Does anybody else have this problem? I was a competetive swimmer my entire childhood and through high school, so I’ve had plenty of time in the pool. It seems that the past few weeks, I’ve had the damndest time getting the water out of my ears after swimming. There isn’t any pain, so it’s not an infection (yet). I’m afraid I will get an infection if I can’t get all the water out. Or that I’ll pull a muscle in my neck trying to shake the water out! I’m a big q-tip fan, but the water is beyond their reach. I shake and shake… q-tip… nothing… lie down on my side for 5 min… shake again… nothing! Bah!
do you wear a swimcap? if so, maybe it is helping water to get into your ears and stay there. sounds silly, but this happened to me sometimes this past year.
but as for your troubles, i have heated up castor oil, or olive oil and put it on a cotton ball and laid with my head down. this has helped. a heating pad also helped me before too.
good luck, maybe ear plugs if it continues. ear problems are tough to deal with, i hope it goes away soon!!!
kc
Don’t shake your head. Tilt it to the side and hop up and down.
try this:
50-50
vinegar and alcohol
3 drops 2x per day! It helped me!!!
Yep, I’m a cap wearer. I may have to do ear plugs eventually… I hope not.
I have read about the vinegar and alcohol. I need to buy a dropper and try it out.
I’ve taken to wearing ear plugs and let me tell you, they suck a$$. But its better being deaf for 1.5hrs/day instead of the other 22.5.
The water getting stuck in your ears is usually caused by wax build up in your ears. Channels are formed and the water gets trapped there.
Periodically squirt hydrogen peroxide into your ear. You will feel and hear a fizzing. Leave the hydrogen peroxide in for about 60 seconds. Let it drain out and then shoot in alcohol. Leave that in for a short while and then let it drain out. Hydrogen peroxide breaks up the ear wax and kills any infection in your ear. Alcohol is a drying agent. It the same alcohol that goes into your gas tank under the name dry gas.
You can use a Q with caution to dry out your ear. Be very careful when using one. You might notice a yellowish/orange substance on your Q tip (ear wax)
DougStern
Have you tried that aura-dri stuff? It is a little dropper they sell in the ear medicine section of the drug store. It is basically alcohol-based but has some glycerin in it–I use it after every swim session just in case. Pick some up and keep it in your gym bag. That and athlete’s foot spray are the two must haves if you swim in a public pool!!!
Swimming competitively for 35 years I have had some experience with this problem. Here is what really works:
Stand on one leg (the opposite leg of the affected ear), place the hand on the side of the affected ear on your hip, place your other hand at shoulder level and turn your wrist outward. After completing this, place two drops of alcohol in the affected ear and bend over in the direction of the “spout” and pour the water out!!!
Sorry, I couldn’t resist!
Bob
I too was swimmer and was totally against wearing plugs, but about 3 years ago I discovered the Mack’s Ear Plugs. They’re the waxy kind. Now I love swimming with them. I can’t stand having water in my ears and was prone to infections as a kid, so to be able to prevent them now as an adult…I’ll deal with the plugs.
Give them a whirl. A 4-pack is cheap, so if you hate them - no big loss.
KC
Perhaps the problem is too much Q-tip usage? Q-tips can irritate the inside of your ear according to my doctor. Also, it can cause a buildup of wax which may get in the way of good drainage. My ear problems went away after I stopped using Q-tips.
Get a 79 cent bottle of isopropyl alcohol, put a drop in your ear, it reduces the surface tension and the water immediately pops out. There really isn’t any reason to make this more difficult than that.
what’s wrong with ear plugs?
I actually have to wear them. I’m incredibly prone to ear infections. But I would probably wear them anyways just to keep the water out of my ears. It’s annoying. And the ear plugs don’t get in the way at all.
I have to agree with mcoker on this subject. When I surf and swim I use ear plugs.
I have that problem. I use those ear drops you buy at the drugist. They don’t help much…
Perhaps the problem is too much Q-tip usage? Q-tips can irritate the inside of your ear according to my doctor. Also, it can cause a buildup of wax which may get in the way of good drainage. My ear problems went away after I stopped using Q-tips.
I would agree with this one. If this is a new problem, AND you are using Qtips, you probably have a big wall of wax holding the water in.
Try to Murine ear wax removal kit. I’ve never tried the castor oil thing.
The ear-nose-throat docs say 2 things about Qtips.
- Never put anything samllerr than your elbow in your ear. (I know, that’s an old one)
- they make more money from Qtips than any other single thing.
Shake your head forward first (like you’re headbanging) then to the side that you’re trying to get the water out.
By using Q-Tips you are worsening the problem by packing your ear wax in tighter. ENTs will always tell you never to put a Q-Tip in your ear canal. There is also a kit you can buy in the drugstore to dissolve/remove ear wax build-up. If that doesn’t work, a trip to an ENT may be in order to get the wax plug removed. Some people just produce more wax than others.
Tip well taken.
DougStern