Otomycosis, Ear Infection

Otomycosis is inflammation of the ear canal due to fungal infections. The fungus that most often causes otomycosis is Aspergillus. Sometimes Candida albicans is also the cause. The onset of otomycosis is facilitated by a very moist ear canal environment.

This is not life-threatening, but often causes patients to despair because of the length of treatment and high recurrence rate if not treated properly.

The outer ear consists of the auricle, the channel from the outer ear to the eardrum. The skin of the ear canal contains special glands that secrete wax called cerumen. Ear wax also seems to have an important function because it is antibacterial, antimycotic (fungus) and also resistant to insects.

The initial common symptoms of otomycosis are ear discomfort, itching, earache, and feeling of fullness in the ear. If the infection spreads to the eardrum, it can come out. During the ear examination, there is redness in the ear canal, a buildup of white mass and swelling of the ear canal. Hearing loss and ringing in the ear (tinnitus) can also occur due to ear canal obstruction caused by swelling of the ear canal and a buildup of secretions or white mass masses.

Otomycosis can usually heal if treated completely. For treatment, you should consult an ENT specialist. Usually it takes several visits to the ENT specialist. An ENT doctor will clean ear fungus with a special vacuum cleaner and generally use an antifungal cream.

The risk of recurrence of this disease is very high if the trigger for the infection is not removed. Here are some tips for preventing fungal infections in the ear (otomycosis):

• Do not lift the ear with a finger, cotton swab, pencil or other hard object that can injure the ear canal.
• Put the mixture of white vinegar and alcohol (50/50) into the two ear canals for about 5 minutes. Precipitated when you finish swimming and want to sleep effectively enough to prevent recurrence.
• The ear canal can also be dried with a small cotton swab (but don't rub too hard).
• Shake your head and use the tip of a clean dry towel to dry most of the remaining pool water.
• It is recommended to reduce swimming time to less than 1 hour if possible. And the ears must be completely dry before continuing to swim again.

One way to dry the ears is to pull the earlobe up and out so that the ear canal is straight. Then use a hair dryer at a low temperature or no heat (minimum / minimum distance) at a distance of about 45 to 60 centimeters for about 30 seconds.

Prevention is certainly better than cure. How did you do that? Of course, by eliminating bad habits such as picking ears with your hands or with cotton, the most important thing is to maintain ear hygiene.

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