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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Stick a straw in water.
Hold your finger over the end of the straw while pulling the straw out.
Water is held inside.
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.
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.
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.
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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.
Imagine the curvature of a spoon. It’s not a big dip, but it’s there and can still hold water
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.
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