Ashlee Williams, MD (Host): Did you know that you don't have to be a swimmer to get swimmer's ear? In fact, millions of people get it each year from simple things like trapped humidity, extra moisture after a shower, or even wearing earbuds too much. But how can you tell the difference between swimmer's ear and an ear infection?

And what can you do to treat it? And better yet, how can you prevent it in the first place?

Welcome to the Healthier You podcast. I'm Dr. Ashlee Williams, and today I'm talking with Dr. Nicole Cimino-Fiallos, a board-certified emergency room physician and an urgent care physician here at Kaiser Permanente. We'll dive into surprising facts about swimmer's ear, explain how to treat it, and share steps you can take to prevent it and keep your ears healthy.

Dr. Cimino-Fiallos, thank you so much for being here

Nicole Cimino-Fiallos, MD: I'm happy to join

Ashlee Williams, MD (Host): Yes, I'm so excited. This is so timely. Ready for summer, everybody's swimming. So talk about swimmer's ear and how you don't actually have to swim to get it. How common is it?

Nicole Cimino-Fiallos, MD: We see a lot of swimmer's ear in the urgent care, and people are often surprised that you don't have to be a swimmer to get it. But anything that traps moisture in the outer ear canal can lead to swimmer's ear

Ashlee Williams, MD (Host): How do you know you have it? Like, what are the symptoms? How does it normally present when you're seeing people in urgent care?

Nicole Cimino-Fiallos, MD: People may come in with drainage from their ear. They may experience swelling of the ear canal opening, and they may have pain around their front of their ear and their jaw

Ashlee Williams, MD (Host): I mentioned in the beginning everyone swimming more because it's summertime and it's getting hotter, but you can actually get swimmer's ear without swimming. Can you talk a little bit about that?

Nicole Cimino-Fiallos, MD: So people with diabetes are at higher risk for swimmer's ear, and they can get it without swimming. A lot of people leave their AirPods in all the time now, and that does trap dirt and moisture in the ear, and so they can get swimmer's ear Every once in a while someone will come into the urgent care with a bug in their ear, and that can cause swimmer's ear as well

Ashlee Williams, MD (Host): Have you ever had to pull a bug out of someone's ear?

Nicole Cimino-Fiallos, MD: I have had to pull bugs out of people's ears. It is not a pleasant experience

Ashlee Williams, MD (Host): Wow. Poor patients. Okay. So how do you treat swimmer's ear? So one, we know you can pull a bug out, but how do you treat the symptoms?

Nicole Cimino-Fiallos, MD: So a lot of patients think that they need oral antibiotics to treat swimmer's ear, but because the outer ear canal doesn't have great blood circulation, ear drops actually treat swimmer's ear more effectively. And the most important thing when you have swimmer's ear is to keep water out of the ear because it can prevent the infection from clearing up.

And sometimes people do try to go swimming too early after being treated for swimmer's ear, and then they have to start the treatment all over again

Ashlee Williams, MD (Host): Okay, so we have treatment options, but we always like to talk about prevention. Are there any ways to prevent swimmer's ear?

Nicole Cimino-Fiallos, MD: Earplugs can be helpful when you're swimming in the pool just to keep water out of your ears. There are also swimmer's ear drops that you can use after you swim. They're basically just rubbing alcohol, and it dries up the ear canal so the moisture doesn't stay trapped in there. If you're prone to swimmer's ear and you're showering and not washing your hair, you can wear a shower cap to cover your ears to keep water from getting in

Ashlee Williams, MD (Host): Okay. Do you recommend Q-tips for cleaning or getting water out of your ear?

Nicole Cimino-Fiallos, MD: We do not recommend using Q-tips. In children, it can be very hard to know where their eardrum is, and if you hit the eardrum with a Q-tip, you can cause bruising or even put a small hole in the eardrum. Q-tip heads can also get lost in ears. So I had a patient recently that came in for a cold, and I was looking in her ears, and I said, "Did you know that you had a Q-tip head in your ear?"

And she was like, "No. I don't know how long that's been in there." So we fished that out, and, she was very grateful for it

Ashlee Williams, MD (Host): I'm sure. I'm sure she could hear a lot better after that too

Nicole Cimino-Fiallos, MD: Yes.

Ashlee Williams, MD (Host): Okay. What are some facts that people don't know about swimmer's ear?

Nicole Cimino-Fiallos, MD: I think it's important to know when to come to the doctor when you have swimmer's ear. So if you're having drainage from the ear, if you're having pain, you should come in to get checked out and get started on the antibiotic drops. If you have a fever, if the ear canal is so swollen that you can't even see an opening, those are reasons to see a head and neck surgeon, formerly known as an ear, nose, and throat doctor.

If you're a diabetic, you're at higher risk for more severe swimmer's ear, so you should try to come in and get seen earlier on in the course. Don't want to wait and see how it does

Ashlee Williams, MD (Host): This was all great information, Dr. Samino Fiallos. Thank you for teaching us more about swimmer's ears and tips for preventing it. Here are the key takeaways. One, swimmer's ear isn't just caused by swimming. Things like frequent AirPod use, which people are doing more, lingering moisture after a shower, or even small scratches in the ear can lead to infection.

Adults with diabetes may also be at higher risk. Two, prevention is simple but important. Make sure to dry your ears thoroughly after swimming or showering. And three, be aware of the symptoms. Pain when moving the jaw or touching the outer ear, itching in the ear canal, or any fluid coming from the ear are sure signs that you may have swimmer's ear.

If you notice these signs, it's best to get them checked out early by a doctor before the infection gets worse For more information from our experts, visit kp.org/doctor and check out more episodes of Healthier You wherever you get your podcasts. If you found this episode helpful, please be sure to subscribe and share it with others. Thank you for listening, and from all of us at Kaiser Permanente, be well