Hi Phil:
You're asking about "otitis externa" or "swimmer's ear", an inflammation and/or infection of the ear canal leading to the eardrum. It is the most common diving medical problem after middle ear barotrauma. When your ear canal stays wet for prolonged periods it becomes irritated and loses its natural barriers to infection.
When swimmer's ear starts, the ear canal might itch or burn. Later it might start to hurt and drain fluid. The canal becomes red, swollen, and tender. Sometimes the surrounding outer ear might become reddened and swollen and the lymph nodes in the neck can swell.
It's a whole lot better to prevent swimmer's ear than to try to treat it (treatment often involves a physician). Earwax is protective to the ear canal, but excessive accumulations can retain water and should be removed before diving. One of the ear's barriers to infection is an acid pH. There are numerous commercial and homemade drops to prevent swimmer's ear, but any formulation should contain a mild acid, like vinegar, to restore that acid pH. Many prepartions also contain alcohol, which is fine, but it can remove too much of the protective ear wax and can be irritating on its own. Personally, I'm not a big fan of alcohol in ear drops, but it works. No ear drop will do its job if it's not used properly. Follow the label directions of any commercial preparation, but most ear drops should be used after every dive and should be left in each ear for 5-10 minutes to be most effective.
Ear drops should not be used when you
have swimmer's ear, without a doctor's direction. They should also not be used if the eardrum is not intact. They do
nothing to prevent or treat middle ear problems.
Swimmer's ear and ear drops have been discussed
numerous times on the board. A quick search of the archives for "ear drops" revealed:
http://www.scubaboard.com/search.ph...id=60131&sortby=lastpost&sortorder=descending
A search of "swimmers ear" or "otitis" would likely give you even more hits.
HTH,
Bill
