Is she digging into her ears with q-tips??? If she is I would stop as that is that how a lot of time the bacteria gets in IMHO. The lining of your ear is very sensitive. If she isn't I would just move to ear plugs. Personally, I use the following Macks plugs. Swam in some gross water, but have never had a issue if I wear plugs. Reuse the same pair over and over again. They seem to last forever.

I would be curious to hear some feedback sometime down the road either way.

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100% agree. If she isn't using ear plugs she needs to move to using them when she is able to get back into that water. I had major issues with water sitting in my ear before I switch to ear plugs and using them has solved all of my woes.

Ear plugs. I used to get ~1 ear infection per year before I started using them. Haven't had one in 20yrs since.

FWIW, the Mac's purple silicone "trees" are awesome. Supersoft and comfortable for long sessions.

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ECMGN Therapy Silicon Valley:
Depression, Neurocognitive problems, Dementias (Testing and Evaluation), Trauma and PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

She may be getting small amounts of water in her ear that is getting blocked and causing the infection. In Australia you can get ear drops called "swimmers ear" which empties the water from the ear.

Had an infection that kept me out of the water for nearly 6 months in 2019. (mainly so long due the utter crap care system here - took over 4 months to actually get to a doctor who knew about ears)

I now use surf ears ear plugs.

Also I work outside and having ear defenders on or a woolly hat over the ears can isn't great for them (especially after swimming ) as it doesn't let the ears dry out. Can be the same with long wet hair. helps to have good air circulation around the ears after swimming.

Since using surf ears ear plugs not had any issues

I'll throw in one other n=2 observation...
When I used to breathe 1 sided I used to get ear infections at least a couple of times a year- often more - always the opposite side to breathing (ie I breathed to the R, got infections innthe L).
Inc having to have hospital treatment after Antibiotics wouldn't touch it.
Same for a guy I swam with regularly (but opposite side).

After changing to bilateral breathing about 10 years ago... no problems since - same pool too. + far more Open Water.

My thinking is that the 2 sided breathing just helps release the water from my ears better somehow with the different rotation of my head. It's definitely water trapped in there thst causes it.

A trip to an ENT might be in order. Many swimmer's ear infections have a fungal component which the standard drops (antibiotic and steroid) don't always heal. Many practioners just keep using standard drops (Ciprodex). Lining the canal with an antifungal like gentian violet may help. Other solutions include using burosol drop to change the ph of the canal to make it less hospitable to fungus and bacteria. I don't have experience with ear plugs as almost all my pts with swimmers ear are not swimmers. The problem is warm moist conditions in ear canal which you don't have to swim to get.

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They constantly try to escape from the darkness outside and within
Dreaming of systems so perfect that no one will need to be good T.S. Eliot

Interesting you mention the pH. I had nurse recommend a mix of vinegar and salt water after the pool. I smelled like a British chip shop but it seemed to work.
I was teaching 6 hours a day 6 days a week plus my swimming meant I had very wet ears.

2-3 drops of isopropyl rubbing alcohol in each ear hold for 10 seconds. Dries and disinfects. Carry in a little plastic container with flip out spout. Never get an ear infection when done after pool or lake.

Thanks; just the feedback I was hoping to discover.

We’ve tried the conventional preventative remedies: earplugs (she hates them: can’t hear her coaches on deck and mates in the pool), post swim drops (Including “swimmer’s ear” brand drops, an alcohol-vinegar solution and homeopathic garlic oil), keeping the ears dry and avoiding q-tips or other abrasives. Now we are committed to identifying the cause. Her life basically revolves around swimming, so this can’t continue.

She had two infections while swimming exclusively in lakes over the past five months. We figured that was a price tag for open water. This double infection is puzzling, given it is bi-lateral and she’s been in a chlorinated pool for a month. Coach tested the water for us yesterday and reported good water quality. One ear remains inflamed after 48hrs of ABx.

We have a connection to a good ENT and will see about getting in ASAP.

I have had ear issues my whole life and started swimming competitively when I was 6. Tubes, hearing loss, ruptured ear drum, I’ve been through it all.

Doc’s pro plugs are the only plugs I have ever used that work and that I don’t have to continuously adjust during a workout. They even allowed me to swim safely with a ruptured ear drum. Even custom made plugs sucked for me.

I have the same issue and I tried earplugs but they really made me disoriented. What has helped is that every single time I get out of the pool I use the “swimmers ear” eardrops. knock on wood but I haven’t had an ear infection since late last winter.

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clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com

Ouch; hoping to avoid all that!

I was always prone to ear infections, particularly when in humid environments. I always put drops of Swimear in after each practice now and in spite of that, sometimes get an infection. I have found using Betadine solution (4-5 drops in each ear) works extremely well to kill any infections.

Gary Sr.

Another vote for ear plugs. I took some trial and error to find some that worked well. Interestingly, the really cheap ones ($6.95 for a 6 pack) work the best for my ear canals. I had terrible ear infections growing up, so much so, I quit swimming. It was endless doctors and meds. Then as a young adult getting into triathlons in the 80's it was the same old shit, and I went through many bottle of vinegar and rubbing alcohol. When I got back into pool in 2016, I had to welcome back the stupid ear infections again. Then I tried ear plugs. They sucked ass at first, I couldn't hear, I got dizzy, etc... but I'll be darned, no more ear infections. All it took was repeated daily use, and I got used to the non-hearing, got over the disorientation and dizziness, and started loving ear infection free life. 4 years now, and zero ear infections since the day I stuck ear plugs in my ears. I've worn them in every pool swim, OWS, and race since.

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Athlinks / Strava

I had a nasty bout of a recurrent throat/ear infection a few years back, and since then have had issues with on and off ear infections (usually on my breathing side more than my non-breathing side). I have a close friend who's an audiologist, she took a look in my ears and found some evidence of scarring in there. What's worked the best for me is (at her suggestion) rubbing alcohol after swims, and just immediately using leftover antibiotic/corticosteroid drops whenever I feel any sort of pressure/pain developing. The other thing in my case (which, if your daughter is primarily a swimmer, probably not the case, but worth mentioning) is that using bone-conducting headphones with other training has seemed to help-I think that trapping sweat in my ears for hours wasn't doing much for my case! Hope you can get some answers, ear infections are painful as all get-out.

Thanks for chiming in. Why Betadine?

Surgeons use betadine to cleanse their hands preoperatively and nurses cleanse the skin area to be operated on using betadine. It kills just about anything.

Saw her GP today. Outer ear infection in full bloom, with a good mess of pussy goo and everything. Plan is to add oral ABx and continue ABx drops. Took a culture to address nature of the infection and any fungal concerns.

Prevailing thought is that ENT is not necessary at this time given the infection is outer ear.

Once resolved, a drying/disinfectant solution such as alcohol and vinegar (or betadine per GHsr) will be used after each session, along with whatever earplug she can learn to tolerate.

Got it: thanks. See previous post for latest and greatest.

Thought you’d appreciate this: Coach’s advice was to come to practice and work on her kick. Basically, the swimmer’s version of rubbing some dirt on it!

Good thread. Thanks.

Me: 60 years old, swimmer 3.5 years, my first Swimmer's Ear experience as I type. I've never used earplugs. I see recommendations here. Do the soft gel silicon ones work well also?

Forgive my ignorance, but why would earplugs make you feel dizzy when swimming?

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I only swim.
I used to run. (31:09 10k)
I never did Triathlon.
Sue me.