Itchy Ears

[SeaStreet]

Sometimes one of my ears will itch pretty bad rather deep in there. Is this most likely a middle ear infection? If so how do I get rid of it? Also, I use Q-tips in the inside of my ears. Is this a bad habit, especially for a surfer?

 

[yeahdanny]

how long have you had it? maybe try some of those ear drops or something.

 

[hoku]

q-tips deep in your ear is bad. It stuffs the wax. Middle ears shouldn't be affected, unless you have a ear drum perforation. Have a doc check it out; maybe you might need to flush out your ears with a saline solution (or whatever they're using now). Or sometimes it's because water is trapped against the wax and it moving around tickles the hair in your ears (or it could be a bug, yet that's rare).

 

[blakestah]

Q-tips are bad. It does, as hoku says, stuff the wax in there, and good.

There are two basic treatments you can do easily for ears. The first is to dry them out, it is basically a swimmer's ear treatment. Use 1/2 white vinegar, and 1/2 rubbing alcohol, and flush 2-3 times, then let dry. This will help get the water out, and be a poor growth environment for bacteria. It doesn't do anything for wax obstruction.

For wax, you can pack mineral oil (baby oil) into your ear canal with cotton. Leave the cotton in for a few hours, and the ear canal should be soaking in oil. This will soften the wax and let your ear naturally clear it more effectively. You may hear a little funny for about 24 hours after the treatment.

Both of these treatments are quite safe to repeat just about as often as you like.

At the doctor, he may also use a forced warm saline flush. I wouldn't try this at home though. He basically flushes your ear canal with a forced stream of warm saline, and it will clear stuffed wax, really fast.

 

[SeaStreet]

Thanks guys, I will give the vinegar-alcohol rinse a try.

 

[SurfDoc]

Qtip use? Maybe once a week and don't go deep!

Itchy ears? Many potential causes. Best, have a doc look.

Possilbly too much Qtip use!

Wear ear plugs when surfing!

 

[blakestah]

It just occurred to me that your itchy ear could be a fungus growing in there. This is kinda like swimmer's ear, but not as bad. Keep the ear canal dry and it will go away. Q-tips can only make things worse.

They sell ear drops that are 95% alcohol (rubbing) and 5% glycerin for keeping the ear canals dry. The glycerin keeps the skin from drying out and cracking. I'd get some (or make some for cheap) and flush the ears every time they get wet until it goes away.