Hi, could be...my ex used to get swimmers ear every year from water entering his ear canal and then from not draining back out caused the ear infection. There were some drops he used after swimming to dry the water out of his ears. Our pool was always sanitary, but the bacteria grew in his ears. (yuck, I know) I think he used some plugs in his ears along with the drops afterwards. Maybe a google search on swimmers ear might help too?

It could be caused by the pool, but not from bacteria. There was a stretch of time where I had issues w/ my eustachian tubes, and I had to wear ear plugs while doing shallow pool work. If I dove in 65'+ of water I had no issues at all.

There are labratories that can look at your water for bacteria, but the testing can cost $200+

Swimmer's ear drops are 95% isopropyl alcohol (to dry out the ear canal) mixed with some glycerin to keep the drops in place.

Your skin has lots of bacteria that lives on it. Ears are no exception. Your body makes ear wax to trap bacteria, just like the mucous in your nose. There isn't any special bacteria that is not being killed by your chlorine. If you are getting chronic infections, then take your doctor's advice and see an ENT specialist. The bacteria should also be cultured, so antibiotic therapy can be streamlined to the correct drug.

My guess is that you didn't kill the bacteria from your previous infection. The therapy needs to be long enough to kill all the bacteria. It's also important to use the correct antibiotic. It seems like most MD's just write for Z-Paks, which have a very poor kill rate due to their overusage.

Thanks all. I guess I will go to the ENT and will also try the ear plugs and swim ear drops. I just found it odd that I never had problems with my ears before this year or pneumonia before for that matter. It s**ks getting old! Ha Ha.

My daughter never got ear infections before we got our pool. Last year, after her first swimmer's ear incident, her pediatrician told me to mix half white vinegar and half isopropyl alcohol and put a few drops in her ears after swimming. I do this every now and then after a few days swimming, and she hasn't had any more trouble with it. I also use it in mine when I feel like water is still in them after I get out of the pool. However, the doc said not to use them until her current swimmer's ear at the time had cleared up, or it might hurt. Also, this mixture is much much cheaper than the swimmer's ear stuff they sell in the store. I can't remember what the vinegar was for, but as scrapula said, the alcohol dries the ear canal.

My mom who is in her 50's started having problems with her ears a year or so ago. She always felt like one of them was stopped up, and then it'd turn into an ear infection off and on for several months. She went to an ENT, and for some reason, she had water trapped in her ear, and she doesn't hardly ever swim. At that time it'd probably been at least months if not years since she swam last. She must have gotten the water from the shower/bathtub. Anyway, the ENT wanted to put a tube in the one ear to help it drain. My mom is rather stubborn about any thing medical, so she didn't do it. I don't think it is bothering her anymore though(or at least she hasn't complained about it).