My toddler is just over 2 years old (she is 99% height, and 99% weight- the size of a 4 year old- and her head is equally large). She is considered speech delayed. She has had a minimum of 5 ear infections since November 2009. Tubes have been recommended a few times. Her speech therapy is going slow and painful and I'm honestly not seeing much improvement. Have any of you parents out there had a similar situation and gotten tubes put into your child's ears?? If so, what was the result????? Thanks ahead of time- the situation makes me anxious.
I have scheduled another hearing evaluation (she had one at the start of March) and a pre-surgery consultation. I am going to have my pediatrician send over my daughter's records so the ENT can see how many ear infections she's been treated for. My concern is that she is a-symptomatic and there may have been so many more I missed.
We're definitely moving ahead with tubes. I just feel in my heart it's the right thing to do for her.
I've scheduled an audiology appointment and pre-screen with an ENT for tubes. I'm also going to talk to her pediatrician about alternative options since I have a month to burn before either appointment. Thank you all for your thoughtful and insightful responses. It really helped me feel more comfortable and confident with my choice. I will take into consideration all the alternatives brought up also.
Take her to a chiropractor first. I would think you would see an improvement within a month. If that doesn't work, then consider the tubes option!
Okay, two things. First, unless you have tried chiropractic I wouldn't put tubes in. Often times little ones have fluid sitting in their ears and it can also often times be cleared with chiropractic treatment. Also, if the results are slow with the therapist maybe it's time to seek out a 2nd opinion. Vianne Bjornberg in Westminster is amazing and it would be worth the visit for another professional opinion. You can google her for her info.
My son had ear infections since he was 3 months old. When he started to speak you couldn't understand him. The doctor told me to put my hands over my ears and speak. He said that is what my son heard and therefore could not sound out words correctly. Got the tubes at 19 months that very night my son was speaking clearly. He is sensitive to very loud noises but really who isn't? Tubes are no big deal. the kids are fine that same day it's the parents that need the extra time to recover because of our worrying(lol)
My three year old is on her second set. I tried every alternative therapy I could find before her first surgery at a year old. I support trying chiropractic, but it isn't going to work for every child and it can be hard to find a chiropractor that is TRULY experienced in child adjustment.
I've noticed a TREMENDOUS increase in her verbal development after both surgeries. Even the ENT noticed a difference just two weeks after her second surgery.
Just a note...the anesthesia can cause a high level of disorientation. I was told that my daughter would be "a little upset" when she was waking up...she was INCONSOLABLE. I know every kid is a bit different, but I would have like to be a little better prepared. Also, if she has an active infection there could be a lot of drainage right after the surgery (even though they suck it all out). I made the mistake of taking her by myself...I was a wreck when they handed me this writhing, screaming, bleeding out of the ears child...lol...not my best moment of motherhood.
Jamie,
For my oldest child we kept trying antibiotics to get rid of the fluid in her ears. Her speech was horrible! We waited, and waited. Not smart! We finally got her tubes at age 3. The NEXT DAY she was repeating everything I said. If I had it to do over again, I would never wait a second.
Her younger sister we did just the opposite. As soon as we had reason to put the tubes in, they went right in. She had so much more receptive langague.
It is not a big deal, it feels kind of scarry, but our second one had 6 sets, every six to eight months they would fall out, and we would be putting them back, and she did just fine each time. It is quick, but worth every second!
M.
i had tubes put in my oldest for the same reason. within a week i swear his vocabulary went up about 500 words. it is like hearing words underwater is the way it was explained to me. my youngest come along and after 4 ear infections in 7 months I talked the doc into tubes to try to avoid speech therapy. you are just hurting her by not doing it. it messes up thier equalibrium when they have ear infections. my oldest still waddles when he walks and is clumbsy in alot of ways I think it was because I didn't do the tubes early enough. not sure though. my youngest is more physical but he got his tubes at a lot younger age. about a 1 1/2 yr earlier in age than my oldest. my youngest babbles a lot and doesn't talk much and doesnt repeat much but I know the tubes are still working and it takes time.
She could have some hearing loss from all those infections. Tubes are no big deal. They are up and playing the same day!
Our son had 30% hearing loss and was at the point where his ears were constantly infected. He had the tubes put in, which was a really minor procedure. His hearing is totally normal now and he's talking up a storm. Just do it! I can recommend Dr. Kenny Chan with Children's Hospital here in Denver. Recovery time was literally one day. Really, there's no reason not to do this.
Our daughter had tubes at 10.5 months because of recurrent ear infections.
At her 2 year well-baby visit, the pediatrician asked about her speech. She's more vocal than her brother was at the same point, but he said that's to be expected of girls. She'd already had another 4 ear infections this year as one tube had fallen out (that's expected), and the other was in the ear canal preventing fluid from draining which was causing a bacterial breeding ground.
She had tubes again in May, and she's doing great.
I'd personally highly recommend it if you believe that to be the cause of your child's delay. It's scary at first, but once you see how much happier the child is, it's worth the risk in my opinion......as long as you have a good ENT with lots of experience performing the procedure.
I am an EI/SLP. I worked with a boy who'd just had tubes inserted. In six months he went from saying "nn" to talking in short sentences. Try plugging your ears and talking... you sound like pudding to yourself. That's because the sound is coming to your ears more through your head, not the air. Then have someone else talk with your ears plugged. You can hear and understand them, they're just quieter. If your daughter can hear and understand, follow directions etc., get the tubes. Once she can hear her own speech, you will see improvement. If she's also not understanding well, or if she has other oral difficulties, she may have a more pervasive speech/language disorder. Either way the tubes will help! Hope this gives you some hope!! Keep up with the speech therapy too!
My last little girl had tubes in her ears and I was glad we did it. They certainly gave her relief. I am surprised that a 2 year old is considered speech delayed. I was concerned about my daughter since she didn't seem to progress like my sons and although the doc did not disagree with me that she was a bit behind he does not worry too much until she is closer to 3. I wouldn't get too worked up.
The one thing you do need to worry about though is that ear infections can be the cause of speech delay. Tubes do help with this. If they have been recommended to you, I would do it.
Good luck to you.
Have you had her hearing checked? Both my kids have tubes and I'd do it again! Good luck -there really can be a correlation. This was the case w/ my friends daughter - very bright girl, just wasn't talking until tubes (and adenoids in her case)
We got tubes on Tuesday in our 3 year old. I wish we had thought of it sooner. He has stopped yelling all the time and has said his ears hurt because it is so loud now.
My youngest grandson was diagnosed deaf. The decided to do surgery to put in tubes and when the doc went in their was so much debris from previous ear infections that antibiotics had not got to that he ended up spending nearly half on hour on each ear cleaning it out. My grandson can hear now, he is only 1 year old but he may be delayed too because he couldn't hear those sounds from birth.
I was really anxious about putting my son through surgery but between 10 and 14 months he had 6 ear infections- basically the antibiotics would clear one up and the effects of antibiotics weren't great- sick tummy-diaper rash, that would clear up and he would get another ear infection. Finally I just needed it to stop. They tested his hearing at his consult appointment and he had moderate hearing loss in one ear. The tubes have made a huge difference- within a week or two after, he was sleeping through the night, much less fussy, and talking up a storm. At his follow up appointment, his hearing was perfect! I definitely feel like it was the right decision for us. The surgery day was tough, but in the end it was worth it. Good luck!
My 3 children have all had tubes, either due to infections or just fluid building up behind the ear drum, which causes a loss in hearing. I definetely think that the tubes help with the hearing which in turn will help with the speech. My now 8 year old was 18 months when he got his first tubes. He was not speaking clearly before getting the tubes and as soon as he got the tubes he started talking much more clearly, and has not had a speech issue. I would recommend going ahead with the surgery, it also helped with the infections.
Hello,
My son (now 19 yrs. old) had ear infection after ear infection the first year of his life. Whenever we got rid of the infection the fluid was still in his ear & he could not hear well at all. I took him to an ear nose throat specialist & discovered over 90 % of his hearing was missing due to the fluid. At 13 mths. of age, we got tubes into his hears & he hears great. One tube fell out on its own when he was 4 or 5 years of age the other was surgicaly removed about 6 mths later AFTER the dr. tested him & was sure that his natural tubes were doing the job alone.
I would highly recommend you get the tubes. Since I waited as long as I did, that delayed his progress in speech, which in return delayed his learning in school.
Good luck,
C.
Hi there,
I have had really good luck with natural treatments for ears, such as rinsing with hydrogen peroxide. Check out earthclinic.com--it's got some great suggestions.
Also, you may want to check into your water quality, as that may be causing some of your daughter's difficulties. Avoid fluoride at all costs.
Best wishes and blessings
The story from our house is old, because my son is thirty now! But we were concerned about his speech when he was your daughter's age or a little younger. He had ear infections, and what little speech he was using was not very developed. Other than that, he seemed fine for his age. At the doctors' recommendations, we went ahead with the ear tubes. It was outpatient, and within six hours we were seeing (and hearing) the difference! So it's certainly worth your talking to your doctor about, I think.
My son Joe was a candidate for ear tubes as a toddler. It was a 50/50 possibility of improvement. I didn't like those odds. I also realized that as he got older his skull would elongate and the problem would be resolved. He was very frustrated being unable to be understood. His siblings actually understood his talk better than his dad or I. I would ask them what he was saying and they were right on the mark. Best of luck to you and your family...
My son's speech problems got better on their own once he had the tubes. Turned out he wasn't hearing well because of the constant infections. After he could hear his speech naturally improved. And it was nice not to have him sick all the time. The surgery was minor, not much pain. We were really happy with the decision to get ear tubes for our son.
