Trouble with Ear Tubes?

You want regret it I have two boys who had tubes within the first year and it helped so much! Good Luck

My daughter had 8 ear infections in 7 months before we got her tubes. Like the other parents you have talked to, it was the best thing we could have done. She got her's in March and she has not had an ear infection since. I was nervous too but the procedure only takes a few minutes. They were finished and brought my daughter back to me before I could even read a few pages in a book. She went home and took a nap and by lunch time, she was up playing. Good luck on Tuesday.

hello,how are you? i hope good. i never had a bad outcome with my sons tubes or mine during surgery. we both really did great. on the other hand after my son got his 1st set of tubes he still had current ear infections. so we had to take out the adnoids. ryan hasnt had a ear infection for a yr after his adnoids. he is almost 2 and we are having ear infections after a yr. now they are thinking its a dairy allergy to cause him to have ear infections after a yr. so i thought my information would help you out to what to look for after surgery. our ent is dr. holmes i love his clinic so much. so i hope this helped out. im 28 single mom of 3 kids.

Dear Kim,
I am actually going today for my daughters checkup with having ear tubes placed and adenoids removed. I am not going to lie seeing our children is painful. Your little guy will be fine though. I am not sure you is doing the surgery but Carolina ENT is who done my daugthers. On the first day she slept some and whine some, but once we gave her the pain medication she done 10 times better. If I had to give a suggestion I would say don't be afraid to use the pain medicine prescribed. I think with my daughter having her adenoids removed as well caused more pain for her but the ear did drain some terrible looking stuff the first couple of days. Myself I just let nature take its course and didn't mess with her ears for the first couple of days. I did notice that she really did not eat much at all. She would only drink through a straw or when I would put liquid in a straw and place it in her mouth. Also she loves yougort so I would go to McDonalds everyday and get the parfaits with no fruit. She would also eat Yo-Baby. She is getting better now. Myself I put a little hat(tobagon) on her head when we went outside just in case there was a little wind I didn't want her to experience any pain from wind in her ears. She looked a little funny in May with this hat on but who cares, she was happy and comfortable. She is much better now and will not be experiencing anymore ear pain or infections for a long time I hope and pray. I will say a little prayer for your child and he will be fine I promise. Trust me if anyone is over-protective it is myself. I lost her father 20 days before her birth so I can't let anything happen to my baby girl. Take care.

My son had tubes put in at age 3, ending a long cycle of ear infections. He had tons of fluid in his ears, and it was affecting his hearing. I'm not sure what would have happened if we hadn't had them put in, but I am so thankful we did. As everyone has said, it's quick surgery, more scary for the parents. It will be the longest 10 minutes of your life!
I'm not sure why you want to hear about negative experiences. Surgery always comes with some risks. Most of the time, the benefits outweigh the risks. Asking to hear negatives is just going to cause you more stress. As you see here, most of the stories are positive!

Hi K.! W
My son had 17 ear infections from October to February. We had tubes placed in early March and have had a clean bill of health ever since. My son did have an ear infection when they were placed and other than extra drainage from that ear the first day, we had no negative side effects.
It was a super easy procedure, I didn't even have a chance to open a magazine in the waiting room before the nurse came back to get me. I was worried about them putting him to sleep but it was kind of like a laughing gas. So the minute they pulled the gas away from his face, he began to wake up. The only negative thing is the wake up from that, most kids have a hard time because it's an unfamiliar area to them and they've got cords and monitors around them.
My son did have hearing loss prior to the surgery and he's now hearing (according to the hearing test tec) better than an adult!
He has been a different kiddo since the surgery. It was like we hadn't met the real Wilson. He's much more content, has a much easier time walking and his speech has soared since then.
Sometimes these things are unavoidable and scary but hindsight 20/20, I would have pushed a lot harder for this a lot sooner. Good luck!!

Hi K.,

My daughter had tubes inserted on February 14, 2007. She turned one on March 23, 2007. The tubes have been a lifesaver. She had her first ear infection when she was three weeks old and had an ear infection about every other month after that. Now, she hasn't had any infections and all the other problems that the infections were causing have completely gone away. The only problem we had was that she had to have one tube replaced in April, because there was so much stuff behind the ear drum to begin with that when it started draining, it clogged the tube up. Having the tubes is a minor procedure, only took about 10 minutes and Emma was back to being herself by the afternoon. I hope that all goes well with your son. I am also a first time mom and Emma is my world! Good Luck!!!

With all surgeries there can be complications....but it was the greatest thing for our son. He had his put in last year about 2 weeks before he turned 1. It really helped with the ear infections. He just lost one about 2 weeks ago...but seems to be doing just fine. The surgery is really quick, from the time they took him, we went out in the waiting room, and I got about 2 sentences in his baby book, the nurse was back out there telling us they were bringing him into recovery. It takes a while for him to wake up and be ready to go...and kinda grogy all day...but you should be fine. Also those drs are used to working with kids...so they know how to comfort them.

Hey Kim, my youngest had tubes put in in July. Since then she has had at least 10 more infections. We were told they may have to do surgery again. The surgery itself went pretty smooth I was able to stay back until they took her back. The hardest part was when they give her some medicine to sort of seditate her. It was hard to watch. Almost immediatly after her surgery was finished we were allowed to come back one of us and sit there while she was waking up. Not the most fun thing to do. Good luck

We had it done forour son when he was about 18 months, we were very scared and nervous, and it was hard when the took him from us, but, we didn't even have time to finish our breakfast from the cafeteria before the doctor came out and said he was done and it went fine, and he had tubes and his adenoids removed. By the time we got home and woke up from our naps, you would never had know he had the surgery, playful, happy, our normal little boy! He didn't even need his pain medicine. I've never heard a horror story from it. Please, have a little peace of mind, he will be fine, it's just hard letting go over your baby, but I promise, it's for only 30 minutes! And then he's back in your arms!

Good Luck

Both my boys had tubes twice. It was the best thing for both of them. My oldest had hearing issues and developmental delays as a result of the infections. Showers work better at keeping the water out of the ears. Everything will work out fine!!

Hi K.. First let me say Happy anniversary. Now, My son is almost 5 and has had 2 sets of ear tubes. The first set stayed in for about 2 years or so and did great. As far as the surgery, He came home like nothing happened. I thought he would be groggy or hurting or something. NOPE. He was a little tired at first, but then we got home and he just played. The tubes work thier ways out in about 2 years and his did. Well the infections returned and so they went ahead and did another set. He is just now having one that is working it's way out. No sign of any problems. It doesn't hurt and the only reason they have to put them to sleep is b/c they won't sit still for them to put them in. It truely is simple and a blessing. There will be no more ear infections and he will be happy. My son was about 9 months old when they did the first set and he was 3 when they did the second set. The reason they did two sets is b/c the ear canal is suppose to grow as the child grows and sometimes is doesn't grow enough within the time the tube was in and they had to put the other set in. We don't know yet if he will need another set untill this one comes out. But the doctor did say that sometimes they don't grow out of it, but that is rare. I would definately go ahead and do it and don't be worried. You will be so happy you did it. Good Luck!!

K.,

Stay positive. It will help you and your son in the long run. The procedure is very quick, and the benefits for your son are even more beneficial.
My son was born with a bilateral cleft lip and palate. He's now 3 1/2 and has two sets of tubes. he lost his tubes last fall we could tell a huge difference in his speech.(this is normal since he had the first tubes placed in ears at 4 months of age) after having the tubes replaced his speech was back on track.

You'll see a very happy child after having the tubes placed. He'll beable to hear you!
Good luck!

My name is H. and I own a daycare facility. I have a 3 year old daughter. She has never had tubes, but where I own the daycare, I have seen alot of children get them. They do a wonderful job and I have never seen anything bad from the tubes. I understand your worry, I would be worried too. But the tubes will save your child from a lot of pain in the future!!

My daughter is 14 months old and got ear tubes 1 1/2 weeks ago. We actually had our first check up since surgery today. The procedure went great. My child was put to sleep with a gas mask. The procedure took 10 minutes and she was in the recovery room for about 15 minutes. We were able to meet her in the recovery room and she was crying which they say is a natural reaction to coming out of the medication. On the car ride home she fell asleep and by the time she woke up from her nap she was acting completely normally. The doctor removed thick fluid from her right ear and said that there was no way it would have come out on its own and it would have caused hearing damage if not treated. That in itself made it worth it. I have heard nothing but good things about ear tubes and now I was told if my daughter gets an ear infection we will notice some fluid come from her ear and to put some ear drops in that the doctor gave us. (The same drops you use for a couple days after surgey) It is natural to be nervous about any surgery, but I am happy I went through with the procedure. I can already tell that my daughter feels much better and it is nice to finally be done with antibiotics.

It was the best thing we ever did for our daughter.
She was 1 yr 4 months when she had her tubes put in. The way it worked when she had hers done, they gave her a oral medication to make her sleepy and let me hold her until she was just about out and then they took her from me and they brought me back in the recovery room before she woke up so that when she came out of it I would be there so she wouldn't be scared. She didn't really complain after it was done, she just slept all day really, but she went from having double ear infections at least once a month to maybe once every six months to a year.

Our daughter had tubes in her ears when she was around 4 years old. She was virtually deaf until then (actually reading lips to understand what was being said). Our son has also had tubes in his ears - both children experienced great success with the tubes. As long as you have confidence in your E-N-T physician, there should be no problems. Our son was 16 years old when he had his tubes placed (he didn't have to be put to sleep because of his age) and he noticed a marked difference immediately. Please note that our son struggled with ear infections for many years and this caused some significant hearing loss until the tubes. Repeated ear infections can cause permanent damage and the tubes are a simple and effective solution.

I hope this helps alleviate some of your worry and concern.

I know w/ my daughter we had to have the tube surgery and she began walking the very nxt week (I mean across the room without any assistance). Should you be leary? Yes! Surgery is surgery.
As a result of botched medical treatment as a 5 yr old, I wound up in the hospital for a week with a very serious blood infection and had to have surgery to clean out all the infection. (Oh yeah, I'm the perfect example of WHY to WEAR shoes whle bicycling-- bare foot in the spokes is really painful. Not that I remember a whole lot since I blessedly black-out.)
What I suggest is to take into account what everyone says and then check out the Dr. Has anyone else you know used that Dr & what were their impressions? That was the one thing that helped me to decide on what to do & who to see. My daughter's surgery was in CHS with a Dr whom I learned other Drs took their childern. But I would never have known without asking around for recommendations & impressions from other moms.
Good luck and trust your instincts with this one!

Hi K.,

My son had ear tubes put in in December. He had just turned 1 as well 2 weeks prior to the surgery. Both ears were infected from October until this past March even after the tubes were put in. He was put on every antibiotic there was, even had the shot antibiotics and nothing worked for him. Everytime we went for a check up, he still had both ear infections. The surgery went well and it was fairly quick. Afterwards, my son was very groggy and cried a little but I brought his sippy cup and they filled it with apple juice and he loved it! We went home and he slepted for an hour or 2 and after he woke up is was his normal self. I think the reason he never got rid of his ear infections was because of daycare with all the colds and crud that was past around every week. As soon as I took him out of daycare in February and a month more of ear drop antibiotics they finally cleared up. He then had a hearing test and he passed with flying colors. Overall, I am glad we had the ear tubes put in because even though it didn't clear up right away I always knew he had an infection because you could see the drainage coming out of the ear. Atleast it drains rather than stays in. Sorry this was so long. I hope this helps you! Good Luck and don't worry, he'll feel better soon. I don't know where you live, but I went the Charlotte ENT in SouthPark and saw Dr. Mair. He is very nice.

K.,
I am not an expert by any means, but you may want to get a second opinion. According to the June issue of Parenting, a new study in The New England Journal of Medicine proposes that ear tubes aren't always necessary. In fact, they found that kids who did not have the surgery or waited to have it turned out fine. According to Parenting, you may have to monitor more for signs of earache and be vigilant, but it might not hurt to ask another doctor their opinion.

Also, I know it is not something you want to hear, but you asked for negative experiences. Well, my best friend's son has tubes and it has been a fiasco. Apparently, the surgeon who put them in to start with screwed up. He installed the tubes while an infection was forming and this lead to more and more infections that were even more painful for the baby because they were harder to treat and were one right after another. By the time my friend took her son to see another doctor permanent damage had been done. He had to have the surgery a second time to remove the old tubes and put in new ones. When the new surgeon removed the tubes, he discovered that one of the tubes had been kinda crammed in and had caused massive scar tissue, not to mention the damage done by the underlying infection. Needless to say 2 years later the baby is just seeing relief, but has partial hearing loss as a result of a botched first surgery.

So, it is really a hard decision to make. I do not envy you, but I hope this information helps. It might not hurt to look up the original study in the New England journal and check it out. I know tubes can help some people, and I am not saying don't consider them. I just think you are right to be leary and wise to ask if someone has had an experience other than perfect. Good luck with your decision!

Hi,
My son used to get ear infections all the time too...the same thing with the antibiotics not working. I was begging someone to say he needed ear tubes, but our doctor kept saying he would grow out of it. He is 2 1/2 now and I have to say that he has. I'm glad that we stuck it out. I would get a second opinion,,,or a third.
C.

my daughter, who is now six, had numerous ear infections when she was little. it was like she had one every week. she had two sets of tubes put in and taken out before she was even 1 1/2. finally, her ENT suggested we take her adnoids out. it is a gland that is located somewhere between the ear and throat i believe. i said fine, take them out as it couldn't do anything but benefit her. they took the adnoids out and put another set of tubes in and she has been fine ever since. that was four yars ago. maybe you shoulkd suggest this to your ENT. good luck

Our son had several ear infections as a baby. Our pediatrician finally referred us to an ENT for ear tubes. We were very hesitant to have our 11 month old in surgery, but didn't want to continue having so many ear infections either.

He had the surgery right before his 1st birthday. It was a quick 10-minute procedure, and he hasn't had any problems since! We thank God for that!

K.,

I have a fifteen month old that had surgery for his tubes at a year old. I don't have any negative feedback for you, but I will tell you not to expect an overnight recovery to the ear infections. I had the expectation that we would not have any more ear infections, but I was wrong. It took a little over a month for before my son was finally not having to go to the doctor every other week an be put on an antiobiotic. What they have done for us is my son has several prescriptions at the pharmacy for medicated ear drops, so that as soon as I see any sign of drainage, or if I know his ears are starting to get infected, I can pick up the drops and treat him. It is so much better than going to the doctor and getting antibiotics, etc. My son has not been without a cold since his surgery, but is doing much better. Best of luck to you and your family. Please feel free to let me know if you have any other questions about the tubes. I'll be glad to share my experience.

We also just had tubes put in our sons ears (he's almost 18 months old). He had an ear infection for basiclly 4 weeks straight, then a virus for a week, then another ear infection... He had moderate to severe hearing loss due to the fluid build up. At our two week follow up visit, his hearing was DRAMATICALLY improved. He's now walking and talking better than ever. (He had problems with balance due to the fluid as well, so he didn't start really walking by himself until a couple weeks ago.) The surgery itself only takes about 15 minutes. We weren't able to go with our son either, but he was out before we knew it, and was awake and drinking juice. The only problem we had was a slight reaction to the anesthesia. He threw up a few times that night, but he kept drinking lots of fluids. He was fine the next day; just a little grumpy.

HI.. The advice that I have is to double check the doctor ... My son had trouble with his ears and had to have the tubes .. The doctor that we went to wasnt all he was cracked up to be and I didnt know anyone that had went to him but that was the only one around .. anyways he messed my sons ear up worse than what it was , He only had a small amount of hearing in his ear afterwards, His ear drum when the tube came out was suctioned flat and so we had to take him to a diffrent Doc. and blow the ear drum out in hope we could get it enough so the other tube would stay in. HE is doin fine today still some drainage but the second tube helped his hearing alot . Not as many ear infections as before ...Best of luck to you an your son!

My oldest had trouble with her ears she had alot of ear infections. She ended up getting tubes in her ears. Since then she has been doing good.

I hate to be an advocate for the surgery because I personally believe many doctors are too quick to suggest tubes but in several cases it can be the best thing you can do.

I didn't have tubes. My first eardrum burst when I was 3. It burst again when I was 5. When they both burst at 15, they didn't heal and now I've got 2 permanent holes in my eardrums. As scary as ear surgery is at 1, at 30 it is very complicated and very frightening.

My daughter started with the same pattern as your son. Unfortunately, on her 5th infection her eardrum ruptured. Fortunately it healed and doesn't seem to have impacted her hearing but it did cause us to immediately have the tubes inserted. While I've never been more miserable in my life than the time I spent waiting for her to come out of surgery, I would do it again in a heartbeat to spare her the pain of another eardrum rupture.

My only advice would be to really pressure the doctor to try to figure out what is causing the problem. Mine is allergy related. Looks like the same is true for my daughter. She is three and her tubes have been out for a year. Even though she had the tubes we still will get ear infections if we don't give her allergy medicine when the grass and pollen counts are high.

Hopefully your son just needs time for his ears to mature. I've talked to tons of parents who never had another infection. We weren't that lucky but I do believe the tubes saved her from much worse.

I can tell you from personal experience that tubes are really nothing to fret about. Both me and my brother had them when we were younger, I had to have 3 sets at 3 different times. It doesn't hurt at all and I went from 75% deaf to close to perfect hearing. My brother who is 18 now still has his in and this is his 3rd set as well. The only downside for me was having to wear ear plugs when we went swimming or took a bath and you can't jump in or dive into a pool or water. I will tell you I had some of the worst ear infections ever and I would take the completely painless tube surgery over one of those ear infection ANY day of the week. And when I say painless surgery, I seriously mean not even discomfort. They put you to sleep and they are done in about 15 minutes. I had them in at 3, 6, and 9 years old. Hope that helps you!

My son, (who is now 9) was 7 months old when we had tubes put in his ears. He had several ear infections, one after another, until the doctor recommended tubes. Believe me, when they take him/her back into the operating room, it is one of the hardest things in the world! It really didn't take long, and he was rather ill when he 1st woke up, but after a few hours he was fine. Our problem was after he had tubes, he continued to have ear infections. After the 2nd round of antibiotics about 6 weeks after the operation, I took him to another doctor. He was fantastic. He took a culture from the back of his nose, by sticking a long q-tip up his nose (which he did not like very much) and then had an x-ray done of his adenoids. The x-ray was a horrible experience as well, but it had to be done. Anyway, he found out that all of his ear infections were caused by a particular bacteria in the back of his nose, and it was very resistant to the antibiotics he had been on. He went one more round on of a different antibiotic, one that was for the particular bacteria he found, and we have not had a problem since!! He said the tubes may or may not have been necessary, but he hasn't had any problems, so I can't say that i regret it. I am 29 years old, and I had tubes put in my ears seven different times growing up. The last time I was a senior in high school. I had a bad infection about 2 months ago, and they thought they were gonna have to do it again, but thankfully it cleared up after about 3 weeks. Not fun!!! It is a really routine procedure, but things can always go wrong. Just follow your gut, and maybe get a 2nd opinion. It won't hurt anything to ask another doctor, just to see! I hope everything works out for you!

K.,

I have three boys and they all have had tubes and they have really helped them. It is a very easy thing to have done and within hours after having them put in all of my boys were 100% better. If you have more questions for me please feel free to call me.

J. H.
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Hi K.,

I personally have not had experience with tubes but my cousin has. She had them and when they were sugesting her 20 month old son get them because of his ear infections, she said no way. She had a terible experience with them and to this day has a hole in her eardrum from them. She did some research and found a oil that you can use to treat the infection. She has used it with great results and for the first time in about 9 months he does not have an ear infection. She also gave him echanesa(sp)to help boost his immune system. There is also a woman in my church who has had them and she would also not recomend them until all other options had been exhalsted.
I know a lot of children are getting tubes these days but from a 23 year old mom who had them herself when she was young, she would recomend trying everything else possible before having them put in.
Hope this helps and that your son gets over the ear infections soon!

My daughter will be two in June. We got tubes in her ears last year around July. She has not had one ear infection since. I think it was the best thing that we could have done for her. I was also very worried about her being put to sleep. She did a great job and was back at daycare in 2 days. Hope this helps to reassure you.

sorry, i have not had to deal with ear tubes (fingers crossed). but i did have to use an ENT doc here in town about a year ago for my son (now 4 yr) which ended up involving minor surgery and i LOVED him! he is at providence northeast and i am pretty sure everyone just called him Dr. G. (long last name). i will look it up for you if you are interested. hope this helps some! good luck!
:) jenny

K.,
My son had ear tubes 5yrs ago. Prior to placing the tubes, he had ear infections at least twice a month for nearly a year. After the tubes, he was soooo much better. Even after the tubes fell out, he still has not had any repeat of infection. It was the best thing I could've done for him...he was so much healthier and his hearing improved. With his surgery, I was able to back into the pre-op area. There they gave him a baby-valium which made him pretty woozy so that he didn't get upset when the nurse took him back to the operating room. About 15 minutes later they came and got me again. He was really nauseous and they weren't real sure if that was from the sleeping gas or from the new change in equilibrium...it passed after about an hour and he was fine. Good luck to you all!

Glad everything went well with you. My daughter hasn't had this problem luckily, but I am 29 years old and had 7 sets of tubes through my childhood. I also had my tonsils and adenoids removed when I was very young, don't remember it, just have a stuffed animal from my hospital stay. I think I was around 3 or 4 at that time. I never had any problem with my tubes, they would stay in until they fell out, but as you can tell by having 7 sets, I still continued to get ear infections. I haven't had tubes since I was around 11 years old, but I've always continued with ear infections, although they have lessened as I've gotten older. I wouldn't worry about your son and his tubes. The only "issue" I had with them as a child was not getting water in my ears and having to wear ear plugs, which was a hassel to me as a kiddo (at least from my childish prospective). Enjoy your first baby and I hope the tubes help.