Next Steps

Follow-up

In most cases, no additional care or visits to the doctor are necessary. If your pain increases and swelling or drainage decrease within 48 hours, a doctor should be contacted for a follow-up appointment. If the foam wick used to get ear drops to the ear canal does not fall out when the swelling goes down, the doctor may need to remove it. Avoid further trauma or the chance of getting moisture in the ear for three weeks after an infection.

• Swimming, scuba diving, and flying should be restricted until all pain and swelling are gone and no debris remains in the ear canal.

• Severe, recurrent, or difficult to treat swimmer's ear may be referred to an ear specialist (otolaryngologist).

• People who have had ear surgery such as tympanic membrane (eardrum) surgery and mastoidectomy (removal of part of the bone behind the ear or removal of the air spaces in that bone) should discuss water sports and ear protection with their ear specialist.

• People with tubes in their ears (a common technique used to prevent ear infections in smaller children) may also talk with their ear specialist about the best ways to swim and protect their ears at the same time.