kid's who have tubes

my ENT said that the kids only had to wear earplugs if they were going to a lake and to be 'careful' in the bathtub. however, we just started swim lessons and i felt like my kids had their fingers in their ears the whole time.
i wasn't sure if they should be wearing earplugs...

any thoughts?

 

My ENT is very much one who says unless they are going to be submerged for a longer periods of time underwater (if they are big time swimmers) then no ear plugs unless they are in a lake/river.
Mitch has had 5 sets of tubes and Kenna 4. I have never used plugs for them. We went to a lake for the first time, Mitchell swam in it and had a granuloma grow over it. They said they can't say for sure that it was the lake, but I guess you never know. The chlorine in the pool water makes it okay, just make sure to dry out there ears afterwards with a towel. Honestly the wax is a pain in the butt if you have to use it (my personal opinion!)

 

I was told not to submerge their heads. In the bath I dont put Nathaniel head under water. William gets tubes in Sept. I was told if I am going to put him in swimming lessons to use ear plugs and a rubber bathing cap over their heads.

 

We used docs pro plugs till jess's tubes fell out. They are very easy to use. We were told not to submerge her ears. In cases she did get water in her ear by accident she said it hurt.

 

On a side note swimming pools have more bacteria than you'd imagine.

 

We use them anytime water is involved. Bath or swimming.

 

I use them and I recommend them (as an audiologist) if there is any chance the kiddo will be submerged. Not only could there be bacteria, but it also can be uncomfortable to have the water get in there. I use the doc pro plugs with a swim band to cover his ears so Sam doesn't pull out the plugs (new to tubes so the novelty of the plugs may wear off and hopefull won't bother him any more). I also had custom plugs made (AquaNot plugs by Westone). These are a lot sturdier has the match his ear exactly. But...as an audiologist I get them for free so that helped my decision making. I rarely get perks so I took advantage of this one

 

When my older 2 girls got tubes we were told only use ear plugs in a lake/pond. So since we only swam in pools we never did use plugs and there ears are just fine.

 

We used plugs for the oldest and this is a reminder I need to get them next year for the babies. If your kids are uncomfortable, I say go for them. Mine didn't like water in his ears so we used them. The ENT left it up to us.