Protect Your Ears In Water

We all tend to take our ears for granted—just like our bodies in general—but they do need looking after. After all, we only have one set!

Swimming, in particular, can pose a risk to our ears—especially if done frequently in cold water or in conditions with strong waves or water pressure that can force water deep into the ear canals.

The image on this poster shows a case of barotrauma, which happened to my son during a family holiday. While we were all playing in the pool, someone nearby performed a swimming stroke just as my son’s ears reached the water. The sudden splash forced water directly into his ear canal, causing the barotrauma.

If you’ve read anything about my children, you’ll know that both of them wear hearing aids. Because of this injury, Michael wasn’t able to wear his hearing aid for a while.

When we got home, we were fortunate to see ENT consultant Ian Bottrill, who had to carry out minor surgery to remove blood-filled trauma sites from the ear canal. It was about two weeks before Michael could wear his hearing aid again. Thankfully, there was no permanent damage—but it so easily could have been a different outcome.

If you regularly spend time in cold water or take part in sports like windsurfing or water skiing, your ears may develop small bony growths called exostosis (often known as surfer’s ear). The best way to prevent it is by using custom swim plugs or water-safe ear protection.

It’s easy to think “That won’t happen to me”, just like we do with many health issues. But when it comes to your hearing, prevention really is far easier than cure.