Getting water out of your ear

Let gravity, a towel and a hair dryer on its lowest setting get water out of your ear, and put nothing into the ear canal.

Area: BodyFrom age 6Time to learn: 5 minutes

Tilt the wet ear down and tug the earlobe in different directions, dry the outer ear with a towel, and if water is still there, use a hair dryer on its lowest heat and fan setting held several inches away.

SafetySee a doctor for ear pain, fluid draining from the ear, bleeding or hearing loss. If you have ear tubes or a hole in your eardrum, do not use ear-drying drops; ask your doctor how to keep that ear dry.

Why it matters

Water that stays in the ear canal for a long time wears down its protective wax and skin and gives bacteria a moist place to grow, which is how swimmer's ear starts. Cotton swabs and other objects make it worse: they push wax deeper and can cut the canal or make a hole in the eardrum. Your ears clean themselves, since chewing, jaw movement and skin growth carry old wax out to the opening, yet excess or impacted earwax still affects about 1 in 10 children and 1 in 20 adults.

An estimated 2.4 million US health-care visits in 2007 ended in a diagnosis of swimmer's ear, and estimated direct health-care payments for visits that did not lead to a hospital stay totaled $489 million a year.

Source: CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Vol. 60, No. 19: Estimated Burden of Acute Otitis Externa, United States, 2003–2007, 2007.Measured

How to do it

Tilt your head so the wet ear faces down, toward your shoulder, and hold it there for a moment. Then tilt the other way to drain the other ear.
While the ear faces down, gently pull your earlobe in different directions to help the water run out. A gentle shake of the head can also help.
Dry the outside of your ear with a towel or the corner of a tissue. Dry only what you can reach without pushing anything into the opening.
If water is still there, use a hair dryer on its lowest heat and lowest fan setting, held several inches from your ear. HealthLink BC gives a distance of 8 to 10 cm (3 to 4 inches).
Put nothing into the ear canal to soak up or scoop out the water: no cotton swabs, fingers or fingernails, bobby pins, paper clips, pencils or keys. The ear doctors' rule: put nothing smaller than your elbow in your ear.
Ask a doctor before using ear-drying drops. HealthLink BC describes a few drops of rubbing alcohol, or rubbing alcohol mixed with an equal amount of white vinegar, after swimming or showering. Never use drying drops if you have ear tubes, a hole in your eardrum, swimmer's ear or fluid draining from the ear.
Next time, keep water out: wear a swim cap, earplugs or custom-fitted swim molds when you swim, and dry your ears after every swim or shower. Do not wear earplugs or in-ear headphones for long stretches, which can irritate the canal.
To clean your ears, wipe the outer ear with a cloth and leave the wax alone. Chewing, jaw movement and new skin carry old wax to the opening, where it flakes off or washes away in the shower. Do not use ear candles.
See a doctor if your ear hurts, especially when you tug the outer ear or press the small flap in front of the canal, or if it itches inside, looks red or swollen, drains fluid, bleeds, feels full, or you cannot hear as well. Swimmer's ear can be treated with antibiotic ear drops.

Common mistakes

Using a cotton swab to soak up the water. It pushes wax deeper and can cut the canal or puncture the eardrum.
Holding the hair dryer close to the ear or using a hot setting.
Putting drying drops in an ear that has tubes, a hole in the eardrum, an infection or fluid draining from it.
Digging out earwax, which helps protect the ear canal from infection, or trying ear candles.
Waiting out ear pain that gets worse when you tug the outer ear. That is a sign of swimmer's ear, which needs a doctor.

You can do this when …you can clear water from either ear using only a head tilt, an earlobe tug, a towel and a hair dryer on low, with nothing put into the ear canal, and can name the signs that mean you should see a doctor.