Getting Water Out Of Your Ears

It happens to us all once in a while, water gets trapped in your ear, and you ideally want to get it out and have a dry ear canal as fast as possible. Water in the ear canal can lead to bacterial build-up which in turn can lead to an infection, ear damage over time can lead to hearing loss, for more information on that click here. And while swimming is often the cause, it isn’t the only one. You will usually be able to feel that you have water trapped because of a slight impairment of your hearing, a trickling sensation that might go into your jawbone or throat. The sound is usually muffled.

Photo by Eliška Motisová on Unsplash

Most of the time, the water will drain out by itself, but once in awhile, it won’t. It is usually referred to as swimmer’s ear.

Before you head to the doctors to get help, you can try some at-home methods to get the water out.

Yawn
If you are tired you might find by yawning, the movement of the jaw and ear canal will help ease the water out. Your eustachian tubes will open up during this motion. The same theory is applied to when you are flying on a plane, and your ears need to pop. Yawning or chewing will help.

Olive Oil
Warming olive oil in a small bowl, and then using a small and sterile dropped drop a few drops into the ear with water in. Once that has been done, lay on your side for about 10 minutes. Sit up and then tilt the affected ear downwards and the water and oil should drain out.

Hot Compress
The ear can often become painful when there is water trapped inside it. Put a clean cloth in boiling water, be careful to remove and wring it out so that it will not drip. The cloth should be hot but not so that it is uncomfortable.

Tilt your head, or lay down and place the hot cloth over your ear, so that it covers some of your jaw and neck. Leave this for about 30 minutes.

You may need to repeat this 4 or 5 times over the space of a few days. You might also try alternating the affected ear to be up or down.

Gravity
Sometimes we are busy running errands and working that we don’t actually allow gravity to do any work. Make some time to simply lay down, with the water-filled ear on a towel and wait. It might take a while, so if you have the chance, put on a good movie.

Vacuum
You can create a vacuum that will help draw the water out. Press the palm of your hand against the affected ear to form a tight seal. Gently press your hand back and forth against your ear. You will feel a suction motion, and the water may release. Tilt your head in order to let the water drain.

The sooner you take steps to remove water from your ear, the better it will be and the less likely you are to cause permanent damage or get an ear infection.

MissLJBeauty