Ear problem

[Freedive WI]

If it's water in the outer ear canal then go for the 'swimmer's ear' stuff to dry it out- I use it every time I go into the water whether it's swimming or diving.

If it's the inner ear, then it looks like a trip to the doctor for pseudophed and anti-biotics. Pseudophed it to open up the eustasian tubes and the anti-biotics are to kill the little buggers who are camping out in there.

I have had many infections over the years, the worst one coming in the middle of my IDC- a double outer and a, single, left, innner ear infection. :'( I guess L.A. really does have some nasty a$$ water around it.

The first few years I taught scuba diving I got an ear infection EVERY August. This went on until I got my first drysuit with an attached dry-hood. They seemed to go away for quite while after that. Once I started getting into this freediving thing more seriously they started coming back. I assume that this is because I always dive wet and spend a lot more time in the pool- swimming laps and playing hockey. I also spend more time actually in the water than I did when I just scuba dove- up to 8 hours a day instead of the 3-4 on a typical dive day. As a result, I now keep a stock-pile of Aura-dry on hand. 8)


Good luck!

Jon