Ear Issues in 4Yr Old

My 4 year old had tubes put in ears and actually never had ear infection that we knew of only noticed him talking loud and not hearing....have a great ENT in HEB area. Since tubes have had no problems...although a dr. never seems to want to agree or admit things can be food/allergy related, I believe he had an allergy to dairy that caused this problem, so I do try and limit his dairy now.

He probably just talks loudly...mine does. We've had his hearing checked and that was all just fine, he's just loud. I try to reinforce "inside voice" but that only helps for a few minutes. From what I've seen with the kids I teach, it's pretty normal. Lots of them are loud talkers too!

Maybe he's just a loud talker. I have been my whole life. I know I had several ear infections when I was younger, so that may have something to do with it. I still to this day talk loud, especially if I get excited. It might be worth it to go to an ENT yourself to have his earing checked out. We had tubes put in my son and 1 1/2 and no more ear infections. Tell your ped. your concerns and see what they have to say...

Good Luck from a loud talker! :)

My daugter is an EXTREMELY loud talker! She is 7 years old now so she has had her ears checked numerous times. She has never had ANY ear infections and doesn't have any hearing issues. She is just a VERY outgoing energetic child. I call her my "energizer bunny". She will sit in my lap and almost scream sometimes. I just try to quietly remind her that I can hear her clearly with her "inside voice". It usually only works for a couple of minutes but I'm hoping over time we can retrain her. I would agree that you should have his hearing tested by an ENT just to be sure. It is a relatively quick test and doesn't hurt so it's better to be safe than sorry. Good luck and be thankful that he isn't painfully shy :-)

Hi, I have a 4yr old grandson that has had ear infections every sence he was born and just had his 4th set of tubes put in. I encourage you to open up the conversation about tubes to you doctor. The doctors that my daughter had used did not really do anything on a regular bases or soon enough and he does have a little hearing lose in his left ear. Now that she has found the right doctor and he has placed tubes in his ears again, he has found out that his eardrums are sinking.If this is not taken care of it will damage the bones in his ear.He is going to have to have tubs in his ears till he is about 13yrs old. I am not telling you this to scare you but I have realized that we have to sometimes push the doctors to find and fix the problem. It may be nothing, but it never hurts to cover all grounds. Good Luck to you & God Bless,
D. B.

Since there is a history of ear infections, I'd take him to an ENT and have his hearing checked.
They do very sophisticated hearing exams at my ENT's office.

And you may end up lucky - like me - and just have a loud child. =)

Did your 4 year old have a hearing test at his 4 year wellness? Mine talks loud and failed it on one ear. We have an appt for the ENT next week to have a hearing test done.

My daughter kept ear infections and every time I mentioned tubes her pediatrian would have nothing to do with it. Finally I got a second opinion that agreed with me tubes would take care of her infections, so finally after she got them in she immediately had no more infections and her speech and audiology totaly improved. My advice go with your instinct!

Hi S.!
Just one question. Is there anyone in your house that also speaks loud or has to have the T.V./radio on loud?
Sounds like you need to take him to an audiologist and get his hearing tested. Some places will do it free so check that out. I recommend Jones Audiology and Hearing Aid Centers. Granbury location is 509 W. Pearl ###-###-####, and there's one in Weatherford at 1216 S. Main St. ###-###-####.

Best wishes and hope that it's just a bad habit.

T.

See your ENT - my oldest is the same way and we just found out a few days ago that he is only hearing at 30% and will require tubes! There is no infection, but his middle ear is totally full of fluid - the doctor compared it to feeling like you were on a plane and you can't get your ears to pop all day every day. I would at least get his hearing checked.

If you had his hearing checked & it is o.k., Try explaining to him an inside and outside voice and demonstrate to him, and see if he can tell the difference, and then tell him when it is o.k. to speak louder and when he should speak a little lower.

My 5 year old son, and all of his friends practically yell when they talk. I'm pretty sure that it's just the age and the fact that he's a boy...they're quite different than girls. I just have to keep telling my son to use his inside voice..I know that he'll grow out of it soon enough, and so will your son.