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Swimming earplugs for kids are an essential swimming aid in some circumstances. Your children’s ears are not as robust as yours, so if they get water with bacteria in their ears, there is far more chance of them getting an infection.
This article will cover children’s ear plugs for swimming, preventing infections, factors that make your child more at risk, and ear infection treatment. Also, I recommend the best ear protection devices to prevent swimmers ear in your kids.
If require the Best Hearing Protection for this item, and do not want to read the entire article, below are my recommended ear protection.
Last update on 2021-02-13 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
For kids swimming, the best ear plugs are Hearprotek Swimming Ear Plugs, 2 Pairs Waterproof Reusable Silicone Ear Plugs.
However, this will depend on several things. If you use them a lot, for example, if it is your principal job, or perhaps just minor use. Also, if you want to use these ear plugs for other things, like listen to music, or Answer Your Phone.
There are earplug options available, for example: Convenient Fitting, Noise Reduction Rating (NRR), Long-Lasting, Flexibility, and if you want earplugs or headphones. As you can see, there is a lot in picking the best fit.
“Swimmer’s ear is an infection of the outer ear. Symptoms are typically pain, drainage, swelling, and hearing loss "
Kids have far more sensitive, smaller ears than adults, they have less developed immunities, and their ears are harder to dry. These factors mean it is far more likely for your child to develop an ear problem, like swimmers' ear.
Ear infections happen when bacteria build up in the middle ear of your child. There will always be some bacteria in the ear, but trying to clean it out incorrectly will cause more problems than it solves. (See later on how to clean a child’s ear)
Your children are not as developed as you are, therefore they get more earaches and infections. The tubes of the ear are a lot narrower, meaning that it is harder for any water that gets in there to drain away again.
Children’s and toddler ear plugs for swimming are more important than they are for adults. Children’s ears are different, and children have weaker immune systems. You probably remember getting more earaches as a child.
Ears are a lot harder to dry than other parts of the body. The inner part of the ear should never be dried by inserting things like tissue, or cotton buds/Q-Tips.
The best way to stop ear infections in your kids is to use child or toddler ear plugs for swimming. Should you have a child that has an infection, or has sensitive ears, then they may need them in the bath/shower as well.
Why don’t all kids need earplugs in the shower? Well, several factors influence the start of an ear infection. One of the most important of these is the cleanliness of the water. The fewer bacteria in the water, the less chance of an infection, and the water we shower in, in most developed country’s is spotless.
As mentioned above. Water in a swimming pool is usually pretty clean, as it is treated commonly with chlorine, which prevents bacteria growth. However, many people use pools, and kids will pee in them. So to be sure, or if your child has sensitive ears, use plugs.
If your child has had any operations on their ears, are continually getting ear infections or they have had swimmers' ear in the past. Then they may need to use child/toddler swimming ear plugs more than a child that has never had these conditions.
This may seem counter-intuitive, but if there is soap in the water then it will break the surface tension of that water. What this basically means is that there is less resistance between the ear canal and the water. This means that the water can move further into the ear and do so more quickly. If the water is clean, and the ears appropriately dried, then there should be no problem.
If the child has sensitive ears or has had an infection, then kids waterproof ear plugs should be considered.
If the child’s ears are cleaned with Cotton Buds/Q-Tips, then there is more risk of infection, and earplugs should be considered. Putting anything in a child’s ear is a bad idea. The buds can scratch the delicate skin inside the child’s ears. If this has happened, getting water in there is far more likely to cause an infection.
If you have an older child who can dive to the bottom of the pool, or river, the water pressure is increased. Increasing the weight of the water against the ear will push it in further, increasing any chance of infection.
If you are not using toddler swimming ear plugs, or water has still gotten into the ear then the ears should be adequately dried. The following are the main steps for achieving this.
Do not do the following when cleaning ears
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Last update on 2021-02-28 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
You really should not need to clean your child’s inner ear, and if they need cleaning, then you should probably take the kid to a doctor. This occurs when the child has a problematic hearing, or there is a significant build-up of inner ear wax.
If there is any wax in the outer ear, wipe it away with a cloth. The wax in the ear canal is a good thing! It will destroy any bacteria/viruses and fungus that gets into the ear. As the wax moves through the canal, it takes any dirt that may have gotten in with it.
Pushing a cotton bud in can compact the wax and scratch the skin, making infection far more common.
The following infographic shows a list of the various noises when you are out and about. Any noise over 70-80db over a long period may cause damage to your hearing. A noise of over 120dB may cause immediate harm to your ears.
Swimmer’s ear is an infection of the outer ear, usually in the ear canal. Symptoms are typically pain, drainage, swelling, and hearing loss.
It causes debris to build up in the ear canal, and they will shed the ear canal skin. It causes hearing loss because you’re building up this blockage. So if you don’t clean that out and provide a clear passage for the medication to get into that infected ear, and make it healthy, it can last awhile.
I’ve had patients where it’s lasted for weeks, almost a month, because it hasn’t been treated or cleaned.
Swimmer’s ear occurs because there’s an injury in the ear canal, or people keep their ears too clean! In America, people love to use Q-Tips, and their ears have no wax whatsoever! Wax is there for a reason, because it provides protective coating. It prevents aging, flaking, and infection.
When you keep your ears to clean, you set yourself up for a dermatological condition called ear canal dermatitis. When you get water in that unprotected area, it creates an infection in the ear canal.
The first thing is to cleanse the ear. This can be with suction or with instruments, and then we have to place topical drops to get the ear canal healthy.
If it’s bad enough, sometimes we even have to use oral medications like antibiotics. It can last a long time because the key to that is number one you have to make sure you keep water out of the ears.
It’s a water-related problem! Many people don’t do that, they keep trying to flush the air out or they keep swimming or bathing; you need to keep it dry
Please Note: Just because an ear defender is marked, for example, "Gunshot" - it will still cover other things, like "explosions"
The following are the best earplugs (They go from low price to high price.)
Last update on 2021-02-13 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Using foam earplugs, the best thing to do is to fill a bowl with cleaning solution – hydrogen peroxide is recommended by many audiologists. To clean, just add the ear plugs into the cleaning solution for a few minutes, then wipe them.
Ideally, every time that you want to use the earplugs. After we have used them, there will be ear dirt on them. Cleaning using the above method works well.
This is not the case. It may sound like having tinnitus after using the earplugs, as there will be blockages in the ear from swimming. This is not permanent and will soon disappear.
Last update on 2021-02-13 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
While you are buying the earplugs, why not consider some of the best safety devices for kids of all ages
Last update on 2021-02-13 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
If you require more information, please check these references
Swimmer Ear , article, “www.mayoclinic.org”, retrieved on, Thu 05-September-2019
Swimmer Ear , article, “kidshealth.org”, retrieved on, Thu 05-September-2019
Swim Ear Plugs What You Need To Know , article, “Kids And www.healthyhearing.com”, retrieved on, Thu 05-September-2019
Get Water Out Of Ear , article, “www.webmd.com”, retrieved on, Thu 05-September-2019
Ears , article, “en.wikipedia.org”, retrieved on, Thu 05-September-2019
Author: Nick
Hi, I am Nick, and I have suffered with ear problems my whole life, mainly tinnitus. I have tried a lot of products to help protect my ears over this period, and several devices to block out the constant ringing
“Are you having problems hearing? If so, those around you already know it. Hearing loss is no laughing matter, so don’t be a punchline.”
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