When water accumulates in the ear and doesn't drain properly, you're at risk of developing swimmer's ear, surfer's ear, or another type of infection that can cause hearing loss if left untreated. You can even get sweat trapped in your ears from the use of headphones. If you don't take care of it soon, you may end up with an infection known as otitis externa or swimmer's ear. When water settles in the ear canal, bacteria that live there all the time can multiply and cause infection.
Water stuck in the ears can leave an uncomfortable feeling of satiety and affect hearing. If you don't do anything about it and water stays trapped in your ear, you may even be at risk of getting an infection. Redness of the ear canal, ear pain, fluid drainage, and pus discharge are signs of swimmer's ear (otitis externa). If left untreated, the infection can spread to nearby tissue and bone.
If water stays in the ear for too long, the person can develop an infection. Infection usually occurs when bacteria in the ear or water have an ideal place to multiply, leading to a response in the body that causes symptoms. While water activities are a lot of fun, they can have some unintended consequences and cause water to get trapped in the ears. Drying well and shaking your head from side to side after getting out of the water can also help drain water from your ears.
Depending on the size of bone growths, water and wax can get trapped behind them, making it even more difficult to drain water from the ears. Let's take a look at how water gets trapped and how you can prevent infections by safely removing water from your ears.