What the warmer months can mean for your hearing health
As the days lengthen and temperatures climb, most of us are thinking about holidays, festivals, and long evenings in the garden. Ear health, understandably, isn’t high on the summer checklist. But the warmer months bring with them a surprisingly wide range of challenges for your ears — from the effect of water on the ear canal to the impact of prolonged noise at outdoor events. This June, we thought it was worth shining a light on something that tends to go unnoticed until it becomes a problem.
Why Summer Can Be Hard on Your Ears
Warm weather encourages activity, and many of those activities — swimming, festivals, DIY projects, lawn mowing — create conditions that can affect your hearing and ear health in ways you might not expect.
Swimming and Water in the Ear Canal
One of the most common ear complaints we see during summer is related to water. Whether it’s a splash in the local lido, a swim in the River Severn, or a holiday abroad, getting water trapped in the ear canal creates a warm, moist environment that bacteria thrive in. This can lead to a condition called otitis externa — more commonly known as swimmer’s ear — which causes itching, discomfort, and sometimes significant pain.
What many people don’t realise is that ear wax actually plays a protective role here. It’s mildly acidic, which helps to keep bacterial growth in check. However, when water repeatedly enters the canal and wax becomes softened or washed away, that natural barrier is weakened.
What you can do:
- Tilt your head gently after swimming to allow water to drain naturally.
- Avoid inserting cotton buds or anything else into the canal — this is one of the most damaging habits for long-term ear health.
- If you swim regularly, purpose-made earplugs designed for swimming can offer useful protection.
Noise Exposure at Summer Events
Summer in Gloucestershire means outdoor events, music festivals, agricultural shows, and busy beer gardens. While wonderful for the soul, prolonged exposure to loud noise is one of the leading — and entirely preventable — causes of hearing damage.
Sound is measured in decibels (dB). Normal conversation sits around 60dB. A lawnmower reaches approximately 90dB. Live music at a festival can peak well above 100dB. Hearing damage can occur after as little as 15 minutes at 100dB without protection.
What makes noise-induced hearing loss particularly insidious is that it is cumulative and irreversible. There are no nerve endings inside the cochlea (the inner ear’s hearing organ), so you feel no pain as damage occurs — only the gradual erosion of your hearing clarity over time.
What you can do:
- High-fidelity earplugs reduce volume without muffling sound quality — ideal for music events and widely available from pharmacies.
- Use ear defenders when operating power tools or garden machinery.
- Rule of thumb: if you have to raise your voice to be heard by someone standing next to you, the environment is loud enough to cause damage over time.
Hay Fever, Allergies, and Your Ears
This one surprises many people. Seasonal allergic rhinitis — hay fever — doesn’t just affect the nose and eyes. It can cause inflammation along the Eustachian tube, which connects the middle ear to the back of the throat. When this tube becomes swollen, the middle ear cannot equalise pressure properly, leading to that familiar sensation of blocked or muffled ears during pollen season.
For some people, this can progress to a build-up of fluid behind the eardrum — a condition known as glue ear in children, though adults can experience a similar effect. It can cause temporary hearing loss that is often mistaken for wax.
What you can do:
- Manage your hay fever effectively through antihistamines, nasal sprays, or allergen avoidance strategies.
- If your ears feel persistently blocked during summer even after treating your hay fever symptoms, have them assessed professionally.
The Temptation to Self-Clean
Sunny weather, more time outdoors, a holiday approaching — there’s often a psychological impulse to feel “cleaner” and more prepared, and this sometimes extends to ears. We see a notable uptick in patients who have attempted to clean their ears with cotton buds, fingers, or improvised tools before a holiday, and have caused themselves discomfort or impaction as a result.
The ear canal is self-cleaning in most cases. Jaw movement — talking, chewing — naturally migrates wax toward the outer ear, where it dries and falls away. Inserting anything into the canal disrupts this process and risks pushing wax deeper, where it becomes compacted against the eardrum.
What you can do:
- If your ears feel blocked before a summer trip, use softening drops — olive oil or a proprietary preparation — for a few days first.
- If the blockage persists, seek professional ear wax removal by microsuction — the gold standard technique that allows direct visualisation of the canal throughout the procedure.
A Word on Hearing Health Checks
Summer is also a natural moment to reflect on your hearing more broadly. Perhaps you’ve noticed you’re asking people to repeat themselves more often, or that the television volume has crept up. Perhaps a family member has mentioned something. These observations matter, and acting on them early makes a significant difference.
At Gloucester Ear Health Clinic, a routine ear health appointment includes a hearing screening as well as a full examination of the ear canal. It takes just 30 minutes, and it can give you genuine peace of mind — or prompt the kind of early intervention that protects your hearing for the long term.
Five Ear Health Tips for Summer
- Dry your ears gently after swimming — tilt, don’t poke.
- Use hearing protection at loud events — high-fidelity earplugs are discreet and effective.
- Treat hay fever properly — it has a direct effect on ear pressure and hearing.
- Avoid cotton buds — they do more harm than good, regardless of the season.
- Book a check-up if something doesn’t feel right — early assessment is always preferable to waiting.
Your hearing is with you for life. A little awareness in summer goes a long way toward protecting it.
Book an appointment
If you have concerns about your ear health or would like to book an appointment for ear wax removal or a hearing screening in Gloucester, contact us on 01452 937050 or visit us at Brockworth Community Centre, Court Road, Brockworth, GL3 4ET. Home visits are also available.