Tubea in the ears
 

My 12 month old got tubes a few weeks ago. The doctor said to put cotton balls in his ears to prevent water entering during baths. The cotton comes out so easily. Does anyone have any tips. I've added Vaseline and it still doesn't stay in well.

Re: Tubea in the ears
 

We had special ear plugs made that worked great. Many ents around here say u only need something if u r swimming in a lake or somewhere equally gross

Re: Tubea in the ears
 

My bonus son has had tubes. We tried several ear plugs, he has the tiniest little ear openings:chuckle: We tried wax and foam but prefer the ones with the little stem that looks like it has 3 little suction cup thingys on the end. They stay in much better, are easier to clean, and come with a little storage case. We bought them at Walgreens.

Re: Tubea in the ears
 

Hmm. Ds has had 2 sets of tubes and the ENT said no need for earplugs, even when swimming. Maybe just try to keep the water out of his ears if that's possible and don't worry about the plugs.

We've done the silicone moldable type for bathing and had special ones made custom for swimming.
We were told to always wear them, no water in the ears

We have had 5 of ours have tubes and this is what we were told also by 2 different ENT'S in 2 different states, AL and NC. Never plugged them and never had any problems.

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We were so told research shows no benefit to plugging ears. 2 different hospitals, 2 different children - 4 sets of tubes and new doctors each time... BUT we have decided to start plugging out oldest as he says he can feel the water and it hurts. Our youngest has less issues and we do not plug his.

Re: Tubea in the ears
 

Like the other posters, our ENT said that it is not necessay to put anything in the ears as long as the water is clean (swimming in a lake would be different because of all the nasties in the lake). I try to shield his ears from the water but don't worry about it. He got tubes at 10 months and is now 20 months.

Thanks so much mamas! Makes me feel better!

Re: Tubea in the ears
 

Our ENT also said not to worry about water (bath, pool, etc.) that is clean. Just to plug the ears for lake/ocean swimming. We've not had a problem :) So I wouldn't worry about it!