Blow-dry your ears. Eliminate the moisture in your ears, says Dr. Hands, every time you get them wet, whether or not you suspect an infection. Pull the flap of your ear up and out to straighten the ear canal and aim your hair dryer into your ear from 18 to 20 inches away. Use either a warm or cool setting, but let the dryer blow for 30 seconds. That will dry the ear, eliminating the moist conditions bacteria and fungi find most attractive for growth.
Most drugstores carry eardrops that combat bacteria.
If ear itchiness is still your only symptom, one of these preparations might snatch it back from the brink of infection, says Dan Drew, M.D., an avid swimmer and family physician in Jasper, Indiana. Use it each time your ears get wet. Plug up the problem. Telling an avid swimmer that he can't go in the water is almost like telling someone to quit breathing, says John House, M.D., an associate professor of clinical otolaryngology at the University of Southern California School of Medicine and an otologist for United States Swimming, which selects Olympic competitors. Go ahead and swim, he says, but wear earplugs to keep the water out.