Set a hairdryer to the lowest heat and cool setting. Hold it 12 inches from your ear and wave it back and forth. This blows air into the canal, slowly drying the moisture without touching the skin.

You described it perfectly as a “patched” feeling. Think of a suction cup stuck to a smooth tile. The water seal in your ear creates negative pressure. When that seal breaks—either by tilting your head, pulling your earlobe, or using gravity—you feel a tiny . That’s the water “patch” breaking.

Leo thought back. “Yeah. Marcus cannonballed right next to me. It hit my ear like a slap.”

“Can you get it off?” his mom asked.