My 22 month old littel girl just had 3 ear infections back to back but in the SAME ear, RIGHT ear. I understand about how the fluid not draining is the problem. However, after infection # 1 my ped told me the fluid was gone, after infection 2 ped told me there was ONLY a tiny layer of fluid. now infection 3 is cleared (it was only diagnosed a week ago and was rechecked after 3 days and fluid still there). I go for a 2nd opinion this week to another ENT and my first ENT will be doing a hearing test the follwing week. I also have EI coming for a speech eval because I think she is behind compared to her peers. ENT # 1 put her on Zyrtec 5 ml /once a day to dry up the ear fluid. She said if ear fluid does not dry up, she will need tubes. this seems quick to me. She DID SAY she anticipates the fluid draining and with spring coming the colds should decrease.
i know the tubes is a quick surgery but i am still nervous. i am an ICU surgical nurse so ignorance is bliss. i am also due with baby # 2 in june. i guess i'm also worried about having to take my first for this surgery when i am about to deliver! i'm keeping my fingers crossed the fluid dries up. but , and i know again that i should cross that bridge when i come to it , BUT i am worried that if the fluid does clear up, then what if come fall she has mutliple ear infections again.
so i was wondering, if any of you had tubes with only ONE EAR problem . also, what was the criteria for the tubes? how many infections? hearing tests normal/failed? speech problems from only ONE EAR? thanks
only 3 ear infections??? Way too quick. My son had them put in after aprox 12 ear infections. I would give it a little more time and try alternative methods. Best wishes~
M
My son had problems with both ears, and had tubes. My best friend's little girl had the exact same problem as you. Her little girl had constant problems with significant fluid buildup in one ear (with no infection), and slight buildup in the other. Since my best friend is a hard of hearing specialist, she knew the signs of hearing issues. She immediately had tubes put in, and her daughter did so much better with hearing and speech. For a while after the tubes, her daughter would startle at the slightest sounds while she adjusted to her new hearing!
For me, the tubes were the best thing I ever did for my son. Poor thing had allergies, and as easy as the surgery was, I hated that I didn't do it a bit sooner. Find a highly recommended ENT. Ours was excellent. We had my son's put in when he was 18 mos. One of them is still there to this day. Colds, infections, etc all decreased dramatically. He was a totally different kid.
Being in the military we had many pediatricians for my fourth before he was 4. We had moved three times by then to. No one questioned his many many ear infections until it was really too late. I had asked for tubes with each infection. He finally got them at 4.
What a blessing. He has a hearing deficiency now at 10, still. Not that he can't' hear, he passes all the tests in a dr's office but he cannot hear certain sounds and in a crowded room he gets very confused. He also does not understand certain human words when spoken to him and we need to look directly at him when we speak to him.
The ENT that we finally got was really flabbergasted that the dr's previously had not recommended tubes.
It was a really an easy operation. He was in and out in one day, hours actually.
We have had one infection since and that was last summer.
Hi! My daughter had ear infections, several times, and I went through the therapies to treat w/o surgery. I am also medically trained, and thought the least invasive treatment, However, I want to tell you my daughter added up with severe speech delay, in the expressive/receptive aspect, and has moderate auditory processing disorder. So, when it comes to PE tubes, which she had two sets, the tubes were the best thing, because my daughter could not hear the intonation, fluency, sounds, etc that 'normal" children were hearing. and the long term care was speech until she was in 7th grade! This is alot of home/school/family
/community involvement, which depends greatly upon you to make sure she succeeds in this endeavor. Then when you take into account how much speech affects cognition, interpretation, reception, express0ion, retention and expression, when they enter the academic phase; then the social aspect; all which begin at birth, there is a developmental issue, of how hearing/speech affects their long term goals and interests... so, if It was me and I had to do again, I would get the tubes... Hey, I finally got two sets, because they worked, yea they fell out as the child grows, which is what they do, when they are not needed as the mandible grows. But, the effects of the increase of speech, the increased development in communication is the positive bonus... I have 20 plus years in medicine, and I did my research on the subject, asked fellow peers, they did exams for me, too check other doctor advise. They came to the same conclusion, and I had the best doctor from their advise for pediatrics. The doctor was great, he even supported me in my own fears, but, having a nurse sit with me... Oh, I cried, but she survived, no mental deficients after 23 years! lol! She is hypercommunicative, and leads a happy life academically, she is becoming a biochemical engineer. So, forget the ignorance, and seek more information, but, get the tubes, most get around 2 to 3 years. Also, ask the ENT doctor to conduct a bacterial test on the fluid, we found she naturally grew beta strep, which is important in pregnancy and medical contacts if she goes to surgeries for antibiotic use. they aspirate fluid from ear canal. Also, limit the amount of sugary drinks close to bedtime, and flush the ear canal by offering small amount ( 5-20 ccs) of WATER, the water flushes the small area where the fluid settles between the ear and jaw, where the child's face is too small to naturally drain. the water moves the fluid down, and stops the growth of bacteria, we found she was in less pain. We stopped milk, and sugar based food and drinks earlier at dineer. We routinely did oral hygiene practices, brushing with non sugar/ color/sparkles based toothpaste (yes, most have high sugar contents in the kids brands, ask your dentist for best brands, yes, Crest non-kid brands are best). You have an advantage more than most, because you have access to more doctors, medical library, in house physicians, and good referrals... Ask the OR nurses for ENT doctors who do the best PE tubes with great care and personalized service for parents and kids. Good luck with your new bundle of joy! I would do the surgery before arrival, so you can stress less, while caring for a newborn! It will be a better chance for your older baby...
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my son probably had four or five in a year's time, and we didn't get tubes. they were in both ears. the last one, the dr. said we "may have to start thinking about tubes", and he never had another one. i think he grew out of the problem.
my daughter just had her 2nd set of tubes put in on Thursday. she had 7 ear infections since thanksgiving....when she had her tubes (the first set) we had NO infections and prior to her first set we had 10 ear infections in 7 months. Never had a hearing test done..she was too small..and NO speach problems with my 2 year old
The surgery is not cheap...I just got a 20% discount AFTER insurance coverd and still paid just over $500..plus all the copay follow ups etc its expensive AND the tubes only last about 6 months.
sounds like your LO had drainage probs in one ear...that canal must not drain as well. if this is your daughters 3rd ear infection back to back my first thought is they didnt get the first 2 infections..purhaps her body was immune to the antibiotics.
Spring/summer/fall is a great time that the kids are not as sick. I would DEF get a second opinion and not get the tubes just yet...unless she has 3 more infections within a short time.
I think the docs are wanting to do the surgury because they maybe fear her speach is delayed because of the fluid making her ear as if she is under water (no pun intended)
my son is 10 !/2 months old and had 3 ear infwctions back to back and also the 3 cephtraxin shots to no avail. the tubes take about 10 min to put in and your in and out of the hospital in under 2 hours. it has been pretty good do far and we only had to do ear drops 3x a day for 3 days after. i didn't want to have to go through the whole surgery thing either but i didn't want my son suffering anymore ear infections either.
Same as Mimi said, try chiropractic first! It's helped my own kids and probably about ten other I've known!
I also suggest chiropractic care before going ahead with this surgery. Find one that specializes in children. Our chiropractor has been able to help us with ear infections every time! (With NO antibiotics.)
Every child is different when it comes to ear infections. My son had ear infections for over a year and I finally had to ask the doctor if my son should have tubes. Are the antibiotics that her Dr. is prescribing working? Nothing seemed to work with my son so that's why I finally asked to get tubes put in his ears. I'd wait and see if her infection clears up completely before making any kind of decision. :)
