Friday, July 14, 2006

Swimmer's Ear

Swimmer's ear is a problem I hope never to have, but I suppose it's something worth worrying about. I love to swim, and do it as often as possible year-round. In the summer I also swim at the beach whenever I can. I've never actually gotten an ear infection from swimming, but I do hate getting water in my ears-- I'm one of those people who stands there jumping up and down with her head sideways, trying to get that annoying drop of water out! I got so sick of doing that, I decided to start wearing earplugs while swimming-- problem solved.

But I saw an ad the other day for something called the Sahara DryEar. It's basically a little blow-dryer for your ear canal. (Maybe you can use it for styling Barbie's hair too.) It's about the size of a phone, runs off rechargeable batteries and comes with little replaceable tips. And it's not just for swimmers, either:

For Hearing Aid Users!
"I've had a problem with my Hearing Aids due to perspiration in my ears. DryEar was the solution."- Bob Beckett
Eew. Thanks for sharing, Bob.

Anyway, I guess if you really suffer from swimmer's ear, this little doo-dad might be just the ticket. There are probably other ways to get warm air into your ear, but figuring out how to use a hairdryer without scorching your ear, or standing with your head over a radiator probably aren't as convenient. But expect to pay the price: the DryEar costs about $100! I think I'll stick with my Mack's Pillow-Soft Earplugs, much cheaper and reuseable many times. And who knew they were available at Amazon?!? I just bought some at the drugstore yesterday and paid almost twice as much!


5 comments:

Anonymous said...

There is a magic trick to getting water out of your ear. Just put one lil' ol drop of rubbing alcohol in there. Vamoose!

Single Ma said...

This post reminds me of a recent trip to the Dr's office. I had to have an ear irrigation. Imagine water being poured into your ear with a huge syringe and at full force. Ugh! Made my eyes water and the sound was amplified 10x. Then my inner ear was so agitated, I was dizzy for hours. Ok, TMI and not even relevant. Sorry. LOL

Carry on...

Dude said...

How is your investments holding out? Curious as the equity markets have been tanking lately.

Andi @ udandi / Lunch It Punch It said...

Beck beat me to it, but rubbing alcohol is the trick I use, too!

Anonymous said...

i'm going to third the rubbing alcohol, a guy at masters has a bottle with an eye dropper that he has rubbing alcohol and swears by it. it's worth trying at $0.79 for the rubbing alcohol and probably $1.49 for the bottle with eye dropper. good luck and keep swimming. i know it's my best investment.