ENT care that will help you this summer, including Swimmer’s ear treatment

From family holidays to summer festivals, there are so many wonderful ways to enjoy this time of year - all of which can be overshadowed if you’ve got ENT issues going on. We tend to be in the water more, there’s a lot more pollen around and changing temperatures and environments can create plenty of issues for your ears, nose and throat. Here are some simple steps for ENT care that will help you make the most of your summer.

Dealing with Swimmer's Ear

When water gets stuck in the ear canal it creates the ideal environment for bacteria to grow. When this happens you may experience a whole range of uncomfortable symptoms that indicate Swimmer’s Ear, including itchiness, redness, swelling, pain and drainage. For most people, Swimmer’s Ear is a bacterial infection, which means it can be easily dealt with using antibiotic drops. There are also a number of steps that you can take to help minimise the chances of getting Swimmer’s Ear, including ensuring you always dry your ears - even just after a shower - and if you know you’re susceptible to Swimmer’s Ear then swim with ear plugs.

Protect your ears in noisy situations

Whether it’s loud music at a festival or the pops and bangs of a fireworks display, there are lots of ways in which noise can do damage to the ears, including noise-induced hearing loss. This can be confusing and uncomfortable but there are steps that you can take to avoid this:

• Use customised ear plugs if you know you’re going somewhere noise levels are high.
• Minimise the time that you’re exposed to loud noises, especially if you know your ears are sensitive.
• Don’t stand in the noisiest part of an area e.g. next to the speakers at a concert.
• Make sure you know what constitutes loud noise - normal conversation is around 60db while a gig usually comes in at around 110db and fireworks at up to 160db.

Protect yourself when it comes to pollen

If you have allergies or hay fever then this can be a challenging time of year. With flowers and plants in full bloom there is a lot of pollen around and this can affect your experience of all the fun plans that you might have made to help you enjoy the summer more. As well as tree and grass pollen, other common summer allergens include mold and ragweed. To make sure that pollen doesn’t ruin your summer, be prepared for the most challenging days with whatever you know works best for you, whether that’s antihistamine tablets or allergy shots. You can speak to an ENT professional to investigate your options when it comes to allergies and hayfever, and how to keep these under control at this challenging time of year.

From dealing with Swimmer’s Ear to helping you to find ways to protect yourself against pollen, there is plenty of ENT care that will enable you to better enjoy your summer this year.

Harley Street is the UK's foremost private medical centre which is dedicated to providing high-quality care for your ear, nose, throat, head & neck, and balance-related disorders. Find out more information on how Harley Street ENT can help you here.