Natural Remedy for Swimmers Ear/Ear Pain after Swimming

     Sitting at the computer last night, I started to feel the all to familiar twinges of an ear infection.
Oh boy, I thought, I have to take two airplanes in 3.5 days. There's no way I can get rid of this pain in that time.
      When I was about eight I started getting Swimmers Ear every single time I went swimming. The awful doctor I saw until I was 15 (And we had the PAP Smear Incident...) wrote it off as an allergy to chlorine to the pain after I went to pool parties. It sure was fun to be the chubby outcast who couldn't even swim in the pool above my head "'causa chlor-in allergy"... But I still had the local river, which was known and well-reputed for it's clean waters. It was strange to me (and no one else) when I started to get excruciating ear pain/infections after swimming there. Mom trucked me back into the doctors, where we were told that I must have stirred up some algae and it had to have gotten into my ears; we were sent away with the same instructions.
        Chronic sufferers and their parents know how unpleasant it is to have this happen all of the time; not to mention the expense of the medication! I'm lucky to live in Canada and have the majority of it covered in my health insurance, but when the pain struck last night, I was S.O.L. Seeing a doctor here in the Philippines is pretty damn close to the bottom of the list of things I want to do, so I googled frantically for home remedies.

My familys tried-and-true recipe:
1 part Rubbing Alcohol (dries the remaining water that allows normal levels of bacteria to breed out of control --> infection)
1 part White Vinegar (natural antibacterial effect)

Drop 2-3 drops into the affected ear, laying on your side. Pull your ear up and back (GENTLY) to allow the drops to help the liquid go deep into your ear. Wait a few seconds and let it roll back out onto a CLEAN tissue or paper towel. Keep the paper towel/tissue against the outside of your ear while laying on the opposite side to allow all of the liquid to drip out. Repeat on the opposite ear if needed.
Be warned that it's not the most comfortable feeling, especially if you're in a fair amount of pain, but IT WILL WORK. Repeat once at bedtime and once after waking up. Do this for 3 days past when it feels better to fully kill the infection. If for any reason your body tells you to stop (besides the discomfort of liquid in your ear) ie increase in pain, burning, etc, LISTEN and consider seeing a medical professional.

There is no rubbing alcohol here of the isopropyl variety, so I'm currently using 1 part ethyl alcohol and 1 part white vinegar, pre mixed with water. Ethyl alcohol is more drying than isopropyl, and after treating it this afternoon, had a huge increase in pain. I made a hot compress with boiled water and a towel which helped greatly with the pain after 10-15 minutes, and took an aspirin (<--- HIGHLY recommend for pain management while healing). My step-mom has drops that my father uses for the same thing which I was hesitant to use because we don't understand each other half of the time, but I think I will be using that until I fly out on Monday. I hope to be able to bring the drops with me and if not I'll mix up my own.

I've also seen a recipe that mixes olive oil and garlic. For this one you twist up a piece of paper towel, soak it in the olive oil garlic mixture, and gently place it in your ear for 5 minutes before removing. I've never tried this, but in terms of natural healing properties it *should* work.