Is seawater bad for my ears?

Generally speaking, swimming or surfing in the ocean isn’t bad for your ears. Many people can spend plenty of time in the sea without experiencing any problems. All you need to do is gently dry the outside of your ears with a towel and let any trapped water drain naturally.

If water stays trapped in your ear canal after swimming or surfing, it can increase your risk of irritation and infection, particularly if you swim frequently or have a history of grommets, eardrum perforations, “swimmer’s ear” or other problems of the ear canal/middle ear.

If you regularly experience blocked ears or recurrent ear infections after swimming, it’s worth seeing an audiologist who can check your ears and may recommend custom swim plugs to help reduce the amount of water entering your ear canal.

Check out our Swimming & Surfing Ear Care articles for more advice on protecting your ear and hearing health all year round.