Recurring Ear Infections After 3 Sets of Tubes

I don't know about the white stuff but I was one of these kids that had continuous tubes put in my ears all the way till I was 7. The last set finally fell out then. I still had earache problems, but not NEARLY the number (I was going in at least once a month to the doctor according my mom. I'm looking forward to this potentially happening with my son as it has something to do with the shape of ear canal). I still to this day, in my late 20's will get an earache anytime I am recovering from another infection. I usually get the ear infection 2-3 days after I start antibiotics, as all the fluid drains out. I don't know if I can say it is ever grown out of, but at least in my case, it did slow down dramatically.

Have you tried a chiropractor??? They have helped clear up our kids ear infections WITHOUT the use of antibiotics......

I suggest getting your daughter on a really good multi-vitamin and a probiotic. I can recommend if you like. Do some online research in regard to probiotics and ear infections. Also antibiotics and probiotics.

Hello, I had very similar problems as a child I am also an audiologist. As a PP said I grew out of it eventually you just have to hang in there. The one thing I wanted to ask is if you've found she's allergic to anything? Have you seen an Allergist? Most Eustation Tube disfunction, the main cause of chronic inner ear infections, is either anatomical or envirnmental. I would highly recommend having allergies checked out if you haven't already. Has the ENT taught your daughter the Valsalva move (popping your ears)? This helps keep the pressure in your daughters ear equalized which reduces fluid build up. In my case as child, I believe most of my problems were anatomical and the funny thing is I have a very small mouth so when I had braces at around 12 they had to widen my upper palate and when they did that I noticed a marked difference in my hearing. Also, with these problems make sure you're having her hearing evaluated as this can effect language development with all the fluid build up behind the ear drum. I've seen children with more than 50% hearing loss due to fluid build up. Good luck, I hope your daughters ear problems get better soon.

You have very very serious ear issues with your daughter.Can you narrow it down to why she is getting these ear infections after tubes in x3 is she in a home that is filled with second hand smoke in care of anyone who is a smoker?Don't clean her ears with q-tips,bathe her with fresh water all the time,no swimming in lake,pond waters without ear plugs.What is the white stuff is it just infection?The good news is that kids will typically outgrow ear infections by the time they get into school 5-6 yrs of age, the eustician tube is still developing hang in there & ask questions with your ENT.Do you feel confident he is doing the best job he can with placing her ear tubes??If not get a different ENT to take after her care.

We're in Gtown, KY (not IN LOL) and have SEVERAL friends who have had tubes their entire lives and continue as adults in their 30's and 40's. I was going to ask if you lived in KY as this is THE most allergy-fied state in the US. She may be one of the lucky ones who continue to need them to and through adulthood (ugh)! Have you seen an allergist? Obviously the strep is not but the mucus buildup in the ears could be related to sinus drainage. I would recommend Dr. Daniel Garcia at Kentuckiana allergy if you don't already have someone you see. We used him when we lived in Lou. They have many offices including Springhurst, St. Matthews....I would think the Shively office is the closest to you tho. I would quit milk immediately as most ppl have some sort of sensitivity to it (globally speaking), and as it thickens mucus considerably. Silk takes some getting used to, but has more calcium and other nutrients than cow's milk.

Additionally, from the files of Capt. Obvious, if she's around an adult who smokes any part of the day it may be a huge contributing factor and is most likely LARGELY exacerbating the issue.

Good luck! Esp for your little girl!

do you use earplugs during bathtime or in water? Most ENTs say you don't need to use earplugs, a few say yes. From experience, every time bath water got into my daughter's ears, she would get ear infections and tubes would come out. Her eustachian tube seems like is not draining properly. That is cause of ear infections. Whether she is allergic to anything or not, to avoid stuffy nose (which leads to ear infections) your doctor might want to put her on claritin at night (once a day, along with new tubes and nasonex/nose spray to keep her sinuses and eustachian tube open). inquire about this.

SO sorry your little one has had to go through this. I know it breaks your heart. Have you ever researched the effects chiropractic have on ear aches in children? Just an idea. My niece had the adjustment by a pediatric chiro & has been earache free since she was 18 mths (now 3).
Good luck.

Hi Cory,

Pathways to Health has an entire issue dedicated to ear infections. I will see if I can find it online and copy it here and if not, I could scan it and email it to you. One article in the issue specifically mentions how recurring ear infections with antibiotic treatment can cause a candida like state in the body. Candida is yeast and there have been cases where the yeast is in the ears. I'm not saying the white stuff in your daughters ears is yeast but if she were my daughter, I would be looking closely at diet(eliminate dairy, processed foods and all added sugars), doing a candida cleanse, boosting her immune system, giving her probiotics daily & chiropractic adjustments and/or cranial sacral has been beneficial for children with recurring ear infections.

I'm looking for the issue/article to share.

Sorry you're daughter is going through this.

Peace,
J.

Yep, my son had this last summer. Very gross indeed. He had tubes put in because he had fluid in his ears (we didn't even know he had hearing issues or ear infections- took him for his adenoids). They put tubes in. Because he swims a lot, we had to put ear plugs in, and that is what I believe started it. The plug would fall out and at 4 years old, he would shove it back in. Who knows what was on his fingers or the plug when he would shove it back in. The first infection he had green goop coming out and a horrible smell. The ped gave us an oral antibiotic which didn't help. The she sent us back to the ENT who suctioned out the goop and gave us drops. He said drops work better with kids who have tubes. The the goop became white, chunky, and smelly. Back to ENT, who suctioned them out again, stronger drops given, both tubes came out. Third round to the ENT I said he keeps itching the ear. The ENT said that meant it was a secondary external yeast infection. He gave us another set of drops that treat fungal infections (this type of drop can only be used if the tubes are out) and that cleared it up. Since the tubes were out we didn't have to use plugs anymore and no infections since. Ask your ENT to test for a yeast or fungal infection, the white chunkiness sounds like yeast.

Have you tested her for allergies? My kids had tons of ear infections. I got them tested for food allergies and bingo. They each had a food that they were allergic too. We've removed the foods and the ear infections have stopped.

I don't know what the white stuff could be. I have had each of my ear drums burst 5+ times due to infections. Perhaps it was part of the sinus infection?

M.

I had ear tubes as a child and I have not grown out of them. I think you need a new ENT doctor. I went through so many as a child because I had chronic ear problems and they thought that I just kept getting ear infections and prescribing me medicine that didnt work. The problem just kept getting worse, and now at 24 I finally learned what was wrong and finally found a competent doctor.
I just got surgery done on my left ear because they werent draining, and nothing was working, the "Valsalva" move did not work the least bit. Medicine didnt, nothing.
Finally they found out that my ear drums were deformed. They were sucked in far in my ear and very thin. Ear drums are supposed to be like wax paper, and mine are like saran wrap they told me. Anyways, because my ear drums were sucked in so far it created pockets deep in there, and fluid, bacteria, and skin etc got caught up in that pocket and created an infection that cant be cured with anything but surgery. It had gotten so bad because no one looked close enough that it had eroded the bones in my ears so they had to take them out as well.
I have this problem in both ears, and now that my left ear is done it feels so much better. I have to undergo two more surgeries but after that I should never have problems with my ears again.

You should definatly have someone, even more than one ENT doctor take a very close look at her ear drums, and the bones in her ears. There has to be something causing her to have "ear infections"
If your not satisfied with her doctor get a new one.

A quick peek in her ears isnt going to do anything they need to really look close, and find out what is going on in there.

Good luck and hope everything gets solved for you and her soon!