[carolynpep73]

Boy...feels like I've asked a lot of questions this week! Everyone is always so helpful I just love asking your advice!

Olivia had ear tubes put in back in October. Her ENT said NO water in the ears (and a very intellegent co-worker of mine told me that if she got water in her ears she would get "water on the brain" I'm sure you can imagine what I did with that advice)

I've read online that recent research shows there is no harm in allowing children to get water in their ears or even submerge their head with ear tubes. I know I should always listen to her DR but with summer right around the corner (we're FL so it's already hot) I was wondering if anyone had any experience with this.

Thanks!

[hesabanana]

As a child I had tubes myself four times and wore ear plugs whenever I was near water. It was so inconvenient, and I had to give up competitive swimming.
DS#1 has had tubes three times and DS#2 has had one set. Their ENT said there is no reason to avoid water, except for the first week following insertion. We have not had any problems.

[angieandstever]

We used plugs at first to be extra safe after Gabbie's tubes but they were a pain in the bottom. Our ENT actually said as long as the water is clean then it is okay. Basically if it is lake water, then we will use the plugs but other than that we go plug free.

[spidermanteache]

We were told the same thing...if it is chlorinated water...it is ok. If it lake or ocean water wear plugs because of the bacteria in the water. Luckily, we do 99.9% of our swimming in pools and we never had a problem.

[DianeScraps]

When I was a kid with tubes (4 sets) the ear plugs were required. One tip I can offer is that Silly Putty works AWESOME as ear plugs - much much better then that silly wax stuff. And I was able to continue competitve swiming with it.

[robinsnest005]

We had special plugs made at the office (my son even got to pick the color and they were a custom fit! It was included with our surgery) He wore them all summer and we had no problems.
I have heard the same thing about H20. Tubes are made so that liquid can get out, so clean water should not be a problem- but small particles like dirt and sand can block the tube so you do need to be careful or you will end up clogging the tube and getting infections all over again. We wore them to be on the safe side!

[annaguat]

My cousins kids wore tubes many years ago and they were on the swim team. I think they had a little cap they put on that were made for it. I would definitely discus this with your child's MD. Anna

[annaguat]

Originally Posted by DianeScraps

When I was a kid with tubes (4 sets) the ear plugs were required. One tip I can offer is that Silly Putty works AWESOME as ear plugs - much much better then that silly wax stuff. And I was able to continue competitve swiming with it.

Please be carefull with using silly putty as my kids had a misserable time getting it out of their ears when they used it in a warm heated indoor pool. The silly putty became sticky and did not come out in one glob like wax( type put in for swimming) does. It worked great in the ocean though. Anna

[gibbs7263]

The last research that I saw since my nephew just had tubes placed was that clean pool water and bath water were OK. I had to mention this to my SIL because they love camping and boating and lake water is a no no. I am figuring when they say pool water they mean not continual submersion and try not to get too much in the ears. Water on the brain is funny They only thing that could happen is possibly an ear infection and ear drum rupture but not water on the brain!

[TeeTee]

My DD got tubes in Jan. Our ENT said that as long as she wasn't under 2-3 ft of water it was fine. He said the pressure is actually what makes the tubes fall out from water. Needless to say she won't be under water that far as she is just a yr old....hope this helps!!

[keithandkristy]

Both of our twin daughters had tubes put in last February. Our ENT told us the same thing as the previous poster said about the pressure...as long as it's shallow, clean water they'll be fine. It's the pressure you have to worry about. Our girls had HORRIBLE ear infections (for months) and they've done great ever since tubes! And, we have NOT used plugs! It was too hard...our daughters are TINY and (especially in the beginning) nothing would stay in their ears! Anyway, we haven't tried putting plugs or anything in their ears in months and they've been fine. Since tubes, we've been swimming and to the ocean a few times and the girls have been fine. Hope this helps...

[ZTALDY]

Popping in from the Russia board. I have just had T-tubes placed in my ears a few weeks ago, this is the 11th round of tubes that I have had placed in my ears. The only thing about swimming with tubes is that it might feel weird if you swim under water or get slashed directly into the ear it could hurt a bit, depeding on how hard you are splashed. I will be using plugs when I swim this summer. FYI, the tubes that I have in should last about a year then I will have to go under again and have them replaced.

[carolynpep73]

Thank you so much everyone! The input was very helpful! We're going to do some shallow swimming this summer so we'll try it without the plugs. It's too hard to keep anything in her ears. It always pops out! Thanks again!

[spidermanteache]

Just wanted to add that we had custom ear plugs made at the ENT office. They were a bit pricey, but were made to fit my son's ear and they worked great. Never fell out!