keeping ears clean

[ksporry]

hey guys,
Not sure this is the right location, but I'm trying to find out what people do to keep their ears clean when they dive.
Last time I went diving, after about 5 days I developed a small ear infection which prevented me from diving the subsequent 3 days.
Are there ear drops to keep ears clean? I know there are ear drops (alcohol based I think) to prevent water from clogging up in the ear canal, but I usually don't have that problem.

 

[chrpai]

Keeping It Clean: Reasons for Good Aural Hygiene ? DAN | Divers Alert Network ? Medical Dive Article

The Right Way
So, how should you clean your ears? When you bathe, occasionally wash with a bulb syringe, warm soapy water and hydrogen peroxide solution. On a diving trip, use a mixture of half white vinegar and half rubbing alcohol after a day's diving: this serves to cleanse and dry the ear canal, acidifying or changing the pH balance to make the area less prone to bacterial infection. This can also help prevent otitis externa (swimmer's ear).
If you have a hard time getting water out of your ears, try a hair dryer. It's a good idea to lift the ear upward and back to straighten the ear canal and then to blow warm dry air into the ear canal for five minutes.

Just remember that ear care is as basic and important as the care of any of your other diving equipment.

 

[iamrushman]

use debrox from your local pharmacy....thats the easy way...there are other methods available at your local phamacy that are more involved.

 

[rhwestfall]

likely the product sold OTC for "swimmers ear" is of similar composition to the one mentioned as a DIY in the article. It accomplishes much of the same objectives; drying and acidifying, and is conveniently packaged and labeled so as not to arise attention in a toiletry bag during travel, or be mistaken for something else.

 

[kelemvor]

Interesting. I've been using straight rubbing alcohol, and a few of my buddies use alcohol mixed with peroxide. Never heard of using vinegar+alcohol before.

I started using alcohol after buying a product called "swim ear" a few times for swimming in my pool. Later I noticed that the bottle said the only active ingredient was isopropyl alcohol. So from then on, no more overpriced .5oz bottle of swim ear when I can get a giant bottle of alcohol from wally world for about a buck.

 

[dfx]

Pure rubbing alcohol ear drops for me as well.

 

[tracydr]

In a bind, I use swimmer's ear, since its OTC. I prefer a product called pramotic but unfortunately its been taken off the market for some reason. I use acetic acid ( vinegar) drops which you can ask for a prescription for from the doctor. I think you can also just ask the pharmacist for. I can't imagine why they would be prescription since they are just diluted vinegar.
i believe they are 50:50 vinegar water.

 

[agilis]

Alcohol and vinegar is an excellent post-dive treatment used for avoiding swimmers ear. The vinegar leaves an acidic environment which is usually fatal to organisms picked up in seawater. The alcohol helps to dry things out very quickly but is not as effective a bacteriostat as vinegar. I use 40% alcohol and 60% vinegar.

Hydrogen Peroxide is useful in breaking up wax deposits, but only if you give it a few minutes in each ear canal by lying on your side. The very gentle use of those rubber ear rinse bulbs after a Hydrogen Peroxide treatment will flush wax out the ear safely. HP is not an effective swimmers ear preventative, and vinegar/alcohol is not an effective ear wax remover. Use both, but use the vinegar/alcohol after every dive. Very effective.

 

[tracydr]

Swimmer's ear is alcohol and glycerin. The glycerin makes the alcohol less drying to the skin.

 

[gopbroek]

The week I got certified I had to cut the trip short due to 'swimmers' ear, and make a beeline for my doctor in the states. It was excruciatingly painful and took a full month and 4 different antibiotics before the secondary infections were brought under control. I then read up on the subject and came across some articles on DAN that talked of research by the Navy on saturation divers. Here are some links:
Can You Prevent Otitis Externa, or Swimmers Ear? ? DAN | Divers Alert Network ? Medical Dive Article
More On Swimmers Ear ? DAN | Divers Alert Network ? Medical Dive Article
I talk to my regular doctor and she agreed wholeheartedly with vinegar and alcohol. She has a family practice and said she sees lots of kids with swimmers ear and often recommends the same prevention treatment of a 50/50 vinegar and alcohol mix. Since that time I have used the 50/50 vinegar and alcohol mix and have had no further problems. The key thing to remember is that you need keep the solution in for a full 5 minutes to kill the naturally occurring bacteria.