To help preserve my ears, I've pretty much stopped wearing headphones on my walk home. Instead, I discovered the neckband. It's like wearing tiny speakers around your neck. The audio quality is quite poor from the tiny speakers. Especially since I bought the cheapest pair I could find at $25. But now I can listen to podcasts on my walk home.
I also had tubes!! Same experience as you, especially the part about being in water. I had to wear an earplug (and sometimes a headband) when I took a shower or went swimming. Any water getting into my ear would cause a painful infection. The worst.
I had the tubes removed but my left ear didn't heal, so I had a hole in my eardrum. One surgery when I was 13 didn't fix it; another one at 14 did. But I've still never learned to swim. And it still feels weird getting water in my ear.
To help preserve my ears, I've pretty much stopped wearing headphones on my walk home. Instead, I discovered the neckband. It's like wearing tiny speakers around your neck. The audio quality is quite poor from the tiny speakers. Especially since I bought the cheapest pair I could find at $25. But now I can listen to podcasts on my walk home.
I also had tubes!! Same experience as you, especially the part about being in water. I had to wear an earplug (and sometimes a headband) when I took a shower or went swimming. Any water getting into my ear would cause a painful infection. The worst.
I had the tubes removed but my left ear didn't heal, so I had a hole in my eardrum. One surgery when I was 13 didn't fix it; another one at 14 did. But I've still never learned to swim. And it still feels weird getting water in my ear.
That was an ear full.