Dry Your Ears After Swimming With the ClearEars Ear Plugs

About.com Rating 3.5 Star Rating

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From Mat Luebbers, former About.com Guide

ClearEars Water Absorbing Ear Plugs

Cirrus Healthcare Products, L.L.C.

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The Bottom Line

The ClearEars water absorbing ear plugs work. Period. You use them after a swim to get the water out of the ear canal. You put the ear plugs in, wait 5 to 10 minutes, take them out, and your ears are dry.

Manufacturer's Site

Pros

Easy to put in the ear
Easier and cleaner than using ear drying drops
No liquid to leak in your swim bag
They work!

Cons

Limited number of uses per earplug
Cost per use is probably higher than with ear drying drops
More stars if there was a way to drop the cost per use even lower

Description

Foam-like earplug designed to be used after swimming to dry the ear canal
After swimming, put one in each ear, wait about 5-minutes, take them out, and your ears are dry
Made of FDA approved materials
Earth-friendly; After use, can be cut up and added to flower beds to help the soil retain moisture
Available in sets of 5 or 10 in a convenient plastic carrying case
Drying the ears after swimming is one way to greatly decrease the odds of getting swimmer's ear

Guide Review - Dry Your Ears After Swimming With the ClearEars Ear Plugs

Many swimmers have problems drying their ears after a swim, sometimes leading to swimmer's ear. I've seen swimmers try a lot of different ways to get the eater out of their ears; methods like pulling on their ears and earlobes, jumping up and down, hitting the side of their heads, sticking parts of their towels into their ears, and using ear drops. The success level of these various methods is not always the best.

Besides the annoyance of having water stuck swimmers' ears after a swim, that residual moisture can also lead to case of swimmer's ear. Drying your ears after a swim is one of the best ways to decrease the chances of getting swimmer's ear.

The ClearEars ear drying ear plugs do one thing, and they do it very well. They are not like other ear plugs, you don't use them while you are swimming, you use them afterward. They are like little sponges or chamois for your ears, absorbing the water left in your ear canal after a swim.

I tried them and had a 10-year-old swimmer test them. Both of us were a bit surprised when they worked as well as the did. You roll them between your fingers to reduce the size, insert them part-way into the ear canal, wait a few minutes, remove, and the ear is dry.

ClearEars are designed to be used once and then discarded or cut-up and put into a flower bed (its properties help the soil stay moist, and that helps the plants). However, the 10-year-old tester and her mom used each plug two to four times with continued success. Each ear plug holds a limited amount of moisture, and it does not readily release it. You can't put them in, take them out and squeeze out the water - that's not how they work - once the water is in them, it stays there. Evidently the plugs did not become saturated until they had been used multiple times (NOTE - this is not how they are to be used based on the instructions from the manufacturer).