Swimmer's ear refers to the inflammation of ear canal in those who swim and usually live in humid tropical regions. Swimmer's ear is just one of inflammatory diseases of ear canal, also known as external otitis or otitis externa.
Those who wear hearing aids, headphones have higher risk of external otitis. People who use cotton swabs to clean cerumen excessively also have increased risk since cotton swabs can create abrasions in the ear canal skin, making it easy for bacteria to invade deeper tissue.
The most common bacteria responsible for external otitis are Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphyloccocus aureus, bacteroides, and peptostreptococci. Fungi account for about 2 to 10 percent of cases of otitis externa and usually cause infection following the treatment of bacterial infection.
The most common symptoms of external otitis are ear-ache, itch, ear discharge, and hearing loss.
Treatment of external otitis usually requires thorough cleaning of the ear canal, use of topical antibiotics, and pain control. Ear canal cleaning is the most important step and should be performed at doctors' offices.
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