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.

“Swimmer’s ear is an infection of the outer ear. Symptoms are typically pain, drainage, swelling, and hearing loss "

Kids Earplugs For Swimming – Are They Important?

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.

The Factors That Affect Ears Problems

Cleanliness Of The Water.

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.

Medical History.

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.

Soap.

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.

Cotton Buds/Q-Tips.

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.

Depth Of Water.

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.

How To Dry A Childs Ears

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.

• Dry the outer ear with a soft cloth. Do not push it into the ear canal.
• Tip the head to each side, pulling on the lower earlobe, to help the water drain
• Using a hairdryer on the low setting from 12 inches from the ear
• You can use drying drops, designed to be put into the ear to aid drying
• If the child gets a lot of infections, you could get an Ear Dryer. An electronic device created specifically for drying the ears

Do not do the following when cleaning ears

• Do not put ANYTHING into the ear canal
• Do not use drops if there is a perforated eardrum, or the child has Ear Tubes (a tube inserted by a doctor with minor surgery)

Cleaning Your Child’s Ears

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.

Swimmers Ear In Kids

Swimmer’s ear is an infection of the outer ear, usually in the ear canal. Symptoms are typically pain, drainage, swelling, and hearing loss.

What Happens?

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.

Why It Occurs

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.

Treatment

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"

Recommended Devices For Kids

While you are buying the earplugs, why not consider some of the best safety devices for kids of all ages