Lie on your side for a few minutes, with your head on a towel to absorb the water. The water may slowly drain out of your ear.
How do I get water out of my ears?
Playing in the water can be fun for people of all ages. While summer is a great time to enjoy swimming to its fullest, all of the splashing around can occasionally lead to water getting trapped in your ears. Symptoms include a feeling of fullness in the ear canal and a sensation that water is jostling around in your ear. It can happen in one or both ears.
Sometimes tilting your head to the side
is all it takes to remove water in your ears.
When the water doesn’t trickle out on its own, it may lead to a case of otitis externa, an ear infection also known as swimmer’s ear.
Why does water get stuck in my ears after swimming?
Water can remain trapped in the ear for any number of reasons, including a narrow ear canal or because it’s trapped by something inside the ear canal, such as excessive earwax or another foreign object.
Does it happen to everyone or are some people more prone to it?
Kids and adults who spend a lot of time in the water are most at risk; however, getting water stuck in your ears can happen anytime you go under the water. Sometimes inverting yourself, like during a flip or handstand, can lead to water in your ears.
Is it risky when water is stuck in ears?
Sometimes. Your ears secrete a waxy, water repellent-substance known as cerumen (earwax), so most of the time water will gently trickle out on its own. When it doesn’t, bacteria may begin to grow and cause swimmer’s ear.
Favorable environments for bacterial growth include wet and humid conditions, scratches or abrasions inside the ear canal or reactions from allergies and skin conditions.
Initial symptoms of swimmer’s ear may be mild and include:
- Itching and redness inside the ear canal
- Mild discomfort
- Ear pain
- Drainage of clear, odorless fluid
If you experience these symptoms, make an appointment to see your family doctor immediately. If water has been stuck in your ears for days or even weeks, also see your doctor.
How do you prevent it?
If you’ve got water in your ears after you swim or bathe, you can wear over-the-counter earplugs, or talk to your hearing healthcare professional about purchasing a set of ear plugs designed for use in the water. These plugs may be more expensive than the typical foam ear plugs purchased at the drugstore; however, they can be custom-fit your ears and are washable and reusable.
Tips to get water out of your ears
If you do happen to experience an episode of water in the ears, don’t insert anything inside your ear canal to help it drain. Using a cotton swab or other object—even your finger— may push obstructions deeper into the canal and puncture your eardrum. It can also scratch away the protective waxy layer inside your ear canal, providing an opening for bacteria to grow.
Instead, try these tips:
- Tip your head toward the affected ear and gently tug on your earlobe.
- Move your jaw by yawning or chewing gum. Then tilt your affected ear toward the ground.
- Take a breath, pinch your nose with your fingers, close your mouth and gently exhale to open your Eustachian tubes.
- Lay on your side for a few minutes with the affected ear resting on a soft, cotton towel.
- Cup the palm of your hand securely over your ear. Tilt your head toward the ground as you gently push and release your palm back and forth to create suction.
- Use heat. Rest your affected ear on a warm compress or blow warm air from a hair dryer (low setting) into the ear canal.
- Use hydrogen peroxide ear drops, available in most drug stores, or make your own with equal parts vinegar and alcohol. Please note: Only try this option if you do NOT have an ear infection, perforated ear drum, or eardrum tubes.
If these techniques don’t work or if you feel pain or develop a fever, contact a medical professional immediately.
Monitor your ear health
Enjoy all the sounds every season brings by making your hearing health a priority. Schedule annual visits for hearing evaluations and, if you’re diagnosed with hearing loss, follow the prescribed course of treatment sooner rather than later. Visit Healthy Hearing’s directory to find a hearing center near you.
Debbie Clason , staff writer , Healthy Hearing
Debbie Clason holds a master’s degree from Indiana University. Her impressive client list includes financial institutions, real estate developers, physicians, pharmacists and nonprofit organizations. Read more about Debbie.
12 Ways to Get Water Out of Your Ear
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Remove excess water from your ears with methods like blow drying, using different types of ear drops, performing the Valsalva maneuver, and even adding more water.
Although swimming is often the cause, you can get water trapped in your ear canal from any exposure to water. If this happens, you may feel a tickling sensation in your ear. This feeling may extend to your jawbone or throat. You may also not be able to hear as well or only hear muffled sounds.
Usually, the water drains out on its own. If it doesn’t, the trapped water may lead to an ear infection. This type of ear infection in the external auditory canal of your outer ear is called swimmer’s ear.
It’s not hard to get water out of your ear on your own. These 12 tips can help.
If water gets trapped in your ear, you can try several at-home remedies for relief:
1. Jiggle your earlobe
This first method may shake the water out of your ear right away.
Gently tug or jiggle your earlobe while tilting your head in a downward motion toward your shoulder.
You can also try shaking your head from side to side while in this position.
2. Make gravity do the work
With this technique, gravity should help the water drain from your ear.
Lie on your side for a few minutes, with your head on a towel to absorb the water. The water may slowly drain out of your ear.
3. Create a vacuum
This method will create a vacuum that may draw the water out.
- Tilt your head sideways, and rest your ear onto your cupped palm, creating a tight seal.
- Gently push your hand back and forth toward your ear in a rapid motion, flattening it as you push and cupping it as you pull away.
- Tilt your head down to allow the water to drain.
4. Use a blow dryer
The heat from a blow dryer can help evaporate the water inside your ear canal.
- Turn on your blow dryer to its lowest setting.
- Hold the hair dryer about a foot away from your ear and move it in a back-and-forth motion.
- While tugging down on your earlobe, let the warm air blow into your ear.
5. Try alcohol and vinegar eardrops
Alcohol can help evaporate the water in your ear. It also works to eliminate the growth of bacteria, which can help prevent infection. If the trapped water occurs due to earwax buildup, the vinegar may help remove it.
- Combine equal parts alcohol and vinegar to make eardrops.
- Using a sterile dropper, apply three or four drops of this mixture into your ear.
- Gently rub the outside of your ear.
- Wait 30 seconds, and tilt your head sideways to let the solution drain out.
Don’t use this method if you have any of these conditions:
- a middle ear infection
- a perforated eardrum
- tympanostomy tubes (eardrum tubes)
6. Use hydrogen peroxide eardrops
Hydrogen peroxide solutions can help clear debris and earwax, which may be trapping water in your ear. You can find eardrops online that use a combination of urea and hydrogen peroxide, called carbamide peroxide, to unclog earwax in the ears.
Don’t use this method if you have any of these conditions:
- signs of injury or infection such as pain, swelling, warmth, drainage, bleeding from ear
- a middle ear infection
- a perforated eardrum
- tympanostomy tubes (eardrum tubes)
7. Try olive oil
Olive oil can also help prevent infection in your ear, as well as repel water out.
- Warm some olive oil in a small bowl. Place a few drops on your inner wrist to test the temperature.
- Using a clean dropper, place a few drops of the oil into the affected ear.
- Lie on your other side for about 10 minutes, and then sit up and tilt the ear downward. The water and oil should drain out.
8. Try more water
This technique may sound illogical, but it can actually help draw water out of your ear.
- Lying on your side, fill the affected ear with water using a clean dropper.
- Wait 5 seconds and then turn over, with the affected ear facing down. All of the water should drain out.
9. Take over-the-counter medication
A number of over-the-counter (OTC) eardrops are also available. Most are alcohol-based and can help reduce moisture in your outer ear canal, as well as kill bacteria or remove earwax and debris.
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