Total medical costs of the $500 M per year swimmer's ear

ATLANTA - the first national estimates of the ear of the swimmer say it causes approximately 2.4 million trips to doctors and hospitals in a year.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also said cases of swimmer ear amounted to about 500 million dollars in medical costs, annual - or about $200 per visit.

Some people get the problem several times, and the CDC did not estimate how many Americans suffer from bathers each year. But, according to calculations by the Associated Press based on statistics from the CDC, more than 2 million to get.

Swimmer's ear is an infection of itching, painful outer ear that may occur when bacteria in the water of swimming get through breaks in the skin. It is generally treated with antibiotic ear drops.

More than half of the cases were in adults. The CDC has published statistics Thursday.