Blocked Ear and Ear Pain: How To Get Better

WHAT IS SWIMMER’S EAR?

Have you ever been swimming and then suffered painful blocked ears in Singapore? As the blocked ear and ear pain usually occurs after water enters the ear, this ear condition is called Swimmer’s Ear! Blocked ear and ear pain after swimming is quite common. Swimmer’s ear is also called Otitis Externa, infection of the outer ear canal skin. Whether you swim in the sea or in a chlorine pool doesn’t seem to make much difference. Infection of the skin in the ear canal can still occur. Our ENT specialist clinic in Singapore sees many patients with ear infection from swimming, diving and surfing.

Whatever you do to your ears, please do not dig them as this just makes the infection worse! When you take your cotton bud to dig your ears, all you end up doing is push the debris deeper in. This makes it more difficult to remove the debris when you see your ENT doctor. When the ear canal becomes swollen from infection, it is also very painful and becomes worse if you try to dig your ears.

DO I NEED MY EARS CLEANED OUT SPECIALLY?

The entry of water into the ear canal can irritate the delicate skin inside. This leads to infection and buildup of infected ear skin debris. A course of antibiotic and steroid eardrops often helps relieve the Swimmer’s painful blocked ear but the ear may still need careful cleaning under the microscope. We call this “micro-suctioning with a special fine ear sucker”. This removes the trapped debris which may block the eardrops from entering properly. We usually apply antibiotic and steroid ear ointment afterward to help soothe the irritated ear canal skin.

Patients with ear infections in Singapore may also feel some hearing loss if water enters the middle ear (space behind the eardrum) through the nose. Water buildup behind the eardrum may take a few weeks to get better. If the trapped fluid behind the eardrum becomes infected, then your doctor will prescribe a course of oral antibiotics. If the water behind the eardrum doesn’t resolve, then your ENT specialist may drain it safely under local anaesthesia in clinic. This provides some relief from the blocked or painful ear symptoms.

WHAT ARE SOME TIPS TO AVOID GETTING EAR INFECTIONS FROM SWIMMING?

Dr Annabelle’s Tips to Avoid getting Swimmer’s Ear:

1. Consider investing in a pair of swim earplugs to prevent water from entering the ear.
2. No matter how terrible your ear feels, please don’t dig your ears in an attempt to make it better: It will only get worse with ear-digging!
3. If it doesn’t get better after using antibiotics eardrops, there may be too much infected debris stuck inside the ear. So please visit your friendly ENT doctor for a proper checkup of your blocked painful ears.

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