How long does a child have to wait before going for a swim after ear tube surgery?

Protect: As long as the tubes are in you must protect the ears. You may want to have ear plugs made for your child.

Depends: The tubes open a pathway into the middle ear that is normally closed.That would allow water where a kid swims to enter the important space containing the delicate ear bones.Avoiding intrusion of germs into that space is important, so swimming is not a great idea while tubes are in place.Some ENT's are not concerned about regular chlorinated pools, but lakes or ponds are a no no.