Almost 16 Month Old Going in for Ear Surgery

Have you tried to see a chiropractor? I know that they help with other ear problems you could always call and ask. Some have said that ear candling has helped remove wax, ask you doc about it... hope this helps.

My daughter, now 7, has had problems with excessive ear wax since she was a toddler. Her hearing was effected when the canal filled with wax, so it is something we had to take care of right away. Her pediatrician tried to use the little scooper and the warm water with the bulb syringe and neither worked very well, with lots of crying.

She then recommended we start using Debrox, which softens earwax, and come back 2 weeks later. She was able to flush it out easily without the tears. We now use Debrox a few times a month as wax builds up. You can buy Debrox from any drug store and is over the counter, so it might be different.

when my sister was young about 6 i think she had problems with ear wax and ear aches .. she was taken to a chiropractor and then was told to sleep on a heating pad for the night .. in the morning it was filled with the wax and it was amazing how much there was .. now i am not sure how young a little one can be seen by a chiropractor but i do belive in them! perhaps a low heating pad held in your arms with her may work. surgury is scary even for us adults! good luck
jules

I have 3 kiddos under 5 and they all have horrible, yucky ears! My oldest is 5 and he currently has his 3rd set of tubes in and my middle is 3 and is is on his 2nd set, and my baby is 4 mo and she alreay has fluid in her ears. I would ask your ENT what kind of "anestesia" s/he is using. If it is anything like our ENT, they just "breathe them under" for ear work (not IV's or anything.) For some reason that made me feel much better. With our tubes (conisdered day surgery) we were in and out in 3 hours or so (with all the pre-op stuff and recovery.) Our kids were out of our site for like 20 minutes total. Apparently, if they were ever to do this to adults, they could do it in the clinic, but children move so much and so quickly, they use anestesia so they don't do any damage to the ear if the child moves. Good luck, I know it can be scary handing your baby over to someone else. Hang in there

I had this problem when I was a kid. My mom use to put a little bit of peroxide in my ear with a eye dropper. I would tilt my head the opposite direction to let the peroxide work. When it stopped bubbling (you can sometimes see it) or after a minute, you tilt your head over the sink and let the gunk run out. Then flush out the ear with a little warm water with a bulb syringe. It's worth a try. I hate to see such a young child go into surgery. My daughter when it for plugged tear ducts. It wasn't easy on her. Good Luck!!

Follows some of the other advice. If worried, go for a second opinion. Also ask what other options can be tried before surgery becomes the only option - ask the surgeon and the ped.

This seems so severe for wax build up. Do you nurse? If so, try putting some breast milk in the ear. It has enzymes in it that will break up the wax. It is also soothing, natural, even has antibiotic properties and is free.
Get a second opinion before resorting to surgery. There are many ways of dealing with this and this is very severe. Anesthesia is serious, while necessary in many cases, but should be avoided if there is another way. Try some alternative avenues. Is there a homeopath or naturopath in your area?
Good luck and don't rush into anything. Ear wax is not life threatening. Make sure you are comfortable with your choice. Don't let a physician talk you into anything.
Take a breath and take care!
J.

I would find a chiropractor or a Homeopathic doctor, someone that preforms ear candling. A safe technic that removes ear wax. Going under anestheic for ear wax seems very drastic to me.

I worked with Deaf and Hard of Hearing children and I can't emphasize enough how important it is for your child to be able to hear properly to learn speech and language. That can't happen with a chunk of wax stuck in there. However, I'm also a mom and can understand not wanting to have your child in surgery at such a young age. If there is an audiologist in your area I would ask to speak with them about it and see if they have alternate suggestions. I know our audiologist recommended parents try putting oil in their child's ear to soften the wax. I can't remember what kind of oil but I did a quick google search and it seems like any variety will work but you need to warm it up (Not hot). It's supposed to help soften or melt the wax so it will either drain out or it can be removed. I'm not sure if this would be much different than the drops you've already tried but it might be worth a try. I definitely agree with those who said to seek out a second opinion. Another doctor might have another idea that will work. Good luck.

I have three kids and they have all had many ear issues. My six year old daughter is on her fourth set of tubes (as well as adenoid surgery (twice), tonsils out, and sinus taps (twice!). My three year son old had tubes in at age one and my one year old daughter had tubes in at six months old.

It can be scary, but the anticipation is worse than the actual surgery. It is soo quick and they usually do ears right away in the AM, so you don't have to wait all day thinking about it. The results are worth it - trust me!

Good luck and hang in there.....

My doctor said my daughter had a buildup too at one point. It was shortly after she began sitting. The Dr said that we should make sure she lies down in the bath for awhile, instead of sitting the whole time. While lying in the bath we should wiggle her ears to make sure that water gets in there to clear everyting out. No problems since we started doing this?

My daughter had tubes put in her ears for chronic ear infections at 12 months. I don't think we would have gone as far as having surgery for just ear wax build-up, though. It does seem drastic. I, as an adult, also have problems with ear wax build up, and the heating pad thing does work! You could even try just warming up a wash cloth with hot water and putting that behind your daughter's ear to warm it.
I'd get some second opinions too. If she does truly need surgery to remove the wax, I can tell you ear surgery is SUPER quick. I barely had time to worry before our ENT was back in our recovery room telling us how it went, and minutes later my daughter was back in my arms. The anesthetic does make them SUPER crabby though, and it was about an hour before she was relaxed.

Have they tried ear lavage? The child lays on her back and they gently squirt warm water in and it comes right back out into a container under her ear. This worked for my daughter's stubborn ear wax. It took a long time and she did not like it (lots of crying/screaming) but tons of goo came out, then we just watched her ears and took her in if we saw buildup again.

My son had ear tubes put in when he was 20 months old. I was able to be in the room with him when they put him under and left when he was under. I went to the waiting area and about 5 minutes later the Dr came out and told us it was done. Ask if you can tour the hospital with your daughter to get her familiar with the place and ask if you can be with her so she's not so scared.

They will likely just give her a sedative and a medication to induce amnesia. It is called conscious sedation. They won't need to use a breathing tube or anything like that. I wouldn't stress too much about it. We do it all the time in the ER that I work (the sedation not the wax removal) I know it is hard to have your baby need to be sedated and have surgery but as the parent you need to let your child know it is OK and that she will be fine. Kids pick up on your anxiety and get scared. When you act like it isn't a big deal they do much better. I wish you luck! Give your baby lots of hugs and you will all be just fine.

It is very scary to have your baby go in for surgery. My son, who is now 12 mo old, had tubes put in his ears when he was 9 mo. I have to tell you it was the quickest procedure I have ever experienced. Very similar to what you heard, literally the doctor was out in 5 minutes saying it was done. My husband had gone to get a coffee and by the time he was back I was already in the recovery room. And our son was back to playing like himself 3 hours later! Try to not worry, they do a great job with the little ones to get you back to them as soon as possible. Good Luck!

Hello! My daughter had a huge hard buildup of wax in her ear and her pediatrician suggested that we get a liquid colace (stool softener) to put in her ear to soften the wax. I questioned putting a stool softener into her ear, but it worked like a charm. We used it for about 2 weeks before our appointment with the ENT and he had no trouble removing the wax in his office, no anesthesia was required. Hope this helps.

When my daughter was 18 months old she had to have tubes put in her ears, I know it's not the same thing but she did just fine! She was gone for about 20 minutes. The worst thing was having to hand her off to the doctors...It is very hard...but she was awake and I could hold her in no time. My daughter was very abusive and crabby from the anesthesia when she was waking up. She was hitting and kicking (she was a very calm, quiet baby). They gave her a popsicle and then she was perfect! Everything will turn out just fine!!! You both are in my prayers!