Lakes, pools, rivers, the shore, water is where summer happens. It's also where ears pick up two of their most preventable problems. If you or your family spend real time in the water, a few precautions keep ears healthy all season.
Swimmer's ear: the wet-canal infection
Swimmer's ear (otitis externa) is an infection of the ear canal that thrives when water lingers after swimming, softening the skin and washing away protective wax. It announces itself with itching, then pain, especially when you tug the earlobe, plus fullness and muffled hearing. Prevention is mostly about drying:
- Tilt and tug: drain each ear after swimming
- Towel-dry the outer ear; a hair dryer on low, held at a distance, finishes the job
- Skip the cotton swabs, scratched canals invite infection
- Frequent swimmers: consider over-the-counter drying drops (not if you have tubes or a perforated eardrum), or better, keep water out in the first place
Surfer's ear: the cold-water bone problem
Repeated cold water and wind exposure can cause the bone of the ear canal to slowly grow inward surfer's ear (exostosis). It develops over years, gradually narrowing the canal, trapping water and wax, and eventually muffling hearing. Cold-water surfers, kayakers and open-water swimmers are the classic cases, and once it's advanced, the fix is surgery. Prevention is far better: keep cold water and wind out of the canal.
The all-purpose answer: custom swim plugs
Fitted to your exact ear, custom swim plugs seal out water comfortably, stay put during activity, and they float. They solve swimmer's ear for the pool crowd and surfer's ear for the cold-water crowd, and children prone to ear infections (or with ear tubes) benefit enormously.
Two more water notes: hearing aids come out before swimming, every time, and long days around roaring boat engines earn the same hearing protection as any loud machine.
Muffled hearing or ear pain following you home from the water? Come in, we'll take a look, clear what needs clearing, and fit protection that matches how you play.