Thanks for the D2D.
Swimming to prevent swimmer’s ear! Swimmer’s ear occurs when water enters the ear canal and irritates the delicate ear skin, giving rise to an ear infection (otitis externa).
This can be quite painful and uncomfortable as the ear may feel blocked. We usually treat swimmer’s ear by cleaning the ear out carefully and applying some antibacterial ointment inside or prescribe some eardrops.
From my patients’ own feedback, they have found wearing customized swim earplugs very useful in preventing swimmer’s ear (see picture).
These earplugs are specially made to fit the shape and size of your ear canal so that it is “water-tight”. These special swim plugs may be made at specialist audiology centres. Wearing a swim cap or sports headband round the head can add further protection against the entry of water into the ears.
