Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
What’s that – I got the Eiger in my ear?
When the doctor unsheathes his chisel-like tool, the wussies among us take three big gulps ...
became painful and infected.
After days of muffled thuds and “pardon?” or “excuse me?” or “what was that?”, the antibiotics and cortisone kicked in a few days ago. The world exploded back into life. I could hear!
My family were chuffed that the grumpy old man wasn’t hard of hearing anymore.
And yet, only a pinprick of a gap connects my eardrum with the outside world: a mere two percent or so. The eardrum is so sensitive, you need only the tiniest of gaps for sound to reach the drum.
Sadly, Steer says, when the swelling of an infected surfer’s ear has settled down enough for the tiny gap to reopen – and hearing returns – the wussies among us run for the hills.
They’ve heard scary things about the operation: gaping holes where ears once were, shattered eardrums, deafness and unbearable pain. If you think man flu begets a whiner, wait until surfers talk about this dreaded op.
Of course, the longer you leave it, the worse it gets. My right ear is marginally better. Steer can just see the eardrum through a gap of about seven percent. So I have the North Face of the Eiger in my left ear, and the North Face of Table Mountain in my right.
There’s no turning back; surgery has been scheduled for the beginning of March.
Don’t worry, says the doc, the modern diamond- tipped drills are much quieter these days, and much less inclined to cause permanent ringing or buzzing in the ear. Gulp!
We mostly use this, he says, carefully hauling out a long, thin stainless steel tool from its box, as a samurai might unsheathe his most noble blade. Another gulp!
The 1mm point is bevelled like a tiny chisel. It looks like … er … a chisel. It is a chisel, he says. And another gulp!
We will slowly, and very carefully chip away at the bone until the canal is open, he says. We will fold the skin forward, to later use to cover the wound (for faster healing).
We will make an incision on the face-side of the ear for better access directly into the canal. The operation may take up to three hours.
The op is slow because it’s extremely delicate, especially towards the end, millimetres from the eardrum. By now, a large portion has been cleared. A plastic barrier is inserted against the eardrum to protect it. Sounds scary? It is!
Don’t delay. Deal with it now.
Sharky False Bay
PHOTOGRAPHS by gyrocopter pilot Jean Tresfon went viral this week. Jean shot photographs of sharks and rays along the False Bay coast, including a sequence near Strandfontein where a solo women longboarder was surfing surrounded by sharks ( threshers and bronze whalers).
The photos look more dramatic than they are. These sharks are not known to bite people. But still, she wasn’t very vigilant, ignoring the yellowtail treknetters not 100m away, and totally oblivious to all the fishy activities around her.
Weather Tip
TODAY looks small 3’ from the south which means a bit of swell in False Bay but very little on the other side. Moderate SW winds not ideal though Muizenberg could be fun. Tomorrow, more south swell in light to moderate SW breezes. Muizenberg looks 3-4’ and fun again.