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If you or someone you know is prone to ear problems, take these measures to help prevent getting “swimmer’s ear”:

Try to keep ears moisture-free. Wear earplugs when swimming and pull a shower cap over your ears for showering.

Dry the outer parts of the ears after swimming or showering, and use buffered alcohol eardrops (available in drugstores) to help evaporate remaining water.

Squirt lanolin eardrops into the ears before swimming. Tilt your head to be sure the drops get to the bottom of the ear canal, then let the liquid drain out.

Don’t get any water in the ear canal for three weeks after symptoms disappear, to keep the problem from coming back.

If you have a tendency to get swimmer’s ear, and you do get water in your ear, use antiseptic eardrops.

Don’t use any instrument or swab to remove earwax.