Custom swimming earplugs

Here the water is five minutes away, eight months a year

In Puerto de Mazarrón a lot of people swim from May to October, and some all year round. If your ear canal is narrow, sharply bent, or simply prone to it, salt water stays in and the ear is blocked for two days.

A custom swimming plug does one specific thing: it keeps the canal dry while you swim. It is not a treatment and it does not replace anything your doctor has told you. If the ear is sore or painful, what you need is a doctor looking at it, not a plug.

Why custom rather than putty from the chemist

The soft silicone ball squashes over the entrance of the ear. It seals indifferently, lifts when you move your jaw and is gone with the first dive. Because it never goes into the canal, one wave is enough for the water to find its way past.

The custom piece is made on the exact shape of your canal and stays where you put it. It is made in a soft material that stands up to chlorine and salt, it can be made to float, and it can be ordered in a colour you will actually spot on the sand.

Children

This is the commonest use. If a child has grommets, or if the paediatrician or the ENT consultant has said to keep water out of the ear, a custom plug is what lets them carry on going to the pool instead of sitting at the side.

With children there are two honest warnings. The first is that ears grow: a plug that seals perfectly today can be too short in a year or two, and then it has to be remade. The second is that they get lost, so take the loudest colour on the chart and a cord to join the pair.

How it is made and how to look after it

We look into the canal with the camera, place a small cotton dam, inject the silicone and wait a few minutes for it to cure. It does not hurt; you feel pressure. From there it goes to the workshop, and we tell you on the day when to come and collect it and try it.

• Rinse them in fresh water when you come out of the sea: dried salt shortens their life
• Keep them dry in their case rather than loose in a sandy beach bag
• Do not leave them in the sun inside the car: heat distorts the material
• If water starts getting in, or one works loose, bring it back: that means it needs remaking

If you wear hearing aids, this is a separate piece

Hearing aids do not go in the water, not even the ones sold as sweat-resistant. The swimming plug is a different item, made from the same impression of your ear but with no electronics and fully sealed. Ask us when you come in for a check-up and we deal with it in the same visit.