Swimming and ear tubes

mek10976

What did your ENT tell you about your LO swimming with ear tubes?  Ours said we need to put ear plugs in, but they are a royal PIA to get to stay in.  He also said to get an ear bandit.  But now I've just read several articles that say there is no scientific evidence that the ears need to be covered during water activities, unless being submerged or in non-chlorinated water.

SoonToBeMrsDTS

Our dr. said he only needed to wear the ear plugs if he'd be submerging his head. I try to be careful in the tub, we'll see how the pool goes this summer!

lhartman

Our ENT said she never need plugs after the tubes. She had them in when she was a little over 1 y.o. and she is now 4 and never had issues swimming or taking a bath.

She only had to keep them plugged for about 2-4 weeks after the surgery. 

- LH 

emack

lhartman:

Our ENT said she never need plugs after the tubes. She had them in when she was a little over 1 y.o. and she is now 4 and never had issues swimming or taking a bath.

She only had to keep them plugged for about 2-4 weeks after the surgery. 

- LH 

Our ENT also told us that plugs aren't needed - that she can get wet like any other kid and we only had to keep her dry 3 days after the surgery. She also is doing fine - the tubes look great.

Artslvr

Same here, they said we may use them if we go in the ocean, lake or river, but the likelihood of doing anything other than swimming pool and bathtub with our baby is pretty slim for us.

frogdogny

I guess I will be the sole dissenter here. LOL. We use ear plugs during bathtime for DD2 since she got her tubes in last summer. And we do use the ear bandit when at the pool, during splashdays at daycare, and at the Lake. I have also read the online articles that they are not necessary, but yet, continue to use them. Firstly, our doc recommended we use them. Second, her infections were SO bad pre-tubes, that we figured we didn't want to take any chances and better safe then sorry, you know? Third, she loves to put her head in the water (meets the definition of "submerge" in my book). Lastly, she's used to them. Occassionally, DH or I forget to put them in before bath time and she always reminds us. Or she'll let us know if one falls out mid-bath. She's only 2, but she knows they are just part of the routine. So, we continue to use them whether we really need to or not.