Your Ear Ache Hurts

When a person is suffering from Otalgia, they experience an ear ache. This is a condition that can be broken down into two separate categories. There is primary Otalgia which is an ear pain that is found within the ear and referred, which comes from the exterior of the ear.

The root causes of both types of ear pains can vary. For example, in the referred Otalgia, the root cause of the pain has to be identified to be treated. Often, this requires the pathology to be explored and the tympanic membrane to be quickly explored. Doing that ensures that if there are any abnormalities, they can be rectified before the condition worsens. However, if everything is normal in this case, more advanced testing may be required to properly treat the condition. A similar approach is taken with primary Otalgia as well. In this case, the causes of the ear ache are easy to diagnose among the most common such as otitis media, auricular infection or even mastoiditis.

In some cases, there is no ear disease at all that can be a concern. Impacted teeth, nose infections, throat cancer and other health concerns can be masked by the pain a person has in their ears. This is why a full checkup from your physician is critical, rather than writing off your ear ache as being nothing more than swimmers ear.

That doesn’t mean that swimmers ear won’t be a concern though. In fact, this is a very common type of ear condition and is known as Otitis Externa. This is where there is both an inflammation and infection that is taking place in the ear. Caused by excessive amounts of water entering the ear canal, it was given the nickname swimmers ear, as that group is primarily the ones that are impacted by this condition.

There are some things you can do to reduce the risk of an earache associated with swimmers ear or another concern they include:

Wearing a shower or swimming cap when you are in contact with water to help you to keep ears dry. When you leave the water, it is important to dry the inside with a towel.
Use acetic acid to help remove excess water in the ear.
Keep the ear clean with an earwax removal kit. It is best to avoid using cotton swabs as these can scratch the canal and tear the ear drum.

The cleaner and drier you keep your ears, the better off you will be. When you do have an area of concern, speak with your physician to determine the best course of treatment for you. After all, the last thing you will want to do is to jeopardize your hearing because you thought a simple ear ache was nothing to concern yourself with, when there is a serious health concern that needs prompt medical attention.

Today’s Daily Swim Workout:

Warm-Up: 500 as 50 kick, 75 swim, your choice of strokes

10 X 50 alternating butterfly and freestyle by 50s

Swim with swim-fins on: 8 X 125 as 75 backstroke, 25 freestyle

Swim with Hand paddles on: 5 X 200 as 50 breaststroke, 150 freestyle

8 X 150 alternating Individual medley (without freestyle) and freestyle

Warm-down: 100 stroke, 100 tai-chi style freestyle, 100 choice of stroke

Total: 4500 yards or meters

back to the top of ear ache page