Any physical activity has increased risks when performed regularly and swimming is no exception. In contact sports, more and more studies are showing the negative effects of hard hits to the head. These risks are an unavoidable part of those sports.
Thankfully swimming is a low-impact pursuit and chance of injury is much lower than most on-land activities, even with tough regular drills. Amphibious as we may well be though, human beings can incur some damage from regular exposure to water.
If you’re getting any symptoms of damage to your ears, or you’re simply curious about protecting yourself from long-term exposure, earplugs for swimming could be just what the doctor ordered.
What Is Swimmer’s Ear?
Have you or a friend ever suffered from ear infections such as swimmer’s ear (or otitis externa)? Chances are if you spend enough time at the pool or open-water swimming, you’ve heard about it.
Swimmer’s ear occurs when your natural defenses have been overwhelmed by too much exposure to water. Natural earwax has been washed away and then too much moisture in the ear canal creates the perfect environment for bacteria to grow.
The outer ear canal then becomes infected. This is the area between the eardrum and the outside of the ear. At…
