Water in ear ?

[gutrngo1]

I don't have trouble equalizing but I seem to get
Water in my one ear excessively in pool or lake
Anything I can do to stop this it doesn't hurt just annoying the next few days

 

[Fish in a Barrel]

A few drops of rubbing alcohol will displace the water in seconds. Just tilt that ear up, empty a cap-full into the ear, wait a second or two, then dump it out (keep it out of you eyes). It's magically effective.

But if it's lasting for days, could that be a sign of mid-ear barotrauma?

 

[Searcaigh]

Are you referring to your outer ear?

 

[craracer]

I also mix some white vinegar into the rubbing alcohol.

Do be aware that this concoction, with or without the vinegar, can cause dryness and irritation. So, I wouldn't suggest excessive use.

 

[tddfleming]

You can also buy a bottle for the water in your ears in any drug store, Walmart or what have you. Comes in a squeeze bottle. Just one drop does the trick. I carry a bottle in my swim bag and when I go to the quarry.

 

[gutrngo1]

it seems like water in the inner ear . When I get out
Of water an shake head to that side some comes out but feels like there's some left behind
Thanks

 

[Downing]

I've suffered from "swimmer's ear" all my life, so I always keep a bottle of ear drops in my dive bag and do a few drops in each ear after every dive as soon as possible.

Ear Drops Best for Swimmer's Ear

You can make your own solution using a mixture of alcohol and vinegar, but I just buy it at the grocery store. The drops won't treat swimmer's ear but will prevent it from happening in the first place.

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

If you make your own ear beer (alcohol based) consider adding a bit (few %) of glycerin. The alcohol is very effective in displacing the water and killing bacteria that cause infections, but a side effect is it strips of the protective layer of wax also. The wax does serve a purpose to protect the inner workings. The glycerin forms a temporary replacement while the wax rebuilds.

 

[TMHeimer]

Doc's Pro Plugs.

 

[Quero]

it seems like water in the inner ear . When I get out
Of water an shake head to that side some comes out but feels like there's some left behind
Thanks

Water in the outer ear should simply drain out just as it flows in. There are little nooks and crannies that may hold a drop or two, but in the right position, it should't be too hard to shake it out. Some people have impacted wax in their ears that may obstruct the drainage. A specialist ear doctor taught me to soften wax buildup by putting a few drops of hydrogen peroxide mixed with baby oil into the ear canal and letting it sit for a few minutes and then swabbing gently to remove the wax particles. It works well for me since I happen to have a particular shape of ear canal that seems to encourage wax buildup.

If you have the feeling, after more than a few minutes out of the water, that there is still water in your ear, it is likely that you have caused a slight injury to your middle ear while equalizing and that this injury has provoked some swelling in the middle ear giving you a feeling of fullness in the ear. The swelling will eventually go down, and when it does, the sensation of fullness will go away. It may take a couple of hours or even overnight.

In my experience with a lot of new divers, this kind of injury and the resulting feeling of fullness or water in the ear happens because they don't equalize early enough or often enough on descent. If you wait until you feel pressure in your ears before you equalize, you may have waited too long, resulting in a little overpressurization from the outer ear and a need for a more forceful effort to equalize through the middle ear. I always recommend to my student divers that they pressurize their ears on the surface before beginning their descent and then to pressurize again on each breath during descent. This is a more pro-active approach to equalization in which you get ahead of the ambient pressure rather than reacting to it and taking corrective measures for equalization.