How to Remove Water From Your Ear

ShotPrime Studio /Shutterstock

Nobody likes getting water in their ears, but getting it out sometimes causes even worse problems, depending on the method used to extract it. Knitting needles, pens, and bobby pins could actually perforate your eardrum or cause a serious infection. What’s the best way to extract water from your ears?

STORY AT-A-GLANCE

• Using the laws of gravity, a vacuum and evaporation are two ways to get rid of water in your ears.
• Never use a pen, bobby pin, crochet needles, or even your fingers in your ears in an effort to extract water as it could perforate your eardrum or cause an infection.
• Swimmer’s ear is the most common type of ear infection in adults and should not be confused with otitis media, the common type of childhood ear infection.
• Pain, inflammation, crusty skin and a watery discharge are all symptoms of swimmer’s ear, caused most often by contaminated water in swimming pools, hot tubs, water parks, fountains, lakes, rivers, or oceans.

Have you ever been swimming (or even in the bathtub), tilted your head the wrong way and gotten that uncomfortable sensation of water entering your ear canal?

Often the water will drain out on its own, but if it doesn’t, it can get trapped and lead to a condition known as swimmer’s ear, aka otitis externa. The sensation is uncomfortable at first—a slightly tickling, eye-watering twinge anywhere from your ear to your jawline and throat, and sound might be muffled.