Look up ear infections on the Dan Website.
Here's a some of the explanations from a Diving Doctor for the Navy.
Hope this helps!
Prevention
Otitis externa was so prevalent at the time I entered the Navy that up to 20 percent of all saturation divers were expected to get it. I searched the medical literature and found an article that had the answer: instructors at a summer camp found that dripping an acidic drying solution into the ear at the beginning and end of each day virtually eliminated swimmer's ear in their young charges. The trick, however, was that the solution had to remain in each canal a full five minutes. If this part of the treatment was ignored, ear infections soon reappeared.
To treat the Navy divers I decided to use Otic Domeboro®* Solution: 2 percent acetic acid, water, aluminum acetate, sodium acetate and boric acid. The acid retards bacterial growth, while the aluminum and sodium acetate act as astringents, drawing excess water out of the cells lining the ear canal. We had the divers put this solution in each ear canal twice a day and hold the solutions for at least five minutes at a time, timing them from outside the chamber.
The result? Otitis externa is no longer a problem in Navy saturation divers, and the above external ear prophylaxis remains a standard part of U.S. Navy Saturation diving procedure to this day. It's useful for sport diving, too, when there are frequent dives over several days.
Here's a some of the explanations from a Diving Doctor for the Navy.
Hope this helps!
Prevention
Otitis externa was so prevalent at the time I entered the Navy that up to 20 percent of all saturation divers were expected to get it. I searched the medical literature and found an article that had the answer: instructors at a summer camp found that dripping an acidic drying solution into the ear at the beginning and end of each day virtually eliminated swimmer's ear in their young charges. The trick, however, was that the solution had to remain in each canal a full five minutes. If this part of the treatment was ignored, ear infections soon reappeared.
To treat the Navy divers I decided to use Otic Domeboro®* Solution: 2 percent acetic acid, water, aluminum acetate, sodium acetate and boric acid. The acid retards bacterial growth, while the aluminum and sodium acetate act as astringents, drawing excess water out of the cells lining the ear canal. We had the divers put this solution in each ear canal twice a day and hold the solutions for at least five minutes at a time, timing them from outside the chamber.
The result? Otitis externa is no longer a problem in Navy saturation divers, and the above external ear prophylaxis remains a standard part of U.S. Navy Saturation diving procedure to this day. It's useful for sport diving, too, when there are frequent dives over several days.
