Blocked Ear After Swimming: What to Do

A blocked ear after swimming often comes from trapped water or earwax that has swollen after getting wet. Tilt the affected ear downward, gently pull the outer ear in different directions, and let gravity help. Keep objects and forceful water jets out of the ear. Pain, discharge, marked dizziness, or a sudden change in hearing needs medical assessment.

Water can remain in the ear canal behind a small bend or a plug of wax, creating fullness and muffled sound. Earwax also absorbs moisture and may expand. If the canal becomes irritated, increasing earache, tenderness when the outer ear is moved, itching, or fluid from the ear may point to inflammation or infection rather than simple trapped water.

Dry the outer ear with a towel, then rest with the blocked side facing down. Yawning or chewing may help if pressure, rather than canal water, is contributing. A hair dryer on its lowest heat and airflow setting may be held well away from the ear and moved continuously. Do not insert cotton buds, fingers, pins, or ear candles; these may push wax deeper or injure the canal. Avoid ear drops if you have ear tubes, a known or suspected eardrum hole, ear surgery, bleeding, or discharge unless a clinician confirms they are suitable.

Arrange a medical review if the blockage persists, keeps returning, or is accompanied by pain, itching, discharge, fever, ringing, or worsening hearing. Seek urgent care for sudden hearing loss, severe dizziness, weakness of the face, significant bleeding, or severe pain. A clinician can inspect the canal and eardrum and decide whether wax removal, treatment for infection, or a hearing test is appropriate.

Ask whether the blockage is due to trapped water, wax, canal inflammation, or pressure behind the eardrum. Mention previous eardrum damage, ear tubes, surgery, diabetes, skin conditions, recent flights, and any drops already used. Useful questions include which drying method is safe for your ear, whether wax should be professionally removed, and how to reduce recurrence when swimming.