earplugs: for 60 years i’ve avoided them. the self-molding silicon plugs, however, seem to work pretty well (macks, for example). do you use earplugs? why? which ones? which work? which don’t?
noseplugs: i don’t use. the ONLY time i think i wish i had noseplugs is when i’m kicking, because my method of doing a kick set is to kick on my back, hands in front (as if i’m pushing off the wall). when i do push off the wall after every length i dolphin off the wall, upside down (because that’s where i’m going to end up after i surface) and if i don’t exhale the entire time water runs up my nose. this limits how long i can dolphin underwater because i can only blow out for so long (about 8 kicks max). that’s it. that’s the only time i ever wish i had noseplugs.
do you swim with noseplugs? why? which work? upsides? downsides?
I use earplugs… I was getting dizzy and sick every time I got out of the water, someone suggested using earplugs. Magically I never got dizzy or sick again… Now it’s to the point where if I lost or forgot my earplugs, I’d be hesitant to even get into the water.
I will put the Mack earplugs in for really cold water, it helps with the dizziness. I also started using a nose clip when training in open water. I was suffering terribly with allergies after open water swims but Missy Franklin legitimized the nose clip in my mind. It has been amazingly effective for me. I still dislike the way you have to breath exclusively through your mouth so I don’t use it when racing. I use the TYR nose clip.
Nope and Nope, though some people I know like the noseclip when using a snorkel. On my back I just us my upper lip to stem the flow of water up my nose. I do know some world class backstrokers who swear by a noseclip though.
I’ve been researching ear plugs since my son has chronic ear infections. At least one per swim season. I think I had one ear infection as a kid since I remember having to mess with wax plugs once. We tried that with my son and it was a colossal failure. He’s 8 and we tried starting at 6. We just got https://www.proplugs.com/medical.shtml based on ENT recommendation. Once he’s over current infection he’ll try those.
When we picked up his team suit at a brick and mortar swim store (who knew they still existed) I had grabbed a pair similar to the proplugs. The girl working there told me not to get any of what they had in stock. To wait for the Arena ones to arrive since in their opinion they are the best.
earplugs: I use them every swim, otherwise I get a bit dizzy. I used speedo biofuse earplugs (the ones shaped like a christmas tree) for a while, but they kept falling out. Now I use zoggs silicone ear plugs, which work well for me.
noseplugs: I use them while swimming in the pool. The pool I swim in seems to use some chemicals that don’t agree with me. If I don’t use noseplugs, I start sneezing and get a runny nose for a couple of days. I use the speedo competition nose clip, which I usually wrap in kineziotape for extra grip.
thanks guys! for answering! but can you add what KIND of plugs you use when you answer? and how they work? do they fall out? any minuses? any plugs you tried and didn’t work before you found the plugs you like?
they all seem to fall out IME but a cap or swim band helps combat that. Never tried the swim band but I noticed them at the store and ENT also recommended.
Use earplugs - ever since I was a kid I had difficulty removing water from my ears post-swim.
-Cheap rubber ones for the pool
-Macks moldeable ear plugs for racing. My concern is that regular ear plugs have a piece that sticks out, I don’t want anyone jamming it up my ear during ows. A little more comfort in cold water is also a benefit.
thanks guys! for answering! but can you add what KIND of plugs you use when you answer? and how they work? do they fall out? any minuses? any plugs you tried and didn’t work before you found the plugs you like?
Wax kind. Not sure of the brand. Work great at keeping the salt water out of my ears (salt water causes my string gag reflex to kick in). Only issues is a fear that the wax will get stuck in my ear but that has never happened.
I’ve tried the plug kind (the ones that look like mini Christmas trees). Those never stay in my ears.
thanks guys! for answering! but can you add what KIND of plugs you use when you answer? and how they work? do they fall out? any minuses? any plugs you tried and didn’t work before you found the plugs you like?
I have used this Speedo set for the past 5 years. The nose plug is a little slick, so I score the inside and wipe the grease off of my nose before I put it on. I also wear it upside down, so it is actually under my nose. The ear plugs work well for me, as long as I am not wearing a cap. The cap distorts the shape of my ear canal and I do not get a seal. I started to wear plugs when the sloshing of water in and out of my ear became distractingly painful. I know it’s not macho to wear them, but I see them like goggles as they are all in the yes I can swim w/o them but why the hell would I category. If I am swimming with a cap, I use the silicone mold plugs. They work great but get a little grimy after a few uses.
Could never be confused with a fish, but after I got a swimmer’s ear type of ear infection several years ago, I forced myself to buy some earplugs. I have the flanged type (speedo, but they don’t make those anymore). They work great and keep the water out. They have never fallen out. They’re an on-again/off-again thing, though: anytime I get water trapped in my ear for a few hours after a swim, they go in for a few swims because I am paranoid of that infection recurring (it sucked). I always eventually end up leaving them out because I hate the way they change sounds under water.
