water sports participants. 2022. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34146149/ ↩
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Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust. Canalplasty / excision of exostosis. Revised September 2025. https://doclibrary-rcht.cornwall.nhs.uk/GET/d10363866 ↩