beanies and "swimmers ear"

[miked]

Hi everybody,

I returned last Friday from a trip to the Bahamas, where I had a great time.
I did 18 dives in five days, and for the first time wore a 3mm "beanie" due to the water temps and the # of dives.
The beanie helped me stay warm, but it also led to my question.
I'm writing this post from home, rather than from work, because I'm getting over an ear infection. The doctor said it could be a form of "swimmer's ear".(My first such experience in 20 plus years of diving.)

My questions for the medical experts on the board:

1) Is there any increase in the frequency of swimmer's ear when divers wear hoods or beanies, compared to divers not wearing those items.
I noticed, during the course of the dives, the feel of warm water in and around my ears, held in place by the beanie. Could this "warm and held in place in the ear" water contribute to the likelihood of infection?
Also, I encountered a slight difficulty in equalizing while coming up on one of the first dives. On subsequent dives I "unstuck" the beanie around my ears prior to ascent, to help with equalization on the way up.

2) Are there any suggestions, procedures, etc. to help minimize the recurrence of swimmer's ear-with or without the beanie.

Thanks in advance,
Mike

 

[DocVikingo]

It is unlikely that hoods or beanies either increase or decrease the risk of "swimmer's ear" (otitis externa).

As regards prevention, this topic as been previously discussed on this board and you may find some of the following threads to be informative---->

http://www.scubaboard.com/search.php?searchid=280392

I particularly direct you to post #6 in the following thread---->

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=53888&page=1&highlight=peroxide

Best regards.

DocVikingo

 

[HammerNoMore]

I always have trouble clearing on subsequent dives after using a hood that covers my ears. I try to avoid that as much as humanly possible.

James