Some of the complaints -how long it takes, what you're willing to pay, etc. are a little silly.
If you suffer from chronic ear problems, the Sahara is certainly an effective tool in reducing occurrences of outer ear infections. If your ears respond effectively to alcohol drops, consider yourselves fortunate.
Additionally, treatment for ear problems was the feature article in the last issue of Alert Diver. It cited years of Naval studies on the subject. While alcohol is effective in evaporating water, the studies have found that rinsing the ear canal with freshwater and introducing prescription strength acetic acid (5 minutes per ear) to restore the proper ph is more essential in prevention of infection. Since my wife, who has had numerous infections began employing this method, along with the Sahara, her ears have been problem free.
I'm fairly certain that a few minutes of not being able to do anything else is worth it.