Summer months bring rise to swimmers ear and other infections

Charleston is a major summer attraction thanks in part to one of its most dazzling features — water. From Folly Beach and Kiawah Island, all the way to the Isle of Palms, the beaches of the Lowcountry are prime drawing points for tourists and locals alike.

This summer, MUSC hopes to help parents and kids alike avoid one of the biggest buzzkills for summertime relaxation down by the waterfront — swimmer’s ear.

Clarice Clemmens, M.D., a pediatric otolaryngologist in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at MUSC’s Children’s Hospital, offered a few tips on keeping ears clean during the hottest season of the year.

Plenty of parents bring their children to her office, certain they have a middle ear infection. In reality, however, their children are suffering from an external ear infection, or swimmer’s ear. Clemmens hopes to clear things up, allowing for proper treatment to begin earlier on.

Swimmer’s ear is a bacterial infection of the external ear canal that typically results in a lot of pain and drainage, she said.

A very common ailment this time of the year, swimmer’s ear results in roughly 2.5 million American health care visits annually.

Swimmer’s ear is contracted when moisture lingers in the external ear canal. Clemmens explained that the presence of bacteria within the ear canal is normal, but the addition of moisture makes the skin more vulnerable to infection. As many children swim more often in the summertime, the risk for swimmer’s ear is increased. According to Clemmens, swimmer’s ear is also more common in humid, warm climates.  

Although people of any age can suffer from swimmer’s ear, it is an ailment that is particularly common in children, for a variety of reasons.

Clemmens said the abundance of swimmer’s ear in the pediatric population is in part due to the simple fact that kids swim more frequently.

“In the summertime, they’re the ones out running around in the heat and humidity and swimming to stay cool,” she said.

That being said, childhood activities are not the only factors predisposing children to swimmer’s ear. “Anatomy also plays a role in the development of swimmer’s ear in children,” explained Clemmens. “Children’s ear canals are smaller, making them more prone to trapping moisture.”

Something that parents ask Clemmens all the time is what kind of preventive steps can be taken to avoid swimmer’s ear altogether. After an evaluation to confirm that it is safe, physicians may recommend simple acidifying or drying agents that can be applied directly to the ear canal.

Other simple methods to prevent swimmer’s ear include using a hair dryer on a low setting to dry the ear canal or using earplugs to keep excess moisture out.

If left untreated, swimmer’s ear can lead to unbearable pain and increased risk of further infection. Since swimmer’s ear is a bacterial infection, it will not go away with time and requires treatment.

Antibacterial eardrops are the standard treatment option for swimmer’s ear, and most patients fully recover in just four or five days, Clemmens noted.

Swimmer’s ear affects one out of every 200 Americans annually and is increasingly common at younger ages. Clemmens often sees patients with chronic swimmer’s ear, and she hopes that parents and kids alike begin to recognize the symptoms earlier on so as to avoid long-term risk or suffering. Although swimmer’s ear is extremely common in the summertime, she added that it is certainly something that can be avoided with a little bit of preventive care from parents and children alike.