How Long Does Swimmers Ear Last
How long does swimmers ear last?
It’s a hot summer and last weekend at the waterpark was a blast. Now this weekend all you want to do is go barbeque burgers with your friends, however your ear has been aching more and more each day. Well congratulations my friend, you are in the roughly ten percent of people who have found themselves asking “how long does swimmers ear last?”
1. Probably the biggest factor in answering this question is how soon you recognized the issue and how soon you searched the internet for “how long does swimmers ear last?” If your ear started aching about an hour ago and now you’re here, then you may be able to get rid of the problem before it really even starts. Everyone knows the feeling of water in your ear, which is normal (and if you jump up and down on one foot to get rid of it that is normal too). But if your hearing is fuzzy, even after your dip in the pool a few days later, you may have swimmers ear, but don’t wait to find out for sure! If your ears feel blocked or you feel pressure, don’t let it slide, make sure to try and shake it out or carefully swab the outside of your ear canal with a Q-tip and stay dry until these symptoms subside.
2. If the above has not stopped the aching it may be time to see a doctor. Typically at this stage you will be told to stay out of water for ten days, however if you live in a humid area, or work a job where you are perspiration occurs often, you have to be extra careful to keep the ear clean and dry. The doctor should be able to help you see signs of improvement in 3 days or so, with full improvement after a week. Typical treatments involve antibiotic drops and even pills if there is an allergic reaction. In some case the doctor may even use a “wick” if normal drops cannot penetrate swollen ear, or buildup. This is basically a thin, porous materiel that is put in the ear and then ear drops are put on one end in order to soak and relieve the ear. The good news is that this should only take 6 to 8 hours to begin feeling better
3. If your swimmers ear is reoccurring, and you continually find yourself going through steps above you may have a chronic (lasting 3 or more months) condition, although this is typically more common in younger children (7 -12) and adults who use hearing devices or ear plugs. At this point it is all about prevention and making sure you do not have, or develop, a more serious skin condition such as eczema or psoriasis that happen to be around the ear, which can have similar effects but can cause more severe long term damage (unfortunately that is the discussion for another article).
How long does swimmers ear last can be a difficult question to address. The ending answer here is that for most people swimmers ear can be cleared up in a few weeks or less, however for those who work, live, or choose conditions that are conducive to wet or moist conditions, they may be dealing with it until the retire, move, or change hobbies, unless of course they retire to Mexico and take up scuba diving as a hobby.
