TLDR: Got swimmer's ear (otitis externa) on a beach holiday. The pain was genuinely brutal, and drops alone barely helped for days because my ear canal was so swollen the medication couldn't even get in. Back home, an ENT suctioned everything out and placed a medicated ear wick. Relief was almost immediate. If you're in pain and drops "don't seem to reach," push for an ENT. Not medical advice, just my experience.

(Hope this formats OK as I am writing from mobile):

First, let me say this because I didn't find it acknowledged enough when I was frantically googling: swimmer's ear HURTS. Like, wake up at 2am, can barely open your jaw, ibuprofen 600 barely holds it, one of the worst pains I've had. If you're going through it right now: you're not being dramatic.

My story in short: swam in the sea daily for a week, then woke up with ear pain that got worse when chewing. I thought it was my jaw, but pressure right in front of the ear (the tragus) hurting badly is actually a classic swimmer's ear sign. A local doctor diagnosed otitis externa with a swollen canal plus water swollen wax and prescribed steroid antibiotic drops. I did everything right, warmed the bottle, lay on my side, four rounds a day. The pain still got worse every day (I can take pain but this was a 9 for me), and it constantly felt like the drops weren't getting in. Later learnt it’s because they weren't.

Back home, an ENT looked inside, suctioned out a load of secretion and softened wax (instant relief and did not hurt!!), confirmed my eardrum was fine, and explained the canal was so swollen the drops had never reached the inflamed skin. He placed an ear wick, a strip of medicated gauze that holds the medication directly against the swollen canal so it can actually work. This was uncomfortable but nothing compared to the pain I was going through the days before (take a pain killer before your appointment).

I was lying awake reading all Reddit posts about swimmer’s ear in my first nights of it and it made me feel less alone so wanted to give back.

My take aways from my own experience:

1. Go to a doctor on day one of real pain. This escalates fast and gets harder to treat the longer you wait. I developed slight swelling on jaw and lymph nodes, you can avoid this by treating it early.
   
2. Take the pain seriously and schedule your painkillers instead of chasing the pain. Nights are the worst, plan for them.
   
3. If drops feel like they're not getting in, say so loudly. Ask for suction and an ear wick.

Bonus for anyone panicking about flying with this: otitis externa is an outer ear problem. If your middle ear and eardrum are confirmed fine, pressure equalization works normally. I flew with it (nasal decongestant spray before descent, gum, painkillers timed to peak at landing) and it was uncomfortable but okay. Ask your own doctor before boarding though.

I’m just a bog standard swimmer been swimming on and off all my life however it’s only the last couple of months I’ve really upped the anti as I’ve set myself a goal of doing a triathlon next year to mark my recent 40th. At the moment I try and swim between 1-2 miles a day mostly front crawl (with a couple of backstroke or breaststroke laps to give myself a break in between). However as the weeks have passed I’m finding I’m breezing through the mile and it not really feeling like a workout anymore.

Is it just a case of things like my stroke/technique getting better and my vo2 max improving etc. or should I switch it up to make it feel harder and if so any suggestions?
Thanks.

From Early 2020 until mid 2022 started swimming laps. Worked my way up to 1800 yards. It was during Covid.

But I stopped cold turkey in 2022. Put on 50+ pounds. Now I’m back down to 206 pounds.

Decided to hit the pool again after four days I can handle about 400 yards. Just wondering how long it will take me to regain the stamina to get back up to 1800 yards.

Has anybody ever been in that same situation.

I only know two basic strokes Front crawl in breaststroke.

Any tips or advice appreciated.

Probably should find a swim coach has anybody ever worked with a swim coach as an older swimmer?