There are many ways to get water out of your ear if you’ve been swimming or have recently taken a bath. You can try tilting your head down, placing facial tissue against your ear, or using ear drops.
Having water in one or both of your ears may decrease your hearing, make your ears feel like they need to pop, or otherwise just feel annoying.
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Some people are more prone to developing swimmer’s ear than others. If you’ve had this infection in the past, you should be extra cautious about keeping your ear canal clean and dry.
How to Get Water Out of Your Ears
Try these techniques for getting water out of your ears after swimming or bathing:
Ear Drops
If the above methods don’t work and you don’t have a condition that has impaired your eardrum, you can try ear drops.
How to Use Ear Drops Correctly
What Not to Do for Water in Your Ears
Never stick anything into your ears to try to get the water out, including cotton swabs. You could accidentally push the water further into your ear, introduce bacteria, or even damage the ear canal or eardrum.
Do not put any kind of drops in your ear if you have had recent ear surgery, have had surgically placed ventilation tubes, or could have aruptured eardrum.
When to Call Your Healthcare Provider
Even if you are unable to get the water out of your ears with one of the methods listed above, your ears will usually clear out on their own within a day or two.
Call your healthcare provider if you have any of the following symptoms:Ear painRedness, itchiness, or flaking skin in the ear canalSudden or persistent hearing lossDrainage from the ear that is bloody, yellow, green, milky, or foul-smellingAny other symptoms that seem unusual or do not go away
Call your healthcare provider if you have any of the following symptoms:
It should also be noted that fluid can be trapped behind the eardrum. This is not the same as getting water in the outer ear canal after going swimming or taking a bath, though both conditions can cause similar symptoms.Fluid in the middle earis much more common in small children than in adults, although it can occur in all age groups.
If you have fluid behind the eardrum, you won’t be able to get rid of it with one of the methods listed in this article. Your healthcare provider may choose to observe you and see if the fluid goes away on its own (usually over a period of months) or to prescribe an antibiotic, or you may need thesurgical placement of ventilation tubes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Any type of ear plug sold for swimming should work. You may need to try different ones to find a pair that feels comfortable and stays in place in your ear. Do not use foam plugs designed to block noise; they won’t prevent water from seeping in. You also can see an otolaryngologist, a doctor who specializes in the ears, nose, and throat, about having custom-fitted ear plugs made.Learn MoreHow to Find an ENT
Any type of ear plug sold for swimming should work. You may need to try different ones to find a pair that feels comfortable and stays in place in your ear. Do not use foam plugs designed to block noise; they won’t prevent water from seeping in. You also can see an otolaryngologist, a doctor who specializes in the ears, nose, and throat, about having custom-fitted ear plugs made.
Learn MoreHow to Find an ENT
4 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.Swimmer’s ear (otitis externa).Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Ear infections.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Swimming and ear infections.Wiegand S, Berner R, Schneider A, et al.Otitis externa.Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2019;116(13):224-234. doi:10.3238/arztebl.2019.0224
4 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.Swimmer’s ear (otitis externa).Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Ear infections.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Swimming and ear infections.Wiegand S, Berner R, Schneider A, et al.Otitis externa.Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2019;116(13):224-234. doi:10.3238/arztebl.2019.0224
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.Swimmer’s ear (otitis externa).Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Ear infections.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Swimming and ear infections.Wiegand S, Berner R, Schneider A, et al.Otitis externa.Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2019;116(13):224-234. doi:10.3238/arztebl.2019.0224
American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.Swimmer’s ear (otitis externa).
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Ear infections.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Swimming and ear infections.
Wiegand S, Berner R, Schneider A, et al.Otitis externa.Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2019;116(13):224-234. doi:10.3238/arztebl.2019.0224
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