Water in ear????

[Suarez]

When I dive I sometimes get water in my ear, usually I wait for it to get out after some hours. Recently I heard that if you put a lighted cigarret in your ear (filter part) you can get the water out faster. Is this an urban legend or does it work??? what other methods are out there to remove the water

 

[KozMcCharlie]

I personally use a 50 - 50 mixture of Alcohol and White vinegar and it works very well... I've always used 3-4 drops in each ear.

 

[Damselfish]

Never heard of the cigarette thing and I wouldn't do it. (Sounds like redneck ear candling.) I use alcohol/vinegar mix like many folks - also known as "ear beer." There are also commercial solutions, search for "swimmers ear".)

 

[annieols]

Im also unsure about a lighted cigarette in the ear- there are much much easier solutions! ear beer is a good one, but I am a little to lazy to mix it up, so i just use Isopryl alcohol. I always have a bottle of it with me in my first aid kit anyway I just put a little in the cap (a few drops), dump it into my ear and then let it run out- this has solved my problem with ear infections!!

 

[PatW]

There is a product out there called Sahara Dry Ear. It is like a miniture hair drier that blows warm dry air into you ear. It is operated on rechargeable batteries and comes with recharger. My wife has ear problems and is prone to ear infections if she does a fair bit of diving (like on a diving vacation). It is not cheap though.

I would try the solution based approaches. Those wash the water out of the ear with a volatile solution. They can work pretty well. My wife has tried them but finds the dry ear gizmo to be more effective.

 

[Stujiro]

I use the Isopropyl method as well. Feels like heaven when it runs out.

I recently had an issue where that did not work for me. I ended up taking a sudafed (after all my diving was done for the day). The extra opening in my eustachian tubes let it drain out within an hour.

 

[fjpatrum]

The lit cigarette is effectively the same idea as a lit roll (hollow) of paper, which is supposedly effective for removing ear wax etc deep in the ear. The idea is the heat from the lit end (not in your ear) draws the air through the funnel/cone/tube and that creates a vacuum which then pulls the stuff out of your ear. The paper helps to wick it away.

I have no idea if it really works, statistically, but I do know people who think it works for them.

 

[Protist]

Most Dive shops carry some form of product for ear water removal. I use auro dri ear. Im sure you can find the equivalent in walmart for cheaper though.

 

[knowone]

Hop on one leg with affected ear facing downwards. It is not compulsory to flap arms.
OR
Poke hole with whittled branch from one canal to the other.

 

[warmwaterturner]

Wonder if DAN has any thought on that....