Questions? We've got answers.

This is the right question to ask before you buy. Cheap putty and foam plugs create a loose barrier that shifts in warm water and degrades under the pressure of a flip turn — they reduce water entry, they don’t stop it. Watersafe+ uses a sized medical-grade silicone seal that conforms to your canal geometry. The seal holds under water pressure, directional force, and temperature change. Multiple competitive swimmers have tested them through full training sessions and race events with zero water ingress. If your current plugs are letting water through, it is a fit and seal issue, not an earplug category issue.

Complete barrier protection against water entry when correctly fitted — and the fit is the critical variable. Watersafe+ is designed around the AR KI TECH sizing system because canal diameter varies by up to 40% between individuals. A generic one-size plug creates gaps even when it appears to be seated. A correctly sized Watersafe+ seal eliminates the gap entirely. The NHS and ENT guidance is consistent: swimmer’s ear is almost entirely preventable with appropriate barrier protection. Watersafe+ does not make swimming safer in theory. It makes it safer in practice, session after session.

Yes — and this is central to how Watersafe+ is designed. It is not a noise-reduction earplug. The silicone seal prevents water ingress, not sound transmission in air. You hear coaching instruction, starting signals, and lane communication at normal volume. There is a mild reduction in very high frequencies in loud poolside environments, but training instruction and race management communication are clear throughout. Competitive swimmers in squads wear them through full sessions without missing a word of poolside feedback.

Less strange than the blocked ear you spend the rest of the week dealing with. Watersafe+’s medical-grade silicone sits flush at the canal entry — significantly less visible than most swimmers assume, and the swimming community has largely normalised hearing protection at club level. Coaches, masters swimmers, and parents of club juniors have driven the shift. The swimmers who didn’t start early, and wish they had, are documented in every ENT waiting room. The stigma is fading. The canal damage is not.

It is not too late to stop the cycle. Recurring otitis externa affects millions of swimmers and the most consistent ENT advice is: the moment you have a pattern of swimmer’s ear, barrier protection becomes urgent, not optional. The canal skin already damaged by past infections is more susceptible to the next one — each recurrence leaves the ear slightly more vulnerable. Watersafe+ breaks the cycle by removing the cause rather than treating the symptom. Many swimmers with chronic swimmer’s ear report that after switching to properly fitted silicone earplugs, the recurrence stops entirely.

Two fundamental differences. First, seal integrity: pool putty deforms to fill the outer ear bowl, not the canal. It creates a loose barrier that softens in body-temperature water and shifts on a flip turn. Watersafe+ is precision-sized silicone that seals the canal entry directly — a consistent, repeatable seal that doesn’t degrade mid-session. Second, fit: putty requires you to press material into your canal, which creates pressure and often leaves residue. Watersafe+ sits flush without insertion pressure. The putty at the pool reception costs less. It works like it costs less.

Faster than most swimmers expect. Otitis externa develops when bacteria — most commonly Pseudomonas aeruginosa — multiply in water trapped in the ear canal after swimming. The canal’s warm, moist environment post-swim is ideal for bacterial growth. The temporary blocked feeling you experience after a session is your ear canal signalling that water is trapped. When the feeling fades, the bacterial load has not fully cleared — each session without protection leaves a residual risk that compounds over a season. Regular swimmers without barrier protection typically develop their first infection within weeks of starting a high-frequency training schedule.

Yes — comfort across extended wear is a core design requirement. The flush, low-profile silicone sits without the pressure buildup that makes putty or expanding foam painful within an hour. The majority of Watersafe+ users are competitive swimmers and triathletes who wear them through full training sessions of 90 minutes or more. Open-water swimmers wear them through multi-hour events in cold water without discomfort. Our return rate sits at around 3%, which tells you the fit holds up across extended and repeated use.

Yes. Rinse with clean water immediately after use to remove chlorine, salt, or bacteria. Allow to air dry fully before storing — never store damp in a closed case. Once a week, wash with mild soap and warm water. Medical-grade silicone doesn’t absorb chlorine, doesn’t degrade in salt water, and doesn’t lose its shape from repeated washing. Do not use alcohol-based cleaners as they degrade silicone over time. One pair lasts up to 12 months of regular use — they will outlast the season and the one after it.

Each Watersafe+ set includes your earplugs in medical-grade silicone, a compact carry case, and a Fit Guide. Add AR KI TECH at checkout for precision ear sizing — snap two photos of your ears and we match your exact canal size before dispatch. Free UK delivery. Returns and exchanges are free if the fit isn’t right — though with AR KI TECH sizing our return rate sits at around 3%, so it rarely comes to that. Order before your next session.