Cold water swimming has surged in popularity in recent years, with countless people sharing videos of themselves plunging into local ponds and lakes online, praising the activity’s many health benefits. However, comedian Harry Enfield has recently spoken about some adverse effects he has personally experienced.
Harry Enfield's Experience
The 65-year-old comedy actor told Ed Gamble and James Acaster on their Off Menu podcast that his regular swims in North London’s Highgate Ponds have led to hearing issues. "I’m deaf, partially deaf and because I swim in Highgate Ponds, I’ve got stalactites in my ears," Enfield said. He now uses hearing aids to help with the hearing loss. "They’ve got tiny little hearing aids you can get now and apparently they’re very good. They cost a fortune, but they’re worth having. So, I went to get them fitted," he added.
What Is Surfer's Ear?
To understand why freshwater swimming can affect our hearing, and what preventative measures exist, we spoke to audiologist Ryan Reid, a hearing aid dispenser and group operations manager at The Hearing Clinic UK in Glasgow. "People who regularly swim in freshwater can develop something called exostoses, which is commonly known as surfer’s ear, which is essentially bony growths that grow in the ear canal, which is outer part of the ear," Reid said. He noted it's "usually not something that happens immediately, but if someone has been doing freshwater swimming over a period of years, then these sort of growths can happen".
How It Affects Hearing
These ear exostoses narrow the ear canal over time and can result in conductive hearing loss. "Conductive hearing loss is usually caused by something in the outer ear or the middle ear, such as bony growths, and means that there’s something almost blocking the sound coming into the inner ear," Reid said. "If the growths are not identified, they will continue to expand and the ear canal will get narrower overtime, and the hearing loss will become more severe." He added: "It doesn’t always present with a lot of symptoms, but in the long-term if the ear canal narrows enough, people can experience a dullness in their hearing. So they won’t be able to hearing things quite as loudly or clearly as they used to."
Risk of Ear Infections
Recurring ear infections are also a risk. "With the ear canal narrowing, water, wax and things like sand can get trapped, which increases the risk of ear infections," Reid said. Many are unaware they have surfer’s ear until a hearing test. "I’ve looked into many patients’ ears and have seen these growths, and have asked them if they do a lot of freshwater swimming or diving and they’re usually surprised by how I know that," Reid said. He added the growths are identifiable by a professional using an otoscope.
Treatment Options
"There are different treatments options," Reid said. "You could have surgery to remove the growths or have hearing aids to overcome any hearing loss." He explained that since the growths don’t reverse or shrink, they will continue to narrow the ear canal without treatment. "The growths themselves are benign and aren’t cancerous, but they don’t retreat or get better. Therefore, once they are there the only way you can get rid of them is through surgery," Reid said. "However, surgery is not always appealing to everyone because it can be painful and there’s also high waiting lists, so might not always be appropriate."
Prevention
To prevent the condition, Reid advised: "People can consider reducing the amount of time that they spend in these freshwater environments or can just make sure that they have ear protection, such as swimming earplugs". These, he concluded, "help reduce the amount of water and cold air that gets into the ear when you are swimming".
