Any ideas on how to prevent earaches after snorkelling adventures?

[PinkPuffle]

We've just booked another holiday in the sun where the kids will be able to do lots of swimming and snorkelling, which they love. The trouble is that they usually end up suffering from bad earaches by the end of the holiday. Does anyone have any tips on how to protect their ears - other than stay out of the water We've found that the bands and ear plugs aren't very practical or effective...

Are the earaches due to swimmer's ear (ie a bacterial infection caused by waterborne bugs)? If so it can be easily treated with ear drops that the chemist can sell you. If they're caused by lots of diving down quite deep, you should try to teach your DCs to equalise their ears under water.

To prevent surfers' ear we use balls of blue tac that can be moulded to exactly your ear size. Other ear plugs are rubbish

(surfers's ear is repeated exposure of the ear canal to cold water, resulting in bony growths that cause deafness. can be surgically removed but there is a huge risk of facial nerve damage)

My DS2 aged 11 has the same problem which has ruined our holidays in the past. He's ended up with a lot of pain and earache and not being able to go in the water.

So I did some research...
In June we went on holiday armed with all sorts of stuff I bought at the chemist and from websites.
The best thing were "Putty Buddies" which are somewhat like bluetac but are proper earplugs designed to prevent swimmers ear. You can get all colours including clear, and they mould into the outer ear. I got them from a website called Newitts.If your kids are small they can also wear a headband to help keep out the water. My DS refused the headband but wore the earplugs every time he went in the water. I also got some "clear ears" from Boots. These are also earplugs but are designed to dry the ear after swimming.
For the first time in years we had no ear problems on holiday.

We are off to Portugal soon and I'm taking the above plus a spray called "swim-ear" that was recommended by the NHS Direct website and the pharmacist. It is supposed to dry out the ear after swimming.