The Prevention And Treatment Of Swimmer's Ear Infections

By Sophia Baker

Otitis externa is the medical term for swimmer's ear, and
occurs when an infection develops in the outer ear and the
ear canal skin. The difference between swimmer's ear and an
inner ear infection (otitis media) is that congestion, a
runny nose, and other cold symptoms will generally be
present when a person has an inner ear infection. When water
becomes lodged in the ear canal following bathing,
showering, or swimming, swimmer's ear can occur. When water
begins to irritate the canal within your ear, an infection
can develop because of fungal or bacterial growth.

Although never contagious, such an infection is much like
those that happen after a bite or laceration of the skin.
Over-the-counter ear drops may be purchased to lessen the
possibility of contracting swimmer's ear, or you may make
the drops yourself by combining like amounts of rubbing
alcohol and white vinegar. As soon as you have finished
swimming, simply put five to ten drops in both ears,
allowing the drops to remain several minutes inside the ear
before emptying them out on to a Kleenex.

The alcohol portion of the treatment immediately removes
moisture, and the vinegar destroys any harmful toxins. This
is to be used as a preventative measure and not as a
treatment for infections. Other measures to take to reduce
the risk of swimmer's ear include drying ears thoroughly
when water has gotten into them, staying out of polluted
water when swimming, and keeping foreign objects out of the
ear canal.

Some signs of swimmer's ear are itching in or around the
ear; hearing difficulties; discomfort in the ear if you
press on certain parts of the ear, like the flap covering
the ear canal or when you pull on the ear; and discomfort in
the area on your face surrounding the ear. Discomfort in
just one ear can also indicate that you have swimmer's ear.

A discharge that's yellowish-green in color may also emerge
from the ear canal. It's very important to see a doctor
immediately if you notice the signs of swimmer's ear in your
child, particularly if discharge is present. While a rare
occurrence, it's possible that an untreated instance of
swimmer's ear can spread and ultimately effect the bone or
cartilage surrounding the ear. The pain of swimmer's ear may
be alleviated by placing a warm cloth or a heating pad on
the ear or by taking acetaminophen.

Should the infection be advanced and the ear canal be
swollen, the doctor will probably give you a prescription
for antibiotic-steroid drops. Such steroids ease the
suffering and help the irritated skin to get well, while the
antibiotic eliminates fungus or bacteria. Your physician
might put a wick in the child's ear if there is significant
swelling of the ear canal; a wick is a bit of sponge or
cotton which helps the drops to penetrate down to the ear
canal. The drops are generally used for somewhere between
five to ten days and the child must not go swimming or get
any water in the ear during the treatment.

Things to watch for after swimmer's ear treatment include
stiffness in the neck, fever or dizziness, continual
drainage or discharge from the ear canal, and persistent ear
pain; should any of these issues occur, be sure to contact
your doctor to discuss further options.

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MP3, Cell Phones, Noise, AV Equipment > Hearing Loss

During the Summer of Love many music halls proliferated the San Francisco scene.  Back then hearing loss was an issue but it was more likely related to six-foot tall audio speaker that graced the stage at places like the Fillmore and the Avalon.

I have been around the folk music scene since the late 50s.  During the years I lived in the Haight, many of my east coast (well known) musician friends came west to entertain.

I always remember there was one guy who showed up at every event.  It was loud by my standards but most likely this was because of small space and good acoustics partnered with huge woofers and tweeters.   He would get right up by the stage and put one hand on each side of the speaker, hold on for dear life, and dance the night away.

Back then we all know that putting this sound so close to an ear drum would lead to hearing loss.

Now we just have more than one gadget contributing to the problem.

1 in 5 US teenagers has slight hearing loss

By CARLA K. JOHNSON, AP Medical Writer Carla K. Johnson, Ap Medical Writer Tue Aug 17, 9:31 pm ET

CHICAGO – A stunning one in five teens has lost a little bit of hearing, and the problem has increased substantially in recent years, a new national study has found.
Some experts are urging teenagers to turn down the volume on their digital music players, suggesting loud music through earbuds may be to blame — although hard evidence is lacking. They warn that slight hearing loss can cause problems in school and set the stage for hearing aids in later life.
"Our hope is we can encourage people to be careful," said the study's senior author, Dr. Gary Curhan of Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.
The researchers analyzed data on 12- to 19-year-olds from a nationwide health survey. They compared hearing loss in nearly 3,000 kids tested from 1988-94 to nearly 1,800 kids tested over 2005-06.
The prevalence of hearing loss increased from about 15 percent to 19.5 percent.
Most of the hearing loss was "slight," defined as inability to hear at 16 to 24 decibels — or sounds such as a whisper or rustling leaves. A teenager with slight hearing loss might not be able to hear water dripping or his mother whispering "good night."
Extrapolating to the nation's teens, that would mean about 6.5 million with at least slight hearing loss.
Those with slight hearing loss "will hear all of the vowel sounds clearly, but might miss some of the consonant sounds" such as t, k and s, Curhan said.
"Although speech will be detectable, it might not be fully intelligible," he said.
While the researchers didn't single out iPods or any other device for blame, they found a significant increase in high-frequency hearing loss, which they said may indicate that noise caused the problems. And they cited a 2010 Australian study that linked use of personal listening devices with a 70 percent increased risk of hearing loss in children.
"I think the evidence is out there that prolonged exposure to loud noise is likely to be harmful to hearing, but that doesn't mean kids can't listen to MP3 players," Curhan said.
The study is based on data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted by a branch of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The findings appear in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association.
Loud music isn't new, of course. Each new generation of teenagers has found a new technology to blast music — from the bulky headphones of the 1960s to the handheld Sony Walkmans of the 1980s.
Today's young people are listening longer, more than twice as long as previous generations, said Brian Fligor, an audiologist at Children's Hospital Boston. The older technologies had limited battery life and limited music storage, he said.
Apple iPod users can set their own volume limits. Parents can use the feature to set a maximum volume on their child's iPod and lock it with a code.
One of Fligor's patients, 17-year-old Matthew Brady of Foxborough, Mass., recently was diagnosed with mild hearing loss. He has trouble hearing his friends in the school cafeteria. He ends up faking comprehension.
"I laugh when they laugh," he said.
Fligor believes Brady's muffled hearing was caused by listening to an iPod turned up too loud and for too long. After his mother had a heart attack, Brady's pediatrician had advised him to exercise for his own health. So he cranked up the volume on his favorites — John Mellencamp, Daughtry, Bon Jovi and U2 — while walking on a treadmill at least four days a week for 30-minute stretches.
One day last summer, he got off the treadmill and found he couldn't hear anything with his left ear. His hearing gradually returned, but was never the same.
Some young people turn their digital players up to levels that would exceed federal workplace exposure limits, said Fligor. In Fligor's own study of about 200 New York college students, more than half listened to music at 85 decibels or louder. That's about as loud as a hair dryer or a vacuum cleaner.
Habitual listening at those levels can turn microscopic hair cells in the inner ear into scar tissue, Fligor said. Some people may be more predisposed to damage than others; Fligor believes Brady is one of them.
These days, Brady still listens to his digital player, but at lower volumes.
"Do not blare your iPod," he said. "It's only going to hurt your hearing. I learned this the hard way."
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Online:
JAMA: http://jama.ama-assn.org
Noisy Planet campaign: http://www.noisyplanet.nidcd.nih.gov/
Apple on hearing: http://www.apple.com/sound/