How Heat Affects Your Ear Health and Comfort

Albany summers can change quickly. One week you’re still reaching for a jacket at a Tri-City ValleyCats game, and before long, the heat and humidity have settled in.

You probably have your usual ways of staying comfortable through it. Your ears, however, aren’t something you’re likely to think about when the temperature rises.

Warm, humid weather creates different conditions in and around the ear canal. It can also change what wearing hearing aids feels like during long days outside.

Throughout the summer, there are a few things happening in your ears that are useful to know about.

How Temperature Fluctuations Can Affect Your Ear Health

Your ears are exposed to temperature changes throughout the day, and the skin around them responds along with the rest of your body.

During hot weather, sweating leaves more moisture around the outer ear and near the opening of the ear canal. Skin that stays warm and damp for several hours may feel softer or more sensitive than usual.

Cold weather brings a different physical response. Blood vessels near the surface become narrower to reduce heat loss, which is why the outer ear may feel cold or numb quickly.

Going from summer heat into strong air conditioning can also leave your ears feeling temporarily different as the temperature around them changes.

How Humidity Affects Skin Inside and Outside the Ear

Humidity changes how the skin holds and releases moisture. When the air already contains a lot of water vapor, moisture leaves the skin more slowly.

Inside the ear canal, this can shift the skin’s surface and the natural oils that coat it. The canal may feel more slick than usual, and earwax may become softer or move differently.

The outside of the ear can react too. People who already deal with oily skin or eczema may find that humid weather changes how the area feels.

Products like sunscreen or hair products can also remain on the skin longer when mixed with perspiration, especially around the folds of the ear.

What Sweat Glands Do for Your Ears

Your outer ears contain eccrine sweat glands, the same type found across much of your skin. They release a watery fluid when your body needs to cool down.

As that fluid evaporates, it carries some heat away from the skin. The amount you produce changes with the temperature, physical activity and how much you naturally sweat.

The ear canal also contains specialized glands called ceruminous glands. Instead of producing the watery sweat used for cooling, they release a thicker substance that becomes part of earwax.

That material contains compounds that help maintain the conditions of the ear canal and keep its thin skin from drying out.

Why Warm Weather Raises the Risk of Bacterial Growth in the Ear Canal

Many bacteria reproduce faster within certain warmer temperature ranges. Summer heat can raise the temperature around the outer ear and ear canal, creating conditions where bacterial numbers may increase more quickly.

The bacteria involved aren’t necessarily new to your ears. Many already live on the skin in small amounts without causing problems. Problems can develop when those bacteria begin multiplying faster than the ear canal normally keeps them in check.

This is one reason bacterial ear infections are seen more often during warmer months. Heat isn’t enough to cause an infection by itself, but it changes the conditions in which bacteria are living.

Noticing Signs of Ear Discomfort Linked to Heat

Heat-related ear discomfort may become more noticeable after you’ve spent several hours outside or in a warm environment.

The way your ears feel afterward can vary, so watch for changes like:

• • A warm or burning feeling around the outer ear.
  • Tender skin where glasses or hearing aids rest.
  • Redness along the folds of the ear.
  • Itching near the opening of the ear canal.
  • A swollen or tight feeling inside the ear.
  • Soreness that develops after wearing earbuds in hot weather.

How Sweat May Impact Hearing Device Performance

Sweat also contains salt, which remains on the device after the moisture evaporates. Over time, that residue may build up around charging contacts or other exposed parts.

You may first notice the difference during long periods of wear on hot days. The device might cut in and out, produce inconsistent sound or have trouble making a solid connection in the charger.

These changes may disappear once the device is dry, but repeated exposure to sweat can eventually affect its components.

Fit Challenges for Hearing Devices in Hot Conditions

A hearing device that fits comfortably indoors may sit differently after several hours in the heat. Perspiration can make an earmold or dome slide slightly, especially while you’re walking or doing something active.

The area behind the ear may also become tender when a hearing device, glasses or sunglasses are resting against warm skin for much of the day.

Even a small shift in position can change the way the device feels or sounds. An earmold that moves may rub against the ear canal, while a receiver that moves may not stay at the same depth.

Behind-the-ear hearing aids may also move more when perspiration collects between the casing and your skin.

Cleaning Your Ears Safely During Hotter Months

Hot weather may leave more residue around your ears, but cleaning doesn’t require scrubbing inside the ear canal. The skin there is thin, and earwax normally moves outward on its own.

During warmer months, you can:

• • Wipe the outer ear gently with a clean, damp washcloth.
  • Dry the folds around your ears after sweating or spending time outside.
  • Leave earwax inside the canal alone unless it’s causing a problem.
  • Keep cotton swabs, fingernails and other objects out of the ear canal.
  • Wash anything that regularly touches your ears, like earbuds or reusable earplugs.
  • Give the skin around your ears time to dry before putting hearing devices back on.

Caring for Hearing Devices When It Gets Hot Outside

If you take your devices out while you’re away from home, keep them in their case and out of direct sun. Avoid leaving the case on a dashboard, patio table or other surface that heats up.

Heat also matters when you’re storing devices for longer periods. Keep them somewhere indoors where the temperature stays consistent rather than in a garage, porch or shed.

If you’re traveling, don’t pack them in luggage that will sit in a hot trunk for several hours. Medications and other small electronics may already have a spot inside your bag, and your hearing devices can travel there too.

Picking Headwear That Protects Your Ears from Heat

Your ears get plenty of direct sun because there isn’t much natural shade around them.

A wide-brimmed hat covers more of the ears than a baseball cap, while lightweight fabric keeps the hat from feeling heavy on a hot day. The brim should extend far enough around the sides to keep sunlight off the tops and edges of your ears.

If you wear hearing devices, try the hat on with them in place. Some hats sit close to the sides of the head and may press against a behind-the-ear device or move it slightly.

A roomier fit around the ears avoids that pressure while keeping them covered from the sun.

Knowing When to Ask an Audiologist About Ear Discomfort

Ear discomfort may come and go, but pain, pressure, itching or drainage that lasts for several days should be checked.

The same goes for symptoms that disappear and then return repeatedly. If sounds become muffled or one ear seems different from the other, an audiologist can check whether your hearing has changed.

During the visit, your audiologist can examine the ear canal and eardrum for irritation, swelling or excess earwax.

They may also ask when the symptoms started, how long they last and whether they tend to happen after being outside in the heat. If your hearing seems different, a hearing test can measure whether there has been a change.

Staying Comfortable and Protecting Your Ears in Hot Weather

By late summer, you’ve had weeks of hot afternoons, air conditioning and time outside. Your ears and hearing devices have been through those temperature fluctuations right along with you.

You don’t need to spend the season checking your ears every day. Just remember that summer weather reaches them too, even when they aren’t the first thing on your mind.

If your ears have been uncomfortable or your hearing devices have been acting differently this summer, bring it up with our audiologists at Capital Region Hearing in Albany, NY. We can examine your ears and check your devices to see what’s going on. Call us at (518) 704-4672 to schedule an appointment.