Ear Tubes??

[Tenny]

We took DS to the ENT today because of ear infections.

This is his background:

Middle of Oct 05: Left ear infected
Begining of Nov 05: Right ear infected
Middle of Nov 05: Both ears infected
End of Nov 05: Ears clear, no fluid
Middle of Jan 06: Both ears infected
End of Jan 06: Ears clear, no fluid
Begining of Feb 06: Both ears infected
5 days later: still infected, new meds
7 days later: still infected, new meds
Today: Not infected, but still have fluids

The ENT recommend ear tubes or we could try nasal spray for a month. From what I read it can take weeks for fluid to drain from the ears after an ear infection and ear infections slow down in the warmer months. So I'm really on the fence with tubes.

I guess my question is has anyone decided NOT to get the tubes when recommended? And if so what was the outcome? Did you child grow out of the ear infections? Was there any delay in speech? Did you decided later to get the tubes?

I did do a search and found a bunch of stories of people getting tubes and how great they were. But I can't find much about decided not to get them.

Just trying to gather all the information possible before deciding!!

THANKS!

Edit that his ears did clear up and he had no fluid on his ears after some of the infections.

[red_canuck]

I hesitate to reply since I'm not a parent yet, but I personally had tubes in my ears as a child because of continuous ear infections like your little one. It got to the point where it did delay my speech, so my parents opted for the tubes. My mom tells how at one point I'd had ear infections in an ear (or both) for 3 months Continously. Not to mention burst ear drums and such. No fun! After the tubes, I only had a few minor infections. With tubes and speech therapy, I caught up with my speech before nursery school. I still get chronic ear infections now, which are a pain, but much easier to deal with that as a child ;)

This was all back in the very very early 80's though...

[boyzmom]

My DS had chronic ear infections and after the tubes no ear infections. I wish we could have done it earlier. I am convinced that the ear infection was delaying his walking.

He did great after the surgery and was up and running around. I am so glad we did the tubes.

[Mrs.Chappy]

i am a pediatric audiologist.. i would recommend the tu bes. With all the infection and fluid in there your child may be missing out on important hearing information necessary for the development of speech and language. The DR. will drain the fluid then insert the tubes. The job of the tubes it to keep the middle ears clear. This is a critical time for speech development and given the history, it say go for it. If you are linked with a good peds ENT, then it is a fairly routine procedure. and very common (especially this time of year!).
I hope i didn't scare you too much. good luck

[Tenny]

red_canuck Thanks! It is good to hear the patient's side of things. I never had ear infection or had tubes so I have no idea what my little boy is going through!

boyzmom Thanks! How old was your son when he got them done?

Mrs.Chappy Thank you so much for your expert opinion. I am so on the fence about this. They said with the fluid on his ear he hears like he is under water, but at the same time in the past week he has started to repeat what we say. Like in the car I was telling him there was a truck and he said kruck! The Dr. also said I could try Nasonex for a month and see if that helps. Is this a common pratice? I read online that there is no data on it for kids under 2 and my ped hasn't called back about it yet so I haven't given it to him.

Also there is a little girl in his daycare class that had tubes yesterday and she was in school today all happy and seems 100% fine. So that makes me feel alot better!

[Mrs.Chappy]

yes, the baby is hearing as if he is under water. And although he is repeating words you also have to consider that when there is fluid in the ear, the auditory signal is inconsistent (based on the fact that with fluid we suspect some sort of hearing loss - not permanent of course). There is published evidence that children with history of ear infections and chronic fluid are labelled with speech/language delay. So, you are the parent and its ultimately your (and the doctor's) decision. I would be aggressive about it at this point. Forget the pediatrican and speak directly with the Pediatric ENT. Good luck.

[Tenny]

Mrs.Chappy Thank you again! So the ENT we went to works patients of all ages, you think we should go see on that specializes in pediatrics?

[mkvh]

I too suffered from chronic ear infections as a child but did not have tubes. My speech and language were not delayed, but I did test below average on the kindergarten screening for hearing, so there was some adverse effect.

Fast forward to last spring...I spent several months on steriods trying to cure my eustachian tube disfunction without a tube. It was TERRIBLE. The feeling of fluid trapped in your middle ear is a strange sensation, and it affects your hearing and speech and also causes you to "hear" things that aren't there (ringing, etc.). I ended up having to have a tube put in my ear at 28 years of age! All because of the same condition I suffered from during childhood.

Getting the tube was painless compared to the weeks of discomfort prior. HTH!

[jay&erinn]

I'm also an audiologist and work in an ENT office. We see a lot of kids because the closest pediatric ENT is 45 minutes away. I would trust the doc I work for to put tubes in my DD's ears if she needed them. It's a really routine procedure in the world of ENT, but scary when it's your kid.
The only thing I would look into is if they test hearing at your DS's age. I'm not sure what other practices do, but I've worked in 2 doc's offices (one was a major practice that specialized in only ears) and we tested hearing before and after tubes in all kids and adults.

All in all, make sure you trust your doc. Did the ENT recommendation come from DS's doc? If DS's doc trusts this ENT, has referred other patient's to him and has seen good outcomes, I'd probably follow through with the tube recommendation.

[Lisa]

my DS had a history like your son or worse, I lost count on all the ear infections:rolleyes: he has a speech delay. I truly this is partily b/c of his ear infections. after fighting myself on tubes we finally did it the end of january after a month of fluid STILL in his ears. Man what a difference! he is talking better and can actually hear you call him. I agree with the others, tubes. i was even told b/c his ear infections were so bad and frequent he could lose hearing and that was the last thing I wanted. Good luck HTH

[SeaPoet]

Hi Tenny,

It's so hard to see your little one suffer with ear infections. I also had terrible infections as a child, and the tubes really did seem to help. I remember however, not being able to go swimming or get my head wet in order to protect my ears. That was a hassle, but well worth it to feel better.

However, as an adult I discovered the main source of my ear infections/congestion was food allergies. If you haven't done this already, it could be worth it to find a pediatric allergist who might be able to discover the source of the ear infections. Mine were to milk and wheat. Cutting these foods out of my diet gave me instant relief from ear congestion/pain and subsequent ear infections.

Just a suggestion - finding out about my allergies really changed the quality of my life. If this doesn't work, the tubes and treatment might be the way to go.

Good luck and I hope your little one feels better soon. :)

[boyzmom]

DS was 14 months when got his tubes.

One thing that was mentioned was food allergies. After he got the tubes someone that I work with suggested trying soy milk he said that daughter's nose stopped running when they switched to soy. I gave it a try and it worked. I wished that we would have tried soy earlier and that may have alleviated the need for the tubes. His only symptom of being "allergic" to milk was a constant runny nose.

I'm still glad we did the tubes because I hated that DS was on antibiotics for weeks on end.

[AusAshMommy]

DS was 15 mos old when he got his tubes, he's now 3 and we're thinking they may need to be replaced. HOWEVER, like your child he had ear infection after ear infection after ear infection, we were on meds for two mos straight. The ped kept telling us to wait. I put my foot down took him to the ENT and he got the tubes. BEST decision I ever made. He was hearing so much better on the outside of the surgery and was ear infection free for the last 2+ yrs. Honestly, it's worst on the parents then the child...he won't have any memory of the surgery (unless it's repeated several dozen times, but it's unlikely ;) )

I am a proponent of them just because I see how much it helped Austin be Austin and not sick Austin!

[Tenny]

Getting the tube was painless compared to the weeks of discomfort prior. HTH!

mkvh The thought of my little boy in so much pain makes me so sad!

jay&erinn I'm not sure if they tested his hearing, but they did a pressure test (??) of his ears. Yes, my Dr recommend this Dr and I also now of two other parent's who had their kids get tubes from this same Dr.

Mommy to E&L I don't want my son to be delayed in speech. I was put into speech class as a kid and it was pretty hard on me.

SeaPoet You know my Dr mentioned about the type of tubes he use we don't have to worry about ear plugs. Just not to go more then 4 feet deep or in a dirty lake. He said pool water and bath water were ok!

boyzmom I asked the Dr about food allergies because I heard the same thing. However, DS is still on BM (never had formula) and the only milk he has is yogurt and cheese. I tried cutting those out and it didn't seem to make a difference.

AusAshMommy Glad they helped your son. Ya, I hate seeing sick Andy! He is such a happy little boy when he isn't sick!!


Well I haven't decided yet. We are going back this week for a re-check of his ears and then go from there! I really appreciate anyone's advice!!

[AusAshMommy]

Tenny ~ Good Luck! Please don't be afraid of them...honestly a little discomfort for long-term hearing and speech help...weigh the options and go from there.

Good Luck and keep us posted!

[mkvh]

[QUOTE=TennyYou know my Dr mentioned about the type of tubes he use we don't have to worry about ear plugs. Just not to go more then 4 feet deep or in a dirty lake. He said pool water and bath water were ok!
[/QUOTE]

This is AWESOME! I have to wear an earplug in the shower, and it sucks.

Good luck! I hope that you come to a decision that feels right for you!!

[Tenny]

Well we went to the Dr. this morning. The amount of fluid has decreased but still there. We will try the Nasonex for a few weeks and if there is still fluid we will go ahead with tubes.

My Dr. was in favor of this plan. If DS needs tubes I will get them for him, but I want to only get them as a last resort. My Dr. agreed and said she did the same with her son and it ended up that his ears cleared and he didn't need the tubes. The fact that spring is upon us (in the 70's today) and it is the end of the cold season makes me feel more comfortable with waiting.

So we will just wait a few more weeks!! Keep your fingers crossed that we have no fluid in a few weeks!!!

Again THANKS!!!

[DianeCourt]

Bumping up.....

DD is on her fourth ear infection since February. Her ped said that if she gets another infection this summer, he will refer us to an ENT to see if she's a good candidate for tubes. If it comes to that, I'm all for it because I'm so sad for her being sick all the time.

Can somebody tell me what the tube insertion procedure like? Do they perform it outpatient? What kind of anesthesia is there?

[EJH]

Oh so glad this thread was bumped up.

DD is on her 6th double ear infection since January.

The last two times, she has finished her meds on Wed, had an ear check on Thurs, been given the "all clear" from the ped. and by Saturday the infection has come raging back. The current plan is to kill this infection, put her on a low dose antibiotic (daily) and see what happens. If she has infections when on the daily meds, then we'll do tubes.

A co-worker of mine referred me to the specialist who did her son's tubes, she just can't rave enough about the whole procedure and the results. From what I understand, it's very quick. Putting the tubes in only takes minutes. They're under anesthesia (given using a mask, I believe) for about 30 minutes in total, but the procedure itself is very very quick. It is outpatient surgery, yep.

I hate the idea of putting DD under, but I hate how sick she keeps getting. It's like they are killing a lot of the infection, but obviously not all of it since it comes back so quickly.

Would love to hear more personal experiences!!

[hmbay]

I am a parent but neither of my boys have tubes in their ears but many of my friends children have. They say it has helped immensely but almost all of my friends kids still managed to get ear infections in spite of the tubes.

I just wanted to suggest checking with a chiropractor. I know I picked up a pamphlet at mine the other day about chiropractic adjustments for recurrent ear infections (if the spine is out of wack the ear canals might be out of wack and not drain properly etc). I don't believe chiros are the cure for all ills but I love mine and DH and I have utmost respect for this man due to the way we have been treated in our years of being his patients and I would trust his opinion (represented by placing that flier in his info section) that it's at least a plausible treatment for some children (and cheaper and less invasive for the child).

ETA this link I just found: http://www.healthychild.com/database/chiropractic_for_chronic_ear_infections.htm

[ktdelsur]

Bumping this, since my pediatrician told us this morning that if my son's ear fluids don't get better in the next 4-6 weeks, he wants us to get tubes put in ... he also said that we wouldn't be able to tell if allergies are the culprit until he's 3 or 4 (he's 6 mos old right now).

My DH, who is deaf in one ear due to a nerve defect at birth, is terrified of the baby losing his hearing since the surgery requires puncturing the eardrum.

What are the real-time risks? I guess we risk hearing loss if he keeps having ear infections too.

He hears just fine right now - from what we can tell - just the other day it was like he was watching a tennis match, looking from one side of the room at FIL to the other side of the room at DH as they had a conversation. He looks at us when we say his name, and he's already saying da da, ba ba, and is really close to saying Mama.

I don't know. I'm really torn but tempted to wait and get a second opinion or something.

[EJH]

From what I understand the big concerns of not doing it when the kids are having continual infections, is the loss of hearing and also a delay in speech. My DD is incredibly verbal at 9 months, and I would hate for her to lose any of that.

Our ped has recommended them, basically, and we're having a consult with the surgeon in July. In the meantime, DD is on a preventive antibiotic to see if that holds them at bay. If it does, we may try to wait a little on the tubes. Anyway I'm sort of looking at our discussion with the surgeon as our second opinion, I guess.

I guess the tubes can fall out after 6 months and need to be redone. I'd hate to have to put her through this more than once.

It's a tough decision, believe me, I'm right there with you. And obviously with your DH's personal experience I'm sure it makes it all the much harder.

Just know you are not alone!!

Erin :)

[ktdelsur]

EJH:

Thanks...
I talked to my mom on my lunch break, and she said she had the same problem with both me and my brother. She opted not to get the tubes because we weren't having any hearing problems, etc, and we turned out fine (I eventually had my tonsils taken out because of chronic bouts of strep throat, but that is beside the point). She basically told me to get a second opinion and just wait it out if we didn't see him having any problems. He's already making a ton of sounds and noises, etc, so I don't see any problem right now besides being on antibiotics more than I'd like him to be.

[jay&erinn]

Surgery: The surgery is very quick. Usually only mask anesthesia is used so kids are much more alert when they come out of surgery (usually only a few hours of drowsiness as apposed to all day). They are put to sleep, an incision is made in the ear drum, the fluid suctioned out and a tube inserted. It usually only takes about 15 minutes tops. You're usually only separated from your child for about 30 minutes with prep and initial recovery.

Tubes won't completely prevent infections. They do make them much easier to treat. When someone gets an ear infection they have to take an antibiotic for a week or ten days. When tubes are in place, usually all that is needed are antibiotic drops for 3-5 days and the infection is gone. You can treat the exact area of infection instead of the whole body with antibiotics.

ktdelsur: The hole that's placed in the eardrum for tubes is in a specific place so it doesn't really affect the hearing. There is a risk that the hole won't heal on it's own after the tube falls out, but that is pretty rare. There is also a possibility that the hole will get bigger (which could affect hearing), but that is also rare.