If its basically a straight shot from your outer ear to the ear drum, how does water get ‘stuck’ in your ear after swimming?

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If its basically a straight shot from your outer ear to the ear drum, how does water get ‘stuck’ in your ear after swimming?

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18 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Two things.

* If you look in an ear, it’s not a straight tunnel but rather, a hollow area going straight back before droping down at around a 40-45° decline.

* Air pressure/water tension. The water has it’s own tension keeping it in your ear. So long as the tension holds, there’s no way for air to naturally make it behind the bit of water which results in the water staying stuck in your ear.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Imagine the curvature of a spoon. It’s not a big dip, but it’s there and can still hold water

Anonymous 0 Comments

The same way you can pick up water in a straw by submerging it, then plugging the top end with your finger and picking it out of the glass. It’s a straight shot down out of the straw, but because of the size of the straw, it’s a perfect tool to hold water, so long as there is no way for more air to enter in the top gap between your finger and the trapped water.

Anonymous 0 Comments

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Anonymous 0 Comments

I’m an Ear Nose and Throat doctor. A few things may be happening.

Your ear canal is small and not straight, so water may not flow freely out. At one end of your ear canal is an ear drum. Think about what happens if you get some water in a straw and then plug one end. Water doesn’t come out easily.

Your ear canal and ear drum are extremely sensitive and even a small drop of water can be noticed and be irritating. Think of the last bead of water on the inside of a straw or something. As that moves around you can feel it.

Alternatively, you may have a sensation that your ear is full because your middle ear hasn’t equalized pressure well, especially if you have been deep under water. Your brain is terrible at telling if the outer ear canal or middle ear is the cause of the pressure sensation.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Put a straw in a drink.

Put you finger on top of the straw.

Keep your finger there and pull the straw out of the drink.

Anonymous 0 Comments

During back when I was young, when to the pool and water got stuck in my ears, no matter how I jump the water can’t get out. Jump for like 5 mins no use.

When to the lifeguard for help and he put in more water. I’m like wtf? He ask me to jump again suddenly all the water come out from my ears.

Now I use this tactics if water get stuck and can’t come out.

Lol.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Stick a straw in water.

Hold your finger over the end of the straw while pulling the straw out.

Water is held inside.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Hey. I used to get water in my ear that literally stopped me from hearing for days. Terrible terrible sensation. Couldn’t hear. Threw my balance off completely. @ Op or anyone else. If there is water getting stuck in your ear my ent doctor said that is 90% of the time a huge wax build up.

Sure as shit after he removed the ridiculous amount of wax build up my ears drained completely properly. Could literally feel the sensation of water leaving like I was pouring a water out of a cup. Except it was my ear.

“See you in ten years when it happens again”

Most people have never ever had their ears cleaned. Get your ears cleaned.

Anonymous 0 Comments

ear wax .
i had trouble all my life with that.
appointments every few weeks for clearing water inside the ears, countless infections.
everything went away since i cleared up my diet.
havent been at the doctors for a few years now.
never came back.