Northwest Dive Club

Sharing something that came up in the conversation yesterday, prevention of an external ear infection aka "swimmer's ear". My swimming teacher taught us that when I was in high school, that is like, 30 years ago(??) I have been using it often, of course YMMV, and ask your doctor first, etc., etc.

Anyway, it is a 50/50 mix of white vinegar and alcohol which I keep in a tiny squirt bottle. I put a little into one ear, hold for a couple of minutes, pour out and repeat with another ear. Being prone to ear infections, I do it after long exercise sessions in a swimming pool and after dives, and it has helped me so far. I found DAN article on similar "official" solution just recently and thought it is worth sharing here: https://www.diversalertnetwork.org/medi ... immers_Ear

"Ear Beer" - weird name, good preventative.

I think it works better than the swimmers ear you buy at the drugstore

It's the recommended preventative ear juice...

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-con ... c-20351682

I just picked up a new pair of Doc's ProPlugs for my Bonaire trip. They have been helpful when doing 50 dives in 2 weeks to keep water out of the ear canal somewhat, which seems to lessen the beating my ears take in the process.

Combine that with a bit of ear beer or alcohol and it's really helpful

Tom Nic wrote:I just picked up a new pair of Doc's ProPlugs for my Bonaire trip. They have been helpful when doing 50 dives in 2 weeks to keep water out of the ear canal somewhat, which seems to lessen the beating my ears take in the process.

Combine that with a bit of ear beer or alcohol and it's really helpful

+1 for the dual prevention combo. I do this.

"Ear beer" I did not grow up in US but on the other side of the globe, it is funny that we used the same recipe! I am going to add ear plugs as one more layer of defence now.

MariaT wrote:"Ear beer" I did not grow up in US but on the other side of the globe, it is funny that we used the same recipe! I am going to add ear plugs as one more layer of defence now.

Just for clarity- these are not standard generic ear plugs. They are vented, designed for divers, for under pressure. Doc's ProPlugs

I love this stuff ( I call it ear oil), not sure if anyone else uses this. It really helps to keep the water out to avoid ear infections. It helps to keep your ear moisturized and it smells really nice with the tea tree oil. Just a spray or 2 into the ears before the dive and it works like a charm

I can see the value for swimmer's ear. The Amazon reviews have a bunch of 5* for improving clearing. I see no way at all it could improve clearing. It's not supported by simple physics. Which makes me distrust those reviews.
I have on occasion carefully applied a bit of olive oil or similar during a multi-day dive stretch to deal with the constant wet-dry-wet-dry cycles, exacerbated by ear beer (alcohol) drying.
The commercial ear dry products are usually about 97% isopropyl alcohol. The good ones have the bottle with the pointy spout to keep.

ScubaJess wrote:I love this stuff ( I call it ear oil), not sure if anyone else uses this. It really helps to keep the water out to avoid ear infections. It helps to keep your ear moisturized and it smells really nice with the tea tree oil. Just a spray or 2 into the ears before the dive and it works like a charm

My understanding is that this oil helps the ear drain after the dive. I'm not sure that it "keeps water out", as there isn't an actual block?!? The Doc's Pro Plugs actually keep the water out of the ear canal, yet still allows you to clear no problem.

I've used this "ear oil", and I do think it helps the ear drain. I know several frequent travelers that swear by the stuff.

It's nice that there are a lot of options to try if ears are an issue. I never had problems with my ears until a couple of years ago and Bonaire finally beat the crap out of them - just a dull ache that ibuprofen only helped a little. Ended up being out of the water a day or so, and that plus the Doc's ProPlugs enabled me to continue diving.

Yep I use a mixture of alcohol with a splash of hydrogen peroxide with a splash of white vinegar squirt that stuff in rinse it out

As fmerkel said the reviews saying that the EarShield would help with clearing are nonsense. What a treatment like that does is help the water drain after diving so that it doesn't build up and cause an infection during a trip with many repetitive dives. I use a dropper and mineral oil. Achieves the same thing but you can get a giant jug of mineral oil at most drug stores for $5 and a set of droppers on Amazon for not that much. It is a good idea to avoid anything with alcohol in it (for the ear) to avoid drying the skin inside the ear canal out, which just makes things worse.

If you mix some glycerin in with the alcohol its not so drying. Straight alcohol will make your ear canal super red and raw - I tried that in MX when I had an actual infection years ago and I think it might have actually made it worse.

I have deep ear canals and get ear infections about once a year. 50/50 vinegar and alcohol is great! Vinegar kills fungus and the alcohol kills the bacteria.

I take it a step further. I got a medical squeeze bottle https://www.amazon.com/Economy-Bottle-S ... eze+bottle Fill it with 3% hydrogen peroxide and clean your ears with it (in the shower preferably). I like to squeeze a bit in each ear at regular intervals so the peroxide has time to soften the wax. Then flush. I use about half the bottle during the softening stage then fill the bottle back up with water so it is 50/50 water and hydrogen peroxide to rinse with. After the shower i put a bit of alcohol in it and rinse each ear with alcohol (it burns a bit!). That way any bacteria is killed and the ear is dried completely.

I only use/add the vinegar if i get an actual infection.

I see several people suggesting hydrogen peroxide. I'm not so sure that's a good idea as it can easily damage tissues.

60south wrote:I see several people suggesting hydrogen peroxide. I'm not so sure that's a good idea as it can easily damage tissues.

Peroxide helps break down wax build up in the ear that can trap water from draining and have a nice place to grow bacteria.. I have wax issues and dry ears from diving pressure and salt water..

[quote="H20doctor"] I have wax issues



No wonder, you don't go to the beauty spa frequently like you used to.

coulterboy wrote:

H20doctor wrote: I have wax issues



No wonder, you don't go to the beauty spa frequently like you used to.

its because you dont go with me anymore ... I miss our mani pedi special times