Does anyone use anything to stop water getting into their ears while showering? I'm getting persistent ear infections.

[WhatsTheStoryRory]

Just that really, it's been suggested that keeping my ears dry when showering might help prevent the ear infections I get every few months.
Does anyone recommend any products for this?
I guess ear covers, ear plugs etc.
I don't want to wear a shower cap cos' I do want to wash my hair.
Thanks.

Cotton wool smothered in vaseline. As recommended by surgeon post-op ear surgery.
Ear infections are so painful, hope this helps.

I used to use this for swimming. Doesn't keep them dry, but stops the water hanging around.

https://earol.co.uk/earol-products/earolswim/
Stopped swimmers ear at least.

Silicone ear plugs (made specially for this purpose) were recommend by DD’s ENT after a perforated ear drum - she didn’t like the Vaseline/cotton wool trick

Thanks @CherryValley5
Was there a particular brand that you used and liked?

These are the ones she had, realistically though any silicone ear plug will be the same - these were just the first ones we came across

My Mum uses ear plugs, my dad used to trabrl A lot so she has a good supply of the ordinary give away ones. As they're only used in the shower for a few minutes then dried off & left to sit. They last her ages!

I have a weird thing, if I don't wash my hair at least every other day I get bad ears. I don't think I get a lot of water in them, I think it's probably the head and the running my head near them. I didn't discover this until I was in hospital & not having my hair washed 🤪

Silicone ear plugs are better than cotton wool. I had it after a burst ear drum and they didn't get wet at all. You can also wear them swimming.

Flagging up something, as my friend had ear infections for years, so repeated antibiotics and it was a locum that referred her to a specialist and turns out she has an issue with overproduction of bone growth (if I remember rightly) and it has to be treated very differently and was not an infection but issues caused by this over growth. Have you been referred to a specialist?

Not yet but I will try to get that through my GP as it seems to be getting worse rather than better.
The current infection, I've tried Otomize ear spray, oral antibiotics and I'm now trying antibiotic drops.

Was it an ear, nose and throat specialist your friend saw?

DS was always prone to ear infections on holiday. We used those bio ears or similar. They mould to the ear so have a better seal.

Ds has awful bother with this. He had special earplugs made by the audiologist moulded to fit his ear. Seems to have cut the infections down a bit but he does still get them - both ears are bad at the minute!

DH uses those bio Ears for swimming for exactly the same reason as he often suffers ear infections. So I would give them a go, he uses them a number of times before he swaps them out for a fresh pair.

It has certainly made a difference for him.

My toddler daughter was recommended xylitol nose spray to avoid chronic ear infections. It seems to have worked very well. The xylitol apparently stops bad bacteria growing in the ears. The brand is called Xlear.
You can apparently replicate the same using xylitol chewing gum.

That doesn’t sound normal OP I think they should refer you. I love a bath and lay my head right back and it goes in to my ears and I lay there for a while.

I also wear ear plugs every night and use ear plug head phones very often and in 20+ years I’ve had one ear infection. I do get blocked ears when the wax has been pushed in and I use one of those bulb syringes to clean them myself. I even wore the same foam ones for a few weeks (for years) then realised they were supposed to be used one time only! Boak - Grim I realise… my point is, you’re so careful and yet still get them so that can’t be normal.

Since we started using this over 2.5 years ago we've never had anymore ear infections.

amzn.eu/d/9BBhxkK

I have on affiliations with the product or seller. My daughter uses it after each swim.

Also good to use earol to loosen wax regularly.

I have been told by a few of the people who have had the (dubious) pleasure of looking into my ears that I have quite steep and narrow ear canals and this might be a contributing factor.

I use little shower cap style ear covers you can get on amazon. I get terrible ear infections so have to be very careful.
like this amzn.eu/d/7VeKxoZ

Yes and she'd had about 5 years of infections and a locum refused to repeat a prescription and made the referal, as he said could not be a normal infection and it wasn't. She goes for treatment once a year to help, but has lost hearing due to the issue and the long term damage.

I just use cotton wool (recommended by ENT). My ear that can be reached by my index finger does get wet but I use that opportunity to wipe it dry/clean. The deep inner bit remains dry.

I had repeated ear infections and ENT eventually discovered slight eczema inside despite me not having it elsewhere. Got a mild eczema cream for any flare ups, plus the cotton wool, means I've not had an infection for 15 years.

I stick a Qtip into each ear and lean over sideways to promote drainage after showering, to dry the water out. I never get ear infections.

Ridiculous and potentially harmful ‘advice’.

Cotton wool and great care to direct shower at top of your head and work sides of head separately. Tilt head as necessary.

Not sticking anything in your ears and allowing the wax production to normalise is the best way I have found for preventing recurrent ear infections.

I have tried that approach ... unsuccessfully.

…Everyone is different and has different anatomy/ medical history etc. I’ve suffered from these since childhood when I also had various surgeries.
anyway - ignore the dubious ‘advice’ - I recommend the little caps I posted above for your purposes OP - good luck, it’s so horrible!
also just another thought - my ENT recommended ‘Ear Calm’. You can buy it at chemist. I now use at first sign of any niggle or water ingress and this has also really helped me.