Ear Tubes

Hi!

I have 2 little boys, ages 3 and 19 months. My 3 year old has had one ear infection his entire life. My 19 month old on the other hand is a different story. He started with ear infections at 3 months old. We were on antibotic after antibotic and as soon as the infection would clear, he would get another one. I started to take him to the chiropractor that specialized in pediatrics I was terrified! We were going 3 times a week for adjustments and my pediatricion was strongly against it but I was willing to try ANYTHING to give my son a break from the pain. I was told by the chiropractor and given pamplets etc. that you should not treat ear infections with antibotics and how horrible tubes were. I listened to them and continued to get him adjusted and not treat the infections with antibiotics even though my pediatrition recommened I do so. Well, to make a long painful story short. He got an ear infection so bad that he perforated his ear drum. Fortunately, it has healed itself and there was no hearing loss. I immediatelty made an appointment for his tubes and discontinued going to the chiropractor. When they tested him prior to tubes, there was hearing loss but they thought it would come back once the fluid drained. At 9 months old he got tubes and it was the BEST thing I ever did for him. His hearing is excellent and we had no ear infections from 9 months until 2 weeks ago. His tube fell out and he immediately had fluid build up and an infection. I have an appointment next week with the ears, nose and throat doctor. If they tell me to put another tube in - I will 100% do it. I see a DRAMATIC change in my son since having the tubes in. I hope this helps you, I went through the same thing. I regret not doing it sooner.
Take care and good luck!
M.

J.,
Both of my sons have had many, many ear infections. They are both on their second set of tubes and my oldest may have to have yet a third put in. I feel like the tubes haven't helped, they still get ear infections and when they do, the stuff runs out of their ears- it's gross. I don't know if they'd be getting more infections if they didn't have the tubes, but I feel like they're still getting them frequently. My uncle also had tubes put in (as an adult), with no luck. I don't know of any other solution, though. Good luck.

my son is 3 yrs old and had ear tubes put in a year ago and it made a world of difference. he went from ear infections every week to one a year. Until the tube fell out! He has had an additional 6 ear infections since August and will be getting a new set of tubes on Feb 7th. The procedure takes about 30 minutes and is painless to the child. They do put them to sleep so they don't move but my son was back to his normal self within 2 hours. The tubes also helped clear up his hearing and he began to start trying to talk.

im sarry i cant help you

Hi

I don't have experience with the ear infections. Thankfully both of mine have only ever had 1 each. My children have grown up going to the chiropractor though. We took both when they were less than a week old and they've gone as needed since. Little kids don't need adjusted frequently - usually you know it's time when they are sick or have really bad attitudes. I definitely notice a huge difference nearly immediately in either case. It helps to open things up in their sinuses and such so they are more comfortable. I know you said your son wasn't so excited about the adjustment. My oldest - 3 - HATES to be adjusted, but even she will admitt right afterwards that her back feels better and suggests to me that I need my back checked if I say my back hurts. My 23 month old accepts the adjustment much better. He complains a bit, but if we are talking to him and distracting him, he doesn't notice the 2 minutes it takes. My 3 year old starts complaining as soon as she realizes that we're going and has to be held down by my husband or I and screams like she is loosing a limb - but like I said before, she'll admitt that she feels better in the end. I don't know how insistent you were with him getting the adjustment, but if you are really wanting to avoid the surgery, you might consider forcing the issue dispite your son's not wanting to be touched. You could even try another chiropractor. Ours has 2 young children and tons of neices and nephews so he's great with them and isn't fazed by their fights. He's also really good at being quick.

My son had tubes at age 5. I'm sorry I waited so long, because he needed to go through speech therapy since his hearing had been compromised. Before the tubes, he was having 8-10 ear infections starting in infancy. After the tubes, he had not a single ear infection until he was a teenager, and that one infection followed a very bad sinus infection. He's 19 now and has not had any others. (The tubes, of course, fell out a long, long time ago - and he saved them as souvenirs.)

There is a risk of anesthesia. Because of that, I took my son to Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia to have this very simple procedure done. Yes, tubes are a simple procedure. In fact, when adults have tubes inserted, it's done under local anesthesia. Children have the procedure done under general, and so I wanted to be sure that my son's anesthesia staff were PEDIATRIC anesthesiologists/anesthetists. I wanted people who only put children to sleep. Anesthesia meds are heavy-duty stuff!
The other great benefit of going to a childrens hospital is that everything is geared to kids and parents. The holding area was cool! They actually had activities, games and things going on while we waited for our son's turn for the operating room. I can compare that to the time I had my wisdom teeth removed in our local hospital. While I waited in the holding area, there were two children and their parents waiting for ear tube surgery. In the plain, adult holding area, the parents and the children sat and clung to each other, and it seemed pretty scary for both of them. It was relaxed and fun at CHoP, and the staff was the best. If your insurance will pay, and you have a children's hospital near you, I highly recommend going there.
Don't wait. I know that in recent years, the medical community has been leaning toward not putting in tubes, and even not using antibiotics -- letting infections run their course. They're moving away from that now and back toward the tubes, again. Repeated ear infection may cause hearing loss, temporary or permanent. And there are risks to constantly being on antibiotics, as well. Anesthesia always carries risks, but if you can go to a pediatric facility to have the surgery done, you'll know that you have experts in pediatric medicine taking care of your child.

Good luck.

Well, I submitted the same kind of question a few weeks ago about the possibility of my daughter getting tubes in her ears at 11 months old. Just two days ago my daughter went back to the doctors for a check up on her ears and her pediatrician said that she was cleared of the ear infections but did see more fluid starting to build up and that she is only a few days away from (yet) another ear infection. Later on that day I had another appointment with a Ear, Nose and Throat specialist because I wanted to get a second opinion about it. Now, this doctor said that he usually doesn't recommend tubes until the child has had at least three consecutive months of ear infections (it looks like your child falls under this category). My daughter only has had them for two months but by the time she has the tubes in it will be three months. But, anyways, the doctor then gave me the option...I can either be proactive and attempt to stop the infections by going ahead and getting tubes in her ears or I can keep up with treating them with antibiodics. In my opinion, it boils down to money...the 2 insurances we have will cover the infections and that's NO MONEY from our pocket, or keep paying for antibiodics when she is constantly getting them. I went ahead and told the doctor to have her surgery scheduled to have the tubes put in. It is a 15 minute procedure and the child should be good to go not long after the surgery and back to normal that same day. This is my first child and my first actual "decision" I had to made and believe me, I put some thought and research into it and I feel I made the right decision. I hope this helps you a bit and let me know if you have any more questions since we are both sort of in the same boat. :-) Good Luck!

I totally vote on the tubes! If there are other things out there, try them but I was given very few choices also. My daughter got her tubes put in at a year and a half. She also had infections CONSTANTLY since about 2 months. Since she has had the tubes, she has not gotten sick, she had one infection right after but it went away quickly. She is now almost 3. I'm so glad we went thru w/ it. She was sooo misserible. I was very scared of the actual procedure but it only took minutes and they were so good w/ her. By then she was terrified of doctors but they even took her back in a red wagon so she thought she was playing. She came out a few minutes later. She was a bit scared and whinned the whole way home. As soon as she walked in the door, she acted like nothing ever happend. All you do is keep drops in them for a week or so and no more worries! This is just my opinion, like i said, if you can find other remidies, good luck. Also make sure the place that you have the surgery, if that is what you choose, is where you are comfortible. They made us feel great about everything they did. I couldn't have asked for anything better.
GOOD LUCK!!

my daughter has had tubes in her ears for almost 2 years and prior to getting them ear infections were a constant. The surgery was so fast I cried when she went back and before I dried my tears the surgery was done. My daughter is so much better now and I heard lots of stories about the tubes falling out and how the kids couldn't go under water with them. Well we have a pool and Kiya spends so much time under water and loves the bath and we still have the original tube. The thing that scared me the most was putting her under and it was over before I could really panic.

I agree. Get the tubes. I made the mistake of waiting til my son was five. Every year he had 4 or 5 ear infections. The procedure is quick and in a few hours they forget. But since I waited so long my son, now 12, has speech problems. Not alot of people could understand what he was saying. the only person who could really understand him was his sister who is only 1 year older than he is. I would have to ask her what he would say. The doctors said that was because when he started talking he was saying things like he heard them. Since he heard things muffled thats how he would talk. He is so much better now but it's taken years of work from me and the school. So my advice would be get them.

I know you are looking for people who haven't had it done, but thought you might like to hear from me as well. My 14 month old had tubes put in this Wednesday. I didn't sleep for a week, worried over it. (He had had a constant ear infection from October-on one antibiotic after another) He was gone for exactly 11 minutes when the surgeon came in and said he was done! He was back to me 5 minutes after that. He slept on the way home from the hospital, came home ate, and was back to climbing all over the couch immediately. The Dr said that he had a ton of fluid in his ears that he sucked out, so he would probably hear better. The proof, when we got home and I made him a bottle- he was startled by the microwave beeping...something he "should have" heard a thousand times before. The kid didn't miss a beat. On another note, antibiotic, after antibiotic isn't good either-I have an aunt who had to have a kidney transplant from being on penicillin as a teenager, and I work with a 50 year old man who is sterile from being on too much penicillian as a child! It's tough to make the right decisions, but I wanted to let you know that we went through the surgery just fine...I just came out with a few more gray hairs!! Good luck with your decision.
M.

Hi my name is J. and I live in PA- funny I just got back from the doctor logged on and saw your email- my daughter who is 2 has the same problem- I have made an apt with the ENT and will see him this tue. I am also very upset about the tubes - b/c I know she is going to have to get them- as when I was her age I had tubes in my ears 3-5 times. My mom swears it helped and I belive her- I dont know if you have ever had an ear infection but they are VERY painful- I am also a beliver in holistic medicine- I think a combonation of the two would work well- eventhough I am not excited about Dahila (my daughter) getting tubes - I think it will be better than putting her on antibiotics 2x a month- let me know what you think- J. :)

HI JAMIE,

JAMIE GET THE TUBES , MY GRANDSON WAS GETTING EAR INFECTION, HE HAD IS TUBES PUT IN ABOUT TEN MONTHS AGO
AND HASN'T HAD A EAR INFECTION SINCE. BEFORE HE HAD THE TUBES PUT IN HIS EAR DRUM RUPTURE TWICE, THEY TOLD US THAT IF THAT KEPT HAPPENING IT WOULD BUILD SCAR TISSUE AND THEN HE WILL SUFFER HEARING LOSS PERMMENT .

HOPE THIS HELPS K.

Get the tubes!!! It is a 5-10 minute procedure and your little one will be a new man! My daughter had ear infections for a year straight when she was an infant and I was worried about hearing loss. My only complaint is that my peditrician made us go so long before they put them in. We were in and out the the outpaitent children's in Wexford ( love it) in about 2- 3 hours total. We have never had a problem since. My only concern is that they will fall out and she will start screaming from ear pain once again. Run don't walk to your ENT!!!
good luck
Diane

When my daughter was 4 months old, she started getting chronic ear infections. We would go to the doctor, get the antibiotic, go back to the doctor in two weeks, and the infection would be cleared up but the next day her ears would be hurting and infected again. The doctor we were taking her to would not give us a referal to get tubes put in her ears, so this cycle continued until she was 2 years old. We finally had enough! We went to another doctor who did give us the referal, and our daughter had tubes put in 1 month after she turned 2. For the first year, she still had ear a few infections but it was nowhere as bad as before the tubes. She is now almost 11 years old and has no problems with speech, hearing, or learning. In fact, she is in the school's gifted program and has either been on the honor roll or high honor roll. I just wish we would have switched doctors earlier so that she wouldn't have had to go through all the pain for so long.

Jamie,
Both of my boys had tubes. They had ear infections all the time and it was hard for them and me. The procedure was pretty quick and they were much happier in the end. I know it is hard to put your children through this but I felt like it was for the best.

I am in medical school and we just finished or ENT module. get the tubes...they are temporary (usually about a year) and it will make your life much easier. Especially if you are expecting another one! AS always, there are risks with any surgeries, but it seems to be a wonderful thing and makes your child more comfortable.
Good Luck!

My 4 and 1/2 year old daughter got tubes in August. SHe has had ear infections on and off. We went to see the ENT becuase the ped. had an x-ray of her throat and neck done(she kept making this noise like she was struggling to breathe) The ped actually thought she might have got something caught in her throat. Her tonsils and adenoids were swollen so we went to the ENT. When we got there he said her tonsils and adenoids looked good but noticed she has had 7 ear infections in the last year. He siad that the ear infections could be what was casuing the trouble he also said he thought she had acid reflux. He was able to do both procedures at once. She in the OR for about 30 minutes. The ear tubes took like 10-15 minutes. She was able to go home as soon as she woke up and drank some water. We went in at 7 am and was home by 2pm. Her throat was sore from her scope and her ears were poping a little which was normal. She has not had an ear infection since she had them put in. The care of them is simple just dont let her ears get wet. We use Macks ear plugs to wash her hair, but the doctor did offer molded ear plugs but we choose to stay with the macks. She knows she isnt allowed to get her ears wet and makes sure we have the macks in when she takes a shower. Other than that she hasnt had any problems with her ears.

I would definately try the chriropractor again. Try one that specializes, or at least has a lot of experience with children, or a woman. My oldest had tubes, and they were helpful to a point, but he had never had an adjustment. My other 2 boys only have had one each, and my daughter has never had any. (Actually, each of my other 3 have only been on antibiotics once each.) I know that chriropractic works for children. (wonders for asthma too)
Something that you need to consider for any type of surgery- there is anesthesia (sp?) involved. There is a definate risk associated with that that we tend to over look. There are many cases of "simple operations" that have tragic results from the anesthesia. Yes, there are times that simple surgery is necessary, but we need to look at and try all of the alternatives.

Jamie~
My daughter suffered w/ear infections too and I had her first tested for allergies. When they came back negative the allergist recommended having her adenoids x-rayed as well as blood work to be done to rule out an immunity deficiency. As it turned out it was her adenoids. So I had adenoids removed AND tubes put in. She was about 2 years old then. Since having that done she's only been sick twice. And it's been 18 months or so. And she was constantly sick w/ear & sinus infections and could not take regular amoxicillan. Which was terrible. We had to get special antibiotics.

I would not rush to have the tubes, but I certainly would rule out all other causes of the ear infections ie allergies, adenoids, etc. There are many things that can cause ear infections. If your pediatrician doesn't want to do the other testing keep insisting that they all be done and get to the root of it.

Good Luck~
T.

My daughter, now 7, had problems with recurring ear infections. She had tubes put in at about 18 months old. She has had three sets of tubes in all. She has been tube free now for about 3 years. Although I understand your concerns over the surgery, before saying no, get a second opinion from a ear, nose and throat specialist. The surgery is a simple one. Although any anesthesia holds risks, recurring ear infections like the ones my daughter had can cause hearing loss (sometimes minor, sometimes major). My daughter had to have follow up visits with specialists to check to make sure she did not have hearing loss. Although the surgery was stressful for me, it is an outpatient procedure and was not very stressful for her. The ear infections became a rarity after the tubes instead of the norm. There is no procedure to take them out as they grow out over the course of 9-18 months. In some cases, one set is all that is needed. In others, like my daughters, once the first set grows out the infections may start again. The tubes are useful because in a great number of children, one of the internal tubes in the ear is not quite long enough and gets easily blocked when the child has a cold or virus. This blocked fluid gets infected. The tube allows this fluid to drain so that the ear does not get infected.

Although, you have already scheduled the surgery, since you are having doubts, call the doctor and speak to him/her about your concerns. If he is a family practitioner/pediatrician, ask to be referred to a doctor who is a pediatric ear, nose and throat specialist.

Good luck and try to to worry. I'm sure your little boy will be fine. Good luck with number 2 as well.

Hi J., My daughter had the same problem your son does from the time she was born up until the age of 2 she had 18 ear infections she was getting double ear infections every two weeks as soon as one would go away she would have another. I never had the tubes put in. The doctor didnt want her to have tubes. He told me that when she got older the ear infections would stop. As soon as she turned 2 they stopped and she has not had one since she is now 2 and a half. And my daughters speach is good she can talk in complete sentences and every word is clear. I know its not much advice but I hope it helps.

Hey Jamie,
My daughter was 18 months when she had her tubes done and like all the other mothers were saying it really takes only a few minutes... at first I was so nervous, who wouldn't be right but in the end it all worked out for the better. My daughter was back to normal a few hours later and within a week I noticed the difference. The doctor told me that with all the fluid she had she was hearing like she was under water. Today my daughters vocabulary is 100 times better and she speaks so clearly I get compliments on how well people can actually undersand her. To top that off, she has not had an ear infection since and has been doing great. I am glad to hear that you are going through the surgery! Good luck and let us know how it goes.
D.