Surfer's Ear or Swimmer's Ear?

The video above really explains the difference between surfer's ear and swimmer's ear quite well.

Surfer's ear develops after many years of surfing in cold water and can require surgery. Swimmer's ear is an infection of the ear. Neither is pleasant.

I'm writing about ears as mine are a bit unhappy today. I woke up with a bit of vertigo so I used up a sick day to stay in bed and try to sleep it off. It seems to be working, the dizziness is subsiding and my left ear just feels a bit heavy. It's been incredibly cold in the morning for dawn patrol so I should really get some ear plugs. Ear plugs are a preventative measure against surfer's ear as are wearing a hood. The latter is a bit difficult for me though. I can easily wear a hood when scuba diving but for surfing it's a whole other thing.

What experience have you had with surfer's or swimmer's ear?