External ear infection, which is sometimes accompanied by such severe pain that even the patient cannot tolerate touching and examining the ear.
It is called “swimmer’s ear”. Residual water in the ear canal after swimming in the sea or pools, as well as after bathing, can lead to otitis externa. In the following, we will review the symptoms of swimmer’s ear:
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Anatomy of the outer ear
The components of the outer ear are:
- Auricle:
It is the outermost structure of the ear that collects sounds and then directs them into the ear canal.
- Auditory duct:
A tube is similar to the letter S, which is responsible for delivering sound waves from the auricle to the eardrum.
Factors causing external ear infection
In most cases, bacteria can cause swimmers’ ear infections, but viruses and fungi can also cause otitis externa or otitis externa.
Why do we have swimmers’ ear problems?
Normally, when the ear is healthy, the cells inside the outer canal produce a sticky substance called ear wax, which makes it difficult for bacteria and other infectious agents to survive, Anything that damages this defense barrier exposes a person to swimmers’ ears, or outer ear infections.
Bacteria and other infectious agents also enter the ear when the skin inside the canal is damaged, such as when using ear cleaners whose heads are covered with a piece of cotton, Scratching the ear with a pencil head and the bottom of a pencil and a pen, all of them cause damage to the ear wax and scratch the skin of the external ear canal, making us more susceptible to infection.
Symptoms of swimmer ear disease
Swimmer ear symptoms include:
- The pain
Ear pain is the most common symptom in a swimmer’s ear, which can be mild or moderate or in some cases very severe. Sometimes the pain is so severe that the patient does not allow the doctor to examine the ear canal.
- Change the position of the ears
The inflammation is sometimes so great that the auricle moves away from the skull and tilts slightly forward.
Other symptoms of this condition include:
- Severe itching of the ears
- Extensive redness in and around the eardrum
- Inflation
- Yellow or green, foul-smelling purulent discharge from the ear
- Feeling of tightness and fullness in the ear
- Hearing loss
- There is severe pain in the auricle, face and sometimes the neck.
- Sometimes even a gentle touch of a patient’s auricle causes a lot of pain
- Swelling of the lymph nodes behind the ear is sometimes seen
- Fever
Avoid the swimmer’s ears
To prevent swimmer ear symptoms, you should prevent the outer ear canal from getting wet. For this purpose, observing the following points can be useful:
It is best to blow dry the outer ear canal with a hair dryer after bathing, showering and swimming.
The distance between the hair dryer and your ear should be such that it does not irritate and irritate the skin
You can use standard earplugs to prevent water from entering the ear. If ear protection is not available, you can dip a small piece of dense cotton in a little Vaseline and place it in the outer ear canal.
If the external ear canal is kept dry, the possibility of external otitis or swimmer’s ear is very low.