This happened before but I've been struggling with my ears not being right for most of this summer.
It's wax and other debris - from fungal or bacterial infection the doc said last time, and probably a whole lotta sand too! And it's sitting next to my eardrum.
Last time I went to my doctor, he prescribed some antibiotic drops which didn't do much. I (carefully) managed to pull out the plug with some tweezers which fixed it but I can't seem to do it this time and it hurts.
NB: I wear a helmet with ear coverings, have tried silicone ear plugs but they leaked. I used a lactate / salicylate ear wash (no alcohol). Something about stripping off all the oils with alcohol doesn't seem right for long term preventative.
Please help:
1. Does anyone have a doctor they can recommend in Perth who will check and sort my ears out properly?
2. I'm also hoping he/she will give me some advice on keeping my ears healthy.
3. Have you had medical advice on keeping your ears healthy - and found it to be good / works? (No theories please, could we keep the posts to what people actually found worked for them?)
Thanks in advacne everyone. 
I have a retracted ear drum which results in water siting in there longer then normal and in turn causes ear infections I often see an ear specialist who gives it a good clean out.
The best ear plug that you can get is Bluetac I have had a lot of moulded ones made and nothing works as well.
Get a referral from your GP for an ear specialist as there may be more of a problem then just water causing the infections.
I hope this helps.
Not sure how medically advisable this is, but I used some of those ear candle things when my ears were all bunged up a few years back and it was freaky how much crap they sucked out.
Hey Foosh. Got really sick once from ear infection,fever and laid out for days. Sticking things in holes seems a good idea at the time but often ends in tears. Doc said put nothing smaller than your elbow in your ear.
Ive had a perforated ear drum before and had to go see a specialist, he told me ear candles were a gimmick.
What he used was this little vacuum cleaner which sucked out all the crap and wax, it was amazing all the sh!t he pulled out!
apparently after you go in the water your supposed to put some hydrogen peroxide in your ear - i heard great things about that for extra water in your ear
for gunk
www.wikihow.com/Unclog-a-Clogged-Ear
ear candles have quite a bit of arguement...i've tried and not really felt much
Don't go anywhere near ear candles, that "gunk" in the bottom of the candle that is supposedly sucked out of your ear is actually the melted wax of the candle that has accumulated inside the hollow wick, and hopefully none of the hot wax has dripped into your ear canal. Total quackery.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ear_candling
Painful ears SUCK, I've had a few bad episodes, the bad news is - keep them dry.
... Fooosh DON'T F U C K with the ears dude, go get some help from some professionals! Spend the bucks, you'll regret mucking around with them!!
Good luck!
Go see a specialist, even if your GP thinks he can help. Not sure the exact terminology but I have surfers ear that is 90% blocked and all the GP's thought they could give me kenacomb or sofradex to fix it but I finally got a specialist (hampton rd Hollywood) who cleaned it out and put some dry powder in and got rid of the infection. Once its clean I have been able to keep on top of it with metho (aqua ear is metho with a drop of vinegar) If you have really small canals from surfers ear you will never get the drops right in there and will have blocked ears for months. I also went down to Perth to get them drilled out but because of a nurses strike it never happened and now I am glad cos even 90% blocked you can keep on top of it and the op can have some pretty bad side affects with no guarantee it won't come back.
i think doctor MARK BRANDON READ is one of the best not sure were he is so look him up cheap to 
sounds like you have surfers ear. expensive and hurtful process to get rid of... get a referral to an ENT specialist ... and get in a health fund...last one cost me 12 grand...
Man see a specialist pronto,
I had an infection once where the Dr had to ring some authority to give permission for some drug he prescribed for my messed up ear.
Had green Sh1t coming out my ear and one side of my face swelled like a i got hit with a bat. Happy days
hydrogen peroxide is awesome. when i was working as a divemaster in cambodia we used it after every day.. if u hear it bubbling you know its working, getting all the sh$% out.
i had bad ears as a kid too, went to numerous "specialists",
"nothing wrong with your son lady maybe he just wants a day off school"
yeah i had about two months off after they cut my ear off to clear out the extra brain growing in there and stitch it back on and left a hole in my drum with only 30% hearing left, great
GO AND SEE A RECCOMENDED SPECIALIST, IF IT DONT WORK SEE ANOTHER ONE
Lucky though, only one ear its my left so i cant hear the missus whinging about my driving
Good luck, post who and how you get on sounds common
You've got a problem called Tropical Ear.
Basically it happens when water fails to drain from your ear after it has been submerged. The heat in your ear coupled with the water, plus any bacteria that is in the water is an ideal breeding place for infection.
I know the drops the Doctor has prescribed you however these drops are only to be used as an anti inflamatory purpose and not as a cure. On top of the drops you also need an antibiotic as well that will clear away the infection. Will take about a week to ten days to go completely.
When administering the drops make sure you lie on your side for 5 minutes to let the drops drain into your ear as well or they will just fall out when you put your head up.
best ear unblocker i have used was EAR CLEAR contains carbamide peroxide...essentially turns the wax into a liquid and it drains out of your ear.
you are all given him the after cure ,,how about just clean your ears more often ..dirty waxhead // or wear an i pod so nothing goes in there
You should see a GP and get a referal to an ENT specialist.
There are many ear conditions.
Be careful about what you put in them, you can do a lot of painful damage.
If you have 'surfers ear', extostosis, the only remedy is extostectomy, the bone is ground out. It is a major operation, eight weeks out of the water.
I'm sitting here, 4 days after my third one in 20 years.
To prevent the bone regrowing, ear plugs such as Doc's pro plugs need to be worn in the water at all times.
Good luck with it.
A good preventative method is to use "Aqua Ear" ear drops after every kite session.
Active Ingredients:
Acetic Acid Glacial 17.3mg/mL;
Isopropyl alcohol 634mg/mL.
You get from the Chemist
Quote
"Aquaear Ear Drops helps prevent and helps treat swimmer's ear the painful ear infection that often occurs when water is trapped in the ear canal after swimming, bathing, surfing or diving. Aquaear dries up moisture and retards the growth of bacteria. Aquaear also helps relieve the painful inflammation caused by swimmer's ear."
