Anyone out there know if any great earplugs that prevent swimmers ear? I have tried some for about 1 month and got double ear infections. I have been out of swimming for 2 weeks and really want to get back in the pool any ideas?
I use the Speedo silicon plugs.
I had buttons in my ears as a little kid, and busted my right ear drum about 10 years ago, so I have to keep water out or I get bad problems.
The silicon plugs work well if you use them right.
First, roll them in your palm to soften and warm them up before putting them in your ears.
Second, if you can change your ear pressure, increase the pressure before putting them in, then reduce the pressure. This seems to help. But I admit, it may be entirely bogus. :blush:
The most important part is what you do after you put them in your ears. In my experience -- and I've tinkered with them a lot -- you need to make sure you spread out the plug so it covers the area around the ear canal, all the way to the rim on the back, lower, and front sides.
But the top part -- the leading edge when you're swimming -- is most important.
In that area, don't spread it too thin! If you try to cover too much area there, you end up creating a flap, and when you come off the wall, pressure from the water will lift up the flap and you'll get a rush of water into your ear canal.
Instead, on the top/leading side, make a blunt edge that ends at the bony ridge that runs horizontally across your ear. What you want is for the water to run up that bony ridge, hit the silicon, and continue to flow over the ear plug.
If you shape the ear plug so that water hits that ridge, moves outward, then planes across the surface of the plug (parallel with the sides of your body) and hits your ear lobe and flows around your ear, then your plugs should stay intact for an entire practice or race.
I use the Speedo silicon plugs.
I had buttons in my ears as a little kid, and busted my right ear drum about 10 years ago, so I have to keep water out or I get bad problems.
The silicon plugs work well if you use them right.
First, roll them in your palm to soften and warm them up before putting them in your ears.
Second, if you can change your ear pressure, increase the pressure before putting them in, then reduce the pressure. This seems to help. But I admit, it may be entirely bogus. :blush:
The most important part is what you do after you put them in your ears. In my experience -- and I've tinkered with them a lot -- you need to make sure you spread out the plug so it covers the area around the ear canal, all the way to the rim on the back, lower, and front sides.
But the top part -- the leading edge when you're swimming -- is most important.
In that area, don't spread it too thin! If you try to cover too much area there, you end up creating a flap, and when you come off the wall, pressure from the water will lift up the flap and you'll get a rush of water into your ear canal.
Instead, on the top/leading side, make a blunt edge that ends at the bony ridge that runs horizontally across your ear. What you want is for the water to run up that bony ridge, hit the silicon, and continue to flow over the ear plug.
If you shape the ear plug so that water hits that ridge, moves outward, then planes across the surface of the plug (parallel with the sides of your body) and hits your ear lobe and flows around your ear, then your plugs should stay intact for an entire practice or race.
