Hello,
I am sure there has got to be someone out there that can help. My son is going on 19 months. He has had 8 ear infections this year... and yes.... he has tubes. He was seeing an ENT who has since referred us to an otologist. We recently had his immune system checked... and that was normal. He has had blood work done to check for allergies, celiac disease... all normal. He has been getting the same ear infections like clockwork and so far there is no reasoning for it....and the tubes aren't keeping the infections away.
I am very concerned about my sons development. He doesn't really talk and I know he's not understanding me. The otologist is going to set him up for an evaluation with a speech therapist. The next step for us to take will be to get a CT scan done to see if there are any cysts or chronic infection of the bone behind the ear that needs to be dealt with. If thats the case, I've got to be prepared for a masteoidectomy. I'm still uncertain. I don't know much about the procedure and I wonder what my alternatives are. I really thought that the tubes were the answer to this problem I was having. I was so nervous and scared about putting my baby under for that procedure... it just scares me to even think about a bigger ear surgery... especially if there are no guarantees.
T.
Thanks everyone for your responses. I took the majority advise and found a pediatric chiropractor in my home town. Lucky for me, this guy is the only chiropractor that is pediatric "certified" in miles. He adjusted my baby today and told me he would adjust him for FREE as often as I want/need. For now the chiro. wants to see my son every few days until he straightens out. He did mention that based on the exam he noticed that there were some abdominal issues as well as ear blockages. Someone replied & mentioned acid reflux so that could be. I think I'm going to leave him in the hands of the chiropractor for a while and follow his plan: eliminating dairy, starting a pro-biotic (bifidus). There is also a diet I can follow. At this point, I really have nothing to loose and everything to gain... hopefully a healthy & happy little boy :)
I would take him to other doctors and get a 2nd or even third opinion. You may even want to try a holistic approach and see if there is anything environmentally that may be causing the problem that you can alter.
I hope that everything works out for the best.
Hi T.
My girlfriend had the same problem she actually took her son to a chiro and it worked out for her.You should look into i
have them check for MRSA or fungal infections
Dear T.,
I'm so sorry to hear of your problem. We have been through it with both boys. Chiroprators have been a great help. We also use Xango brand mangosteen juice. I can give you information if you want. Our oldest son has gone through 3 cold seasons with no ear infections after practically living on antibiotics the first few years. Our other son was put on Nasonex for something else. The side effect was it cured is chronic, severe ear infections. I hope you can find a solution that works for your poor baby!
K.
T.,
Have you ever considered getting your son adjusted by a Chiropractor? I was an Chiro assistant for over 6 years and saw a lot of kids with a history of recurring ear infections get better and stay better with regular adjustments. Chiropractors adjust children different than adults,Alisa Wasserman-###-###-#### is great with kids! My son is 4 and he started getting adjusted when he was 1 month old. You might want to also try giving him a product called Primadophilus for children-Sprouts carries it in the vitamin section-it has to be refrigerated. I give one tablet to my son every day and he loves it. It helps promote good bacteria growth. I would try the least invasive procedures as possible-let the body heal itself.
Good luck,
C.
Have they checked his adnoids to see if they are enlarged and blocking off the bottom of his estation tubes? My son had his removed at the age of 4 and I also had mine removed about the same age because of ear infections.
Hi T.,
My thought is from a completely different spectrum. I'm wondering if it's stemmed from a chronic yeast infection. Yeast will accumulate in certain parts of the body,especially ear canals. With the surgery for the tubes, Candida is my first thought. His diet could also play a huge part.
Have you considered a homeopathic remedy? It may seem a little crazy, but I can send you more information if you are interested.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
D.
My Daughter had cronic ear infections everytime we turned around I took away milk from her diet and she hasnt had on for a year now and a girl from my work did the same thing and her daughter hasnt had an ear infection since either
My son, now 4, had about 6 ear infections from 5 months to 1 year and two weeks after he would finish his meds it would happen again. The doctor said they may have to put tubes in his ears also(they never did). I found out that Daycare was giving him his bottles while he was laying down. I heard this was bad and children need to be inclined when drinking. I made them stop and the ear infections went away. I guess I was lucky that it wasn't more serious. But just letting you know of my experience.
This is going to sound odd, but... take him to see a chiropractor. Not the type of chiropractor that does pain management, but a chiropractor that believes in getting to the root of the problem. The chiropractor I see regularly has treated a boy that was in the same situation as your son. He had tubes in his ears, but they either fell out or they didn't work. Now that he's getting adjusted regularly, he hasn't had that problem. Hope that helps.
Have you tried changing his diet? My neighbor had the same thing with her son and he eventually outgrew the ear infections. I will ask her what she did.
Good luck and I hope he feels better.
I would try the homeopathic way too. My 3 year old had 4 ear infections when she was 6 months to 1 year. I tried the homeopathic route for fear of being immuned to antibiotics. She has not had them since. Of course, every child is different but it seems you have a lot of suggestions to start with. Good luck.
Hi,
I have gone through this with my sons and pediatrics say that if you have had more than 3 infections before the age of 3 then you have a case of chornic ear infections which may damage your sons hearing. Two of my three boys have a moderate to severe hearing loss in some ranges. You may want to have his hearing checked so you can get him aids to help him with his speech.
When i was young i had ear infections all of the time. (Several a year that were really painful and my eardrum always broke) I had like 10 sets of tubes in my ears between the age of 0 and 16. They never really seemed to help. Most of the infections were on my right side. When i was 16 an ENT replaced my right eardrum with some piece of skin from behind my ear. This was a major surgery, but since i had that done i have had 0 ear infections in my right ear. Also, when i fly that ear never bothers me. Good luck!!
When my husband was a kid, he got ear infections ALL the time, too. My mother-in-law got a doc to take his tonsils out and he never had another one. Something to do with the adnoids - I don't really know. Just suggesting to check the adnoids - see if the problem is starting there.
T.,
I'd highly recommend cutting all dairy out of his diet to see if it helps. Obvious dairy like milk, cheese, yogurt and hidden stuff in foods (you HAVE to read the ingredients in everything). Milk intolerances/allergies are hard to detect but common and usually untreated. Give it a month. It you don't see improvement within a month (assuming you've actually eliminated all the dairy from his diet), it isn't dairy. But I'd be really surprised if eliminating dairy from his diet doesn't dramatically improve his problem.
Alos, if you are in Las Vegas, call Nevada Early Intervention Services. They will evaluate your son and provide services (such as speech therapy) for free and they come to your house. If you aren't in Las Vegas, there should be a similar service where you live. My son has autism and he received services from EI until he was 3 and then we transitioned to services through the school district. Both programs provide services for all sorts of developmental delays, not just autism. You want to check out all of the free services first. We are paying for private speech therapy for my son to supplement what he's getting through the school district and it is $120 a hour. Private services are expensive, insurance coverage is iffy (ours won't cover anything they consider 'developmental') so get all the free services you can and then fill in any gaps with private services.
Good luck!
T.
I would concur with everything everyone else has said - except I wish I had known about the milk thing. My son is now five and had a some rough years between 6 months and 4.5 when he had his tonsils/adenoids removed - what a godsend. He had asthma, chronic ear infections, speech delay, SEVERE sleep apnea and a TON of upper and lower respiratory infections. The tonsil/adenoid removal has changed all of that and he is making huge gains in his speech and cognition. He is now five and I often wonder where he would be at if all of his peditricians and us as parents had been more proactive and got him the services/procedures he needed at an earlier age. Good luck with it and don't be afraid to advocate like heck for your child - they might think your crazy, but your son will thank you in the end! N.
Dear T.,
I'd urge you strongly to have your child checked for acid reflux.
Our oldest daughter went through so many tests it was horrid. Finally, finally, we did a bronchoscopy and there was even a little food in her lungs!
She was diagnosed for certain when she was three -- after two adenoid surgeries, countless allergy tests and more.
Some ENTs are aware of the connection . .. many are not.
You need to check out the book, "Healing Childhood Ear Infections Prevention, Home Care and Alternative Treatment" by Dr. Michael Schmidt
Hope it helps
Y.
