My son just had tubes put in his ears last week (along with his tonsils and adenoids taken out).... His ENT says he needs to wear earplugs in the water... I have many friends that have kids that either have or had tubes in their ears... Most of them say when their kids are just in the bathtub, they don't put earplugs in (washing their hair and everything)... Some friends say, they don't put them in when they swim either....
If you do use earplugs, which one's work best in the pool? The ENT can make custom one's to fit my son's ear, but before I spend 70.00 on them, I wanted to find out if other's work just as good :)
PS He won't wear anything on his head. Swim cap, headband, etc..
Input? TIA
I had the earplugs made. I let my son pick the color - he picked hot pink!!
Yes, I put those earplugs in every single time. I didn't want to take any chance of dirty water or chlorinated water getting in his ears. I just don't see any good reason for taking a chance, to be honest.
So there ya go...!
Dawn
How old is your son and is he really going to fully dunk his head under the water?
Our ENT said that generally, the way ears are shaped, there is no need to use earplug if just splashing around in the bath or pool. But if your son is one who wants to jump off the edge and fully go under the water, then use the earplugs. We did get a pair, because our son has no fear and jumps right in the pool, and the ENT gave us a pair for $20. They can in a few sizes, and we just picked the most appropriate size. He did not tell us that we needed custom fit earplugs. I'll try to find the link (we ordered a second set online when one of the first set floated away in the pool). If I find it, I'll add to this post.
Here it is: http://www.proplugs.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD...
For reference, we ordered the extra small size for my 1 year old. By the time he turned 2, they kept falling out because they were too small. So for a 2 year old, I'd think you would need size 'medium small'. Not sure for a 5 year old. If you click around on the site, they have a request form to fill out to find someone in your area who will fit them for you. They are $13.95 online.
You can buy the wax ones and they fit fine. He will misplace them at the pool, at the neighbors, somewhere. The wax ones are much more inexpensive and can easily be replaced, I think Walmart carries them.
We did not use them but my grandson takes showers and if he did get in the bath he did not put his head under the water.
I think that being careful is important since he just had this done. I would follow the docs instructions to the T.
http://www.earbandit.com/go2/swimming_headband_earband_ea...
My dd wore the above and they were amazing not just because they stop dirty water from getting in but she lost all confidence when she was swimming and didn't want to get her head wet at all. She felt so secure with this on that she was back to being a little mermaid again in no time. :-)
We tried earplugs with our son (now 8, had surgery almost 2 years ago), but they always fell out. He does fine in the shower and swimming in chlorinated water, but he gets an ear infection every time he swims in the lake or ocean. The doctor gave us some drops to use when he gets ear infections, so we use them for about 3 or 4 days after swimming in lakes or oceans and then he's fine. We've only let him swim in non-chlorinated water 3 or 4 times since his surgery, so we haven't had to use the drops very often.
Happy swimming!
We always used the earplugs, and if we forgot them, or they fell out he would get an ear infection. My son loved to have his head underwater both in the pool and in the tub. We had these earplugs that were like putty, and he wore them with a neoprene headband. The putty type plugs were awful. They were hard to get in right, and often fell out (if he jumped or dived into the pool, even with the headband). We ended up getting ear plugs made for him by an audiologist. They were made the same as hearing aids, fitted right to his ears. Those worked really well, but were quite expensive. It was worth it though because he loved swimming. I imagine if you have a child who doesn't put his head underwater then it is less important to have the plugs.
My ENT has always said that there was not a need. Of course ou don't want to try and get water in, but general playing, swimming that kind of stuff is fine! I have been through many sets of tubes with my girls and have not had a problem with water getting in!
my son had tubes put in and he wore a swimming cap when he went swimming and as soon as he was done we dried his ears. and for baths he did showers with no plugs but dried his ears good. we never had a bit of problems!!
Whatever you do, make sure he has earplugs. The potential damage to the inner ear from water entering through the tube and undo everything you are trying to accomplish by getting the tubes in the first place.
CVS carries silicone earplugs that dont actually go into the ear canal, it's like putting putty around the outside of the ear canal. They stick to the skin really well and are re-usable. I have used them on my daughter. I believe they cost about $11 per set.
Good Luck
my daughter is getting tubes in at the end of the month. her dr said only for the first 2 weeks. i however will have her wear them while swiming for safety. explain to him that if he doesnt wear them his ears will hurt a little. wearing them will help his ears heal.
