Swimmer's Ear

Now that swimming season is upon us, we see more patients with swimmers ear, also known as otitis externa. This is an infection of the ear canal, typically brought on by water in the ear, which can be extremely painful and occasionally difficult to treat.

If you do get water in your ear, there are some simple things you can do to get it out and make it less likely to turn into swimmer's ear.

1. Q-Tips are NOT the best answer. They can injure the delicate skin of the ear canal, and make an infection more likely to develop. Q-Tips can also push wax into the ear canal and cause more problems.


2. A piece of cotton 'twisted up' into a thin strand and pushed into the ear canal can be very useful. When it touches water, it will draw it out painlessly.


3. You can try alcohol-based eardrops that help to dry the ear canal, such as Swim-Ear drops, or use several drops of medical grade rubbing alcohol.


4. Pointing a hair dryer at your ear probably won't work, and has the risk of injuring the external ear.


5. You can always use earplugs to keep the water from getting in your ear in the first place, but this can push the wax in and cause other problems.

If you do get pain in your ear and the ear feels blocked up after swimming, you should have the ear checked.