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• Method 1 of 3: Recognize the symptoms of a fungal infection in the ear
• Method 2 of 3: Using medications
• Method 3 of 3: Using home remedies

A fungal infection of the ear canal, also known as otomycosis or "swimmer's ear", causes inflammation in the ear. Otomycosis is responsible for 7% of all inflammation of the ear canal. The most famous causes of otomycosis are the fungi Candida and Aspergillus. Fungal ear infections are often confused with bacterial ear infections. Usually doctors treat an ear infection as if it were caused by a bacteria. Often antibiotics are prescribed, but because those fungi do not kill, no improvement occurs. After that, your doctor can prescribe various anti-fungal remedies.

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Method 1 of 3: Recognize the symptoms of a fungal infection in the ear

1. Recognize abnormal itching in your ear (pruritus). It is quite normal for your ears to itch from time to time. The hundreds of small hairs on and in your ear tickle quickly. However, if your ear is constantly itching and scratching or rubbing doesn't relieve the problem, you may have a yeast infection. This is the main way in which a fungal ear infection manifests itself.
2. Watch for earaches. You will actually always have pain in one ear - not both, because the yeast infection is localized. Some patients describe it as "a feeling of pressure" or "a full feeling" in the ear. The pain can be mild or severe. The pain usually gets worse when you touch the ear.
3. Watch for discharge from the ear (otorrhea). The discharge in a fungal infection is usually thick and clear, white, yellow and sometimes bloody / smelly. Don't confuse this with normal ear wax. Take a cotton swab and wipe your ear with it (don't insert it too deep into your ear canal). It is normal for some wax to be present, but if you think the amount or color is strange, you may have a fungal infection in your ear.
4. Watch for hearing loss. An ear infection caused by a fungus can manifest itself in the form of hearing muffled sounds, difficulty understanding words or distinguishing consonants. Sometimes people notice earlier that they do not hear properly due to a change in behavior.Difficulty hearing can be frustrating, so someone with hearing loss will withdraw from conversations and social gatherings.

Method 2 of 3: Using medications

1. Know when to see your doctor. If you have an ear infection, it is best to see your doctor to get the correct diagnosis and the best treatment method. If you are in a lot of pain, poor hearing, or experiencing other unusual symptoms, get medical attention.
   • Your doctor can clean your ear canal well with a suction cup and give you medicine to treat the ear infection.
   • Your doctor may also recommend over-the-counter remedies for the pain or prescribe painkillers if the pain is severe.
2. Use clotrimazole to treat the fungal infection in the ear. Clotrimazole 1% is the most popular antifungal agent prescribed by doctors for fungal infections in the ear. It kills both Candida as Aspergillus. This drug blocks the enzyme that converts ergosterol. The fungus needs ergosterol to keep its membrane strong. With clotrimazole, the growth of the fungus is stunted by lowering the ergosterol levels.
   • Be aware of the side effects of clotrimazole. These include irritation to the ear, or a burning or painful sensation. However, side effects are much less common with topical clomatrizole than with the oral form.
   • Before applying clotrimazole, wash your hands with soap and water. Clean the ear with warm water until all visible secretions are removed. Gently pat your ear dry with a clean towel. Don't wipe too hard. Then you can make the condition worse.
   • Lie down or tilt your head to the side to expose the ear canal. Straighten your ear canal by pulling your earlobe down and back. Put two or three drops of clotrimazole in your ear. Keep your head tilted for two to three minutes to allow the fluid to drain properly into the ear. Then tilt your head to the other side and let the liquid run into a tissue.
   • Put the cap on the bottle and keep the medicine out of the reach of children. Put it in a dry, cool place. Do not keep it in a sunny or warm place.
   • If clotrimazole doesn't get rid of the ear infection, your doctor may try another antifungal, such as miconazole.
3. Get your fluconazole prescribed. If you have a more serious fungal ear infection, your doctor may also prescribe fluconazole. That works just like clotrimazole. The most common side effects are headache, nausea, dizziness, change in taste, diarrhea, abdominal pain, rash and an increase in liver enzymes.
   • Fluconazole is taken in pill form. Doctors usually prescribe a dose of 200 mg on the first day, and then 100 mg per day for three to five days.
4. Don't take antibiotics. Antibiotics only work to treat bacterial infections, so they don't kill fungi.
   • Antibiotics can actually make a fungal infection worse, because they can kill the good bacteria in the ear or other parts of the body - the bacteria that should actually fight the fungus.
5. Make a follow-up appointment with your doctor. You should go back to the doctor about a week to see if the treatment works. If the treatment does not work, your doctor can try another option.
   • Also call your doctor if symptoms get worse or don't improve.

Method 3 of 3: Using home remedies

1. Use hydrogen peroxide. Place two to three drops in the affected ear with a pipette. Let the drops sit in the ear canal for five to 10 minutes, then tilt your head to let them run out. This measure loosens crusts or hard dirt in the ear canal, so that fungi can also be removed from the ear.
2. Use a hair dryer. Set the hair dryer on the lowest setting and keep it at least 25 cm away from the affected ear. With this method you dry all moisture in the ear canal, so that the growth of fungus is prevented.
   • Be very careful not to burn yourself.
3. Put a warm compress on your ear. Take a clean towel and soak it in warm water. Make sure the towel is not too hot. Place the warm towel over the affected ear and wait for it to cool down. This relieves the pain without painkillers. It stimulates the blood flow in the affected ear, which helps you to recover more quickly.
4. Use rubbing alcohol and apple cider vinegar. Mix both in a ratio of 1: 1. Put a few drops in the affected ear with a pipette. Let the drops sit in your ear for 10 minutes, then tilt your head to let them run out. You can put this mixture in your ear every four hours for two weeks.
   • The cleaning alcohol dries out the ear, removing the moisture that causes the fungal infection. It also disinfects the skin of the ear canal. Due to the acidity of the vinegar, the fungus grows less quickly, because fungi such as Candida and Aspergillus prefer a basic environment for optimal growth.
   • This mixture disinfects and dries the ear, reducing the duration of infection.
5. Eat foods rich in vitamin C. Vitamin C is needed for the growth and repair of tissues damaged by an ear infection. It helps the body produce collagen, a protein that helps make tissues such as skin, cartilage and blood vessels. Doctors recommend consuming 500 to 1000 mg of vitamin C from diet every day.
   • Excellent sources of vitamin C include citrus fruits (oranges, lemons, limes), berries (blueberries, cranberries, strawberries, raspberries), pineapple, watermelon, papaya, broccoli, spinach, Brussels sprouts and cauliflower.
6. Use garlic oil. Take a capsule of garlic oil, pierce it and pour the liquid into your infected ear. Leave this on for 10 minutes and then tilt your head to let the oil run out again. You can repeat this every day for two weeks. Research shows that garlic oil is effective against the fungus Aspergillus (one of the two causes of ear infections).
   • In addition, garlic oil has been found to work as well or better than prescription medications to cure fungal infections in the ears.
7. Use olive oil to clean the ear. If you have a fungal infection in your ear, white or yellow discharge often comes from the ear. In addition, you often suffer from excess ear wax. This can lead to a blockage in the Eustachian tube. Olive oil works perfectly to soften the wax.
   • Put three drops in the affected ear with a pipette. Leave the drops on for five to ten minutes, then tilt your head to let them run out. It softens the wax and other hardened debris for easy removal (just like hydrogen peroxide). Olive oil also has anti-inflammatory properties. This is because there are a lot of polyphenols in the oil.