Thanks for all the of the input ladies. You are so helpful!

I'm thinking the eardrum thing might have been it. I tried out the wetsuit again for an OWS on Wed. and being mindful of how much water got into my ears seemed to help! I was able to swim about a mile very comfortably.

The only part that made me uncomfortable were a few reeds that got tangled up in my arms & I also have this strange fear of seeing the lake bottom. I'd much rather just see water rather than sand & weeds. It's odd.

I'm working on getting over that. What is so scary about the bottom of a lake? No idea, but apparently my brain thinks there is something.