After water treatments or swimming, there is often a feeling that there is still something inside the ear canal - you hear worse, there is a feeling of congestion and noise. People call these symptoms “swimmer’s ear.” Most often, after some time, this condition goes away on its own - the water flows out. But what to do if discomfort bothers you after a day or even a few? To understand how dangerous it is for liquid to get into the ear canal, you first need to know how the ear works.
Ear structure
As can be seen from the diagram, normally the eardrum separates the outer ear from the middle and inner. Therefore, if water enters through the ear canal, it will not be able to get further than the eardrum (at least if you are healthy and have not suffered from otitis media in the past). And this, although not very pleasant, is not dangerous, because... at the same time, the inner and middle ear are safe. However, if the liquid does not flow out of the ear within 12 hours after water procedures, you should try to remove it yourself. Moisture and warmth are the best conditions for the growth of bacteria and fungi. You don't want them to settle in your ear, right?
Causes of the disease
Patients of any age are susceptible to the disease, but children suffer from it more often than adults, since they have the anatomical features of the Eustachian tube: it is smaller and located more horizontally. So why does fluid accumulate behind the eardrum in adults and children:
- any types of allergies;
- viral and infectious diseases, sinusitis suffered the day before;
- polyps in the nasal cavity, enlarged tonsils or adenoids, as well as other processes that may cause blockage of the tube;
- exposure to external factors (for example, tobacco smoke);
- trauma to the ear cavity that is caused by changes in pressure (barotrauma, which occurs under water pressure when diving or on an airplane).
Three easy ways to get rid of water in your ear
If water gets into your ear and won't come out, try one of these methods to get rid of it. 1. Tilt your head so that the affected ear is parallel to the ground and hop on one leg. 2. You can also tilt your head towards the affected ear, press the auricle with your palm, and then sharply tear it off so that the pressure helps remove the water. 3. Another way is to “blow out” your ears. Inhale, pinch your nose and try to exhale. You will feel pressure in your ears - this will help remove fluid from the ear canal.
Sulfur plug
But water almost always gets into the outer ear when swimming. And fortunately, this does not necessarily end in any problems. As a rule, the water itself pours out from there, most often unnoticed. But there are also serious cases, as, for example, with the famous French comedian Louis de Funes. The day after swimming on the set of the film, he became deaf in one ear. The ENT doctor cured him with an enema... The whole problem turned out to be an ear plug - for many people, wax is poorly removed from the ear canal and accumulates there. Water that gets into the ear saturates the plug, it swells and blocks the ear canal. Symptoms of this include partial and sometimes complete deafness and tinnitus. If an infection occurs, and this happens often, the ear may ache.
Question answer
Why does wax form in our ears and why is it needed? The simplest treatment in such cases is to rinse the ear canal with a strong stream of water, inserting the enema nozzle deeper into it. The water temperature should be approximately the same as that of the body; cold and hot are strictly prohibited. It is better to take a larger enema, not a small one for children, and one with a soft rubber spout rather than a plastic one. When rinsing your ear, tilt your head so that the remaining plug flows out more easily with water. Often the cork does not yield, and it first needs to be softened even more; for this, drugs such as A-Cerumen, Remo-Vax or hydrogen peroxide are used. After this, be sure to dry your ears with long, thin, twisted cotton wool.
What if it didn't help?
If after this you do not feel relief, there may be several reasons:
- Airlock;
- Swelling of sulfur plug;
- Water in the middle ear.
An airlock is an air bubble that prevents fluid from flowing out of the ear canal.
It only creates temporary inconvenience. But a sulfur plug swollen with water can cause a lot of trouble. It significantly reduces hearing acuity and can create discomfort, pain and a feeling of ear congestion. It is not always possible to distinguish between a wax plug and an air lock that has trapped water in the ear. But this can easily be done by an ENT specialist called to your home. He will examine the ear canal using an otoscope and immediately tell you what is causing the discomfort. If water gets into your ear and it hurts, call a doctor!
If the problem is an air lock, the doctor will easily remove the air bubble and the liquid will flow out of the ear canal. If the cause of the unpleasant sensations is wax plug, the plug softened with water can be washed out of the ear. This will relieve you of ear congestion after a bath and hearing problems for a long time.
Ways to remove wax plug
If the accumulation of sulfur is soft and light, then you can try to eliminate it yourself. If the cork has a hard and dense consistency, then it is better to contact a specialist.
There are two ways to get rid of wax:
- Flushing the ear canal.
- Removal using special instruments in the otolaryngologist's office.
In any case, you should definitely consult your doctor. So, if congestion was caused by an inflammatory process, then the washing procedure will only worsen the situation.
The following medications will help dissolve wax plug:
- Remo wax.
The drug has high safety indicators. It is even approved for use by young children because it does not contain aggressive components. Before use, the product should be warmed in your hand. The patient lies on his side so that the ear into which the drops will be instilled is on top. To straighten the ear canal, the auricle is pulled down and back. After use, you should lie down for ten minutes, and then repeat the procedure with the second ear. The ear canal should not be covered with cotton wool, otherwise the medicine may be absorbed;
- A-cerumen.
The drug is used for both therapeutic and prophylactic purposes. In case of excessive production of sulfuric substance, A-cerumen prevents the formation of traffic jams. Instill the product twice a day for three days. The product is in the ear canal for one minute, after which it is washed with saline solution.
So, the feeling as if there is water in the ear can occur for various reasons.
Sometimes water after swimming simply lingers in the ear, and in some cases the unpleasant symptom is the result of an inflammatory process or the presence of cerumen. Do not self-medicate, consult a doctor, and be healthy! This article is for informational purposes only, please consult your doctor for details!
Water in the middle ear
Fluid in the middle ear deserves special attention. In a healthy person, fluid cannot enter there directly. However, if you have ever had otitis media, the integrity of the eardrum may be damaged (this is especially likely if otitis media occurs several times and is severe). In this case, fluid may end up in the middle ear. This is also possible if you dived or accidentally inhaled water through your nose - because... the cavities of the nasopharynx and middle ear communicate, fluid easily passes from one cavity to the other. Because It is in the middle ear that the main organs of hearing are located; fluid entering there is usually accompanied by characteristic sound effects - shooting. Shooting sounds are not the most pleasant sound, but sometimes people think that they need to endure them and wait until everything goes away on its own. Doing this is strictly not recommended - fluid in the middle ear very quickly causes inflammation - otitis media. Call an ENT specialist if a shootout breaks out in your ear some time after swimming! The doctor will help prevent the development of the inflammatory process.
Basic treatment regimens for ear pathology*
| Pathology | Basic treatment methods |
| Sulfur plug | Removal by rinsing or instrumental removal. |
| Otitis externa | Toilet of the external auditory canal, treatment with medications, ear drops, vasoconstrictor nasal sprays, systemic antibacterial or antifungal therapy, FTL**. |
| Tubootitis | Vasoconstrictor nasal sprays, blowing of the eustachian tubes according to Politzer, pneumomassage of the eardrum, FTL**, catheterization of the auditory tubes if necessary. |
| Otitis media | Vasoconstrictor nasal sprays, systemic antibacterial therapy, ear drops, Politzer ear blowing, pneumomassage of the eardrum, FTL**, if necessary, catheterization of the auditory tubes, lavage of the nasal cavity using the moving method. If necessary, surgical treatment - eardrum bypass or paracentesis. Complemented by the treatment of diseases of the ENT organs. |
| Suppurative otitis media | Vasoconstrictor nasal sprays, systemic antibacterial therapy, ear drops, Politzer blowing, if necessary, transtympanic injection of drugs, catheterization of auditory tubes, nasal lavage using the displacement method. If necessary, surgical treatment - eardrum bypass or paracentesis and other operations, FTL**. It is supplemented by treatment of pathologies of the nasal cavity, nasopharynx and paranasal sinuses, if indicated. |
| Exudative otitis media | Vasoconstrictor nasal sprays, mucolytics, Politzer blowing, catheterization of auditory tubes. If necessary, surgical treatment - eardrum bypass or paracentesis, FTL**. It is complemented by the treatment of pathologies of the nasal cavity, nasopharynx and paranasal sinuses. |
| Sensorineural hearing loss | Catheterization of auditory tubes, systemic vascular and vitamin therapy. |
*These treatment regimens are not a recommendation for self-treatment and serve to familiarize patients with basic treatment methods. The final decision on treatment and examination methods is made by the doctor after the examination!
** FTL – physiotherapeutic treatment.
What to do if water gets into your ear and it hurts
Let's summarize. Call your doctor if you experience symptoms such as:
- Ear pain;
- Ear congestion;
- Shooting sounds;
- Hearing problems;
- Dizziness.
All this may be a consequence of fluid getting into the outer or middle ear.
An otorhinolaryngologist (ENT) will determine the cause of the discomfort and prescribe treatment. If the doctor sees signs of inflammation, antibiotics may be prescribed in addition to local medications. There is no need to delay treatment or treat yourself with folk remedies. The fact is that with otitis media, pus accumulates in the cavity of the middle ear. If the inflammation is not eliminated, the accumulated pus will rupture the eardrum, which can cause significant hearing impairment. Whereas, with proper treatment, otitis media will disappear without any trace in 2-3 days. If you are concerned about water in your ear, call an otolaryngologist by phone
The water is in no hurry to pour out
Often for bathers the situation is simpler, but still unpleasant. There is no wax, and plugs do not form, but the water remains in the ear, does not pour out, causing discomfort, noise, and a feeling of transfusion. The best way is to insert the same cotton wool into your ears so that it absorbs all the water. Sometimes this needs to be done several times. And try to insert it as deep as possible!
Question answer
How often should you clean your ears?
“Do not use cotton swabs for your ears for this,” warns Alexander Balakin, an ENT doctor at one of the Moscow clinics .
— You can work with such sticks only in the visible area, that is, at the very beginning of the ear canal. And since water accumulates deep, attempts to get it out with a cotton swab often lead to injury to the ear canal or eardrum. All this ends in inflammation and treatment by a doctor.” There is another way. You need to lie down so that your ear with water is down. And if you lie there for a long time, it will still leak out. But the process can be accelerated by making several movements as if you were swallowing. You can try (if you know how) to move your ears. Or, placing your palm tightly against your ear, “suck” it, as it were, and then sharply pull your palm away. These pumping movements can also help.
Anatomical option
If water gets stuck in the inner ear after swimming, it can be removed using a simple anatomical method. To do this, you need to tilt your head to your shoulder, after which you need to pull the earlobe. To release the liquid, you should try to shake it out. To do this, you need to shake your head or jump, move your lower jaw a little.
You can quickly expel moisture by swallowing several times while performing these actions.
The good thing about this method is that it allows you to stretch the ear canal without damaging it, and create a direct path for water that did not come out on its own. This will help get rid of congestion and a feeling of congestion.
How to expel using a vacuum
Three methods can be mentioned here :
1. Place your palm on your bowed head and apply pressure . Then, sharply tear your hand away.
The principle of operation is the same as when using a plunger to clean pipes: we push out the air, and due to the resulting vacuum, water is sucked in.
2. Close the ear canal with your finger:
With your other hand, pull back your earlobe - this will create a vacuum (the volume of the canal will increase, but there will be no more air in it). Then quickly remove your finger.
3. You can also lean forward strongly and straighten up sharply so that centrifugal forces appear in the ear, due to which the water is pressed against one of the walls and then pours out. This technique is not recommended for people who have back problems or other medical contraindications to such sudden movements.
Is it worth burying something?
On some pages on the Internet, as one of the options, authors suggest lying with your ear up, dripping boric alcohol into your ear and waiting a few minutes. They write that alcohol combines with water and then this compound will evaporate.
It seems doubtful that a few drops would evaporate so quickly. I admit that they can disrupt the integrity of the water film, it will no longer stick to the ear, and some of it may actually evaporate.
However, from my point of view, this method is questionable in any case , since without medical indications from a doctor, instilling any substances into the ear can be harmful and dangerous. For the same boric alcohol, dizziness, nausea, etc. are mentioned as side effects.
In a situation where there is a simple and safe method with a napkin, putting something in the ear seems impractical.
Drying with a hairdryer
Blow-drying also works for some people, although the method itself cannot be called completely safe.
Take a hairdryer, turn it on to cold air and place it at a distance of at least 30 centimeters from the ear:
The incoming air flow can dry out the ear canal.
Be careful with this method - the main thing here is not to burn your ear with warm air and not to overcool it with cold air.
Instead of a hairdryer, you can also use an enema - just under no circumstances insert it into the ear, but blow from the enema at a distance.
