Swimmer's Ear

Sometimes the most insidious ailments come with the most innocuous names: Swimmer's Ear. Sounds like some kid just got in the pool for the first time and is whining that the water won't come out of his ears. In reality swimmer's ear is a chronic and sometimes debilitating condition that affects swimmers the world over. It's so common that the FDA has recently been considering adding a swimmer's ear inoculation to its list of recommended shots to protect the hearing of children under the age of twelve. What's unfortunate is a very simple preventative measure keeps swimmer's ear at bay. It's cheap, easy to administer, and very safe.

Before I get to the remedy though, let's talk about the symptoms. Swimmer's ear usually starts with an itch deep in the ear canal. When you see someone at the pool with a finger in their ear wiggling it up and down rapidly, you know they've got it. The next stage of swimmer's ear is pain. Any time you touch the ear around the canal or the ear cartilage connected to the ear canal, you will feel a sharp stab of pain shooting from your ear to your throat behind your jaw. If left untreated at this point, your ear may swell up enough so you cannot close your mouth and you're risking damage to your middle or even inner ear. Sounds pretty nasty eh? Well there's an easy fix.

Vinegar.

That's right, all the doctor's visits, all the penicillin, inoculations, creams, and ointments can't do what this over the counter remedy does. A simple vinegar and water solution mixed in equal parts kills the bacteria that cause swimmer's ear and it costs less than a penny per application. So buy an empty eyedropper bottle and fill it one half of the way with white vinegar and the other half with tap water and keep it in your swimming bag. Every time you finish practicing use the eyedropper to put 3 or 4 drops of the vinegar solution in your ear and wait 30 seconds. Do the same then to the other ear. This remedy may make you smell like a salad, but it will take care of any minor case of swimmer's ear in a few weeks. Furthermore, as a preventative measure, the vinegar solution is ideal for those of us who are prone to swimmer's ear. However, if your case of swimmer's ear is advanced, you should of course, see your doctor.