Swimmer's ear medical costs total $500M a year

May 19, 2011 By MIKE STOBBE , AP Medical Writer

(AP) -- The first national estimates of swimmer's ear say it causes about 2.4 million trips to doctors and hospitals in a year.

The also said swimmer's ear cases amounted to about $500 million in annual - or roughly $200 per visit.

Some people get the problem repeatedly, and the CDC didn't estimate how many Americans suffer swimmer's ear each year. But according to calculations by The Associated Press based on CDC statistics, more than 2 million get it.

Swimmer's ear is an itchy, painful, outer-ear infection that can occur when bacteria in swimming water get through breaks in the skin. It's commonly treated with antibiotic ear drops.

More than half the cases were in adults. The CDC released the statistics Thursday.

©2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Vendicar_Decarian
May 19, 2011

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Who is this swimmer, and how can he/she afford such a high price for this treatment?
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