by Carla Perovich

Created on: February 17, 2007   Last Updated: May 30, 2008

Swimmer's Ear-

While this condition is named after an aquatic sport,this is not the only way to develop it. Swimmer's ear is caused by bacteria growing in the ear canal that leads to the ear drum.

The technical term for Swimmer's Ear is otitis externa, different from the most common middle ear infection, which is otitis media. Swimmer's ear is a condition that often affects swimmers, due to the amount of water that gets in the ears while swimming. If too much water enters the ear too often, it will wash away the protective coating of earwax that normally helps the ear to stay properly drained. Then the bacteria will begin to build in the ear canal, and soon you will have a very painful infection.

There are different treatments that can be done for this. Most commonly, your doctor will want to prescribe ear drops, an antibiotic liquid medication that is dispersed into the ear one or two drops at a time. If the ear canal is extremely swollen, the doctor may want to put in something called a "wick". This is not a candle wick, but is rather a small, sponge-like piece of foam that is used to hold the ear canal open so that the drops will be able to make their way down to the source of the infection. (The first time I had this done, I was very nervous, but it is actually not bad at all, the pain of the infection FAR outweighs anything else.) My doctor also prescribed Tylenol with codeine for the pain. This works quite well as long as you aren't allergic to codeine.

Some basic symptoms that you might have an ear infection are: pain,especially sharp, in or around the ear, trouble hearing, a feeling that your ear is "clogged", or feeling of numbness, mixed with heat, around the ear. If you have any of these symptoms it is always best to see your doctor as soon as possible. He/She will be able to determine the type of ear infection you have, and get you the right medication. When you have symptoms, do not wait, go right away!
With my first infection, I put up with pain for a few days before having it checked out, and when I did, the doctor told me that my ear canal was so swollen they needed to put the wicks in it. I was crying from the pain and told him I could not stand for him to put ANYTHING in my ear, as it would only hurt worse. He quickly informed me that if we did not get the drops into my ear very soon, that my ear canal was going to swell up and cause my ear drum to burst, in which case I would require surgery,and most likely be deaf in that ear forever. That was something I hadn't considered.
So, again, if you have symptoms, GO TO THE DOCTOR.

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