Swimmer's ear is an infection of the ear canal, the skin-lined tube outside the eardrum. It starts when water stays in the canal and the skin stays wet.
Why it starts
Water from a pool, a shower, or washing your hair usually runs back out. If it stays trapped, the skin turns soggy. Bacteria and fungi that rode in with the water can then grow. People with itchy, flaky ears or a lot of wax get this more often.
An itchy canal is not always infection. Fungus and allergy can do it. More often it is dermatitis of the canal skin, sometimes the same pattern as dandruff, with dry, flaky wax. That kind of itch can be calmed. It is not always cured for good.
What it feels like
- The ear feels blocked and may itch
- The canal swells, sometimes enough to close
- A runny, milky drainage starts
- The ear hurts, and the cartilage in front of the canal is tender to touch
See a doctor if those symptoms start, or if glands in the neck swell.
Drying the ear
After swimming or showering, if the ear feels wet or blocked, tilt that ear up and gently pull the ear up and back. Drying drops sold at a pharmacy can help the water evaporate. Ask the pharmacist, and ask an ENT first if you have a hole in the eardrum. With a perforation, skip the drops and use a hair dryer on a low, cool setting at a distance instead.
Do not use cotton swabs. They pack wax deeper, scrape the thin canal skin, and can make it weep or bleed. If swimmer's ear keeps coming back, an ENT may suggest a protective drop before you swim, or a cleaning visit before the season starts.
Something in the ear
Insects and small objects belong to the same visit, not a home removal. A gnat stuck in wax can often be rinsed with warm water from a soft bulb syringe, then dried. A larger insect that cannot turn around should not be pulled out. A few drops of mineral oil can stop it moving. Then come in the same day and let us remove it.
Beads, pencil tips, eraser bits, plastic, and dried beans are common in children's ears. That removal is done in the office. Digging after them pushes them closer to the eardrum.
Ear canal infections are treated as part of our ear, nose, and throat care. If the eardrum itself has a hole, read what a perforated eardrum means.
