What is swimmer's ear: mistakes you should not make and how to prevent it
As annoying as it is frequent, external otitis, also known as “swimmer's ear”, is a condition that experiences a rebound in cases in summer. Indeed, swimming and the many hours we spend in the water, on the beach or in the pool, can facilitate its development.
What are the causes of swimmer's ear?
“Otitis externa is an infection of the external auditory canal, generally due to bacteria or sometimes fungi,” explains Claudio Albizzati, from the Otorhinolaryngology Service of the Multimédica Hospital Group of Milan.
Its development is linked to the stagnation of water in the external auditory canal where, thanks to the maceration of the cells that line this canal and the possible presence of residual earwax, a microenvironment favorable to the proliferation of microorganisms is created.
Although it is true that the presence of earwax can favor its development, it can also occur in perfectly clean ears if one is submerged in particularly contaminated water..
Then there are exceptions, such as the paradoxical case of the Maldives, where the water is spectacular but very rich in microorganisms.. “So many that after diving in this crystalline sea it is recommended to wash the ears with fresh water, otherwise it is better to avoid it.”
Symptoms
“The first sensation is that of water remaining in the ear: in fact, earwax is hygroscopic, that is, it can absorb water. It swells, absorbs water and facilitates the proliferation of bacteria. Not to mention that when people get this feeling of wet ears, they start touching them and trying to remove the water with cotton buds or tissues, making things worse.. At first they feel some itching, caused by the subthreshold stimulation of the painful endings of the outer ear, and then the pain comes, especially at night,” explains the doctor..
“Another frequent symptom is hearing loss, that is, hearing loss, either because the earwax plug has expanded or because the canal has swollen,” he adds.
How can external otitis be treated?
“When the ear swells and hurts, the ideal is to consult a specialist who cleans the ear, but not by washing it, which is highly inadvisable, but with a special vacuum cleaner or specific hooks. Once the remains have been removed, local therapy with ear drops is used, usually based on antibiotics and cortisone, which should be used three times a day for no more than a week.. To speed healing, a wick, widely used in the United States, is sometimes inserted into the ear to soak the droplets and hold them in the ear canal.. If after a week there is no improvement, it is always advisable to consult a specialist”, says the doctor.
What can be done to prevent external otitis
“To prevent external otitis, especially if you are prone to developing it, the first suggestion is to go to the otolaryngologist before going on vacation to clean the ear canal of traces of earwax or dead cells,” he begins by pointing out.
“Equally important is to avoid cleaning your ears with cotton swabs. Again, if you notice your ears are wet, it helps to dry them with a hair dryer,” I add.
“While plugs are not recommended because they can push earwax down further, and also because they are 'usually reused', it ends.