Please, please, please, before you have a surgery, go to a chiropractor and see if your son's neck needs adjusting. My oldest son had numerous ear infections until he was almost 4. He loved to swim and even got a fungal infection of the outer ear. I told my chiro what was going on and he asked me to bring him in for a check. He adjusted his neck and guess what? He has never had an ear infection since and he is now 11! I take all my kids a few times a year now for regular maintenance. My youngest, now 5, has had three sore throats in the last year. I am afraid of him needing to get his tonsils out. This last time, I took him to the chiro first and the next day took him to the MD. The MD said that his sore throat was already clearing up and we should try to get through it without antibiotics.
I guess the deal is that a jacked up alignment in the neck puts pressure on the middle ear which increases the temperature. That in turn makes it easier for bacteria to grow so they get ear infections and sore throats more often. A lot of MDs are afraid to recommend alternative medicines, but thankfully mine is not. If you can avoid surgery and clear up your child's hearing and drainage problems with a few adjustments, isn't it worth a try before you put him through all of that? Especially if he can swim without the plugs. Good luck!