6 r old Failed Hearing Test, Mid Ear Fluid

amother

Apricot

Sun, Jan 17 2016, 12:21 am

DD has some behavior issues and mentioned from time to time that she doesnt hear clearly.O took her for a hearing test and she failed showing that she has a lot of fluid in both ears. SHe suffers from seasonal allergies and has a runny nose and colds often ever since she's a tot. Any advice where I go from here? I know my options as far as her possibly needing tubes...any ideas thoughts what I could try? Could seasonal allergies cause this all year?

tryinghard

Sun, Jan 17 2016, 10:02 am

The fluid may or may not be the real issue. Last year my DD (then 5) was on antibiotics for ear infections from sukkos to chanukkah. We were referred for tubes, and in the initial workup, they said, "you know there's some hearing loss here" and we were all "nahhhhhh, the tubes will fix it". Well after the tubes, she STILL had the hearing loss, and now she has hearing aids. This is an extremely verbal child, and everyone who finds out about the hearng aids is shocked - "SHE has hearing loss?!" Baruch Hashem we have seen only bracha from them. It was a major emotional hurdle for DH and I, but DD took it in stride and loves them, and we see a huge difference all around, in behavior, mood regulation, confidence, socially...

Hopefully this won't be the issue for you, but if it is, or it looks like it may be, feel free to PM me...

But for the record, the tubes did help with the original fluid/ear infection issue...

FranticFrummie

Sun, Jan 17 2016, 10:24 am

My DD had a lot of behavior issues around age 5, and we passed strep back and forth for at least a year.

It turned out that her tonsils and adenoids were harboring drug resistant strep, and she also had fluid in her ears.

We had all the surgeries done at once, and within 48 hours I had a whole new child! She was happy, sweet, cooperative, and responsive. No more tantrums, no more "ignoring" what I said (poor kid couldn't hear or understand me), and she became a lot less defiant and oppositional. If I hadn't seen the turn around happen so quickly, I never would have believed that the surgery and behavior issues were connected, but there you have it.

Oh, and B'H, neither one of us has ever had strep again since then. Very Happy

sky

Sun, Jan 17 2016, 11:22 am

I found putting tubes in my son for hearing loss gave me a new child, and allowed him the control over himself. It was the best for both of us and the entire family.

My son had major behavoiral issues at home. He was really out of control.

We discovered he had a moderate hearing loss in both ears, but he really couldn't hear very much at all. We put in tubes. he still has a hearing loss, but not as bad as before. He is an enirely new child.

We first put in tubes when he was 5. His behavoir improved within 2 months and he was amazing and so much easier. His tubes fell out when he was 7 and he became impossible again, at first we couldn't figure it out, he was really uncontrollable, at his next dr appointment they found that he had fluid. We went back to ENT, his hearing was bad again in only one ear, and not as bad as before, his eardrum in that ear was totally contracted from fluid. Even that slight hearing loss was causing him to act out. We did tubes in one ear and again within a month I had a new child. The change in his behavior was amazing. I found it wasn't fair to him that he was acting out because of the fluid and lack of hearing.

I would think the first stop would be your pediatrician. (Mine happens to not be fast to put in tubes so when he told me to go to an ENT I listened immediately). He should recommend the ENTs he thinks are excellent, specifically to treat hearing loss. We redid the hearing tests there and scheduled an appt for tubes.

After the tubes when he still had some mild hearing loss in one ear we went for an MRI to check the ear and b'h everything was okay. Right now we are hoping the ear will heal itself, but he can hear enough now that he can follow in the classroom, hear the teacher after recess (over lots of noise), and just behave [He still struggles during noisy classroom activities, but his teachers are aware and try to help him out]. We do monitor his hearing regularly to just make sure it isn't getting worse. He is such a wonderful child now, to me its almost a miracle.

You could try a chiropractor first to drain the fluid if you would like but it is possible the fluid will keep coming back....

manhattanmom

Wed, Jan 20 2016, 9:55 pm

One of my son's had tubes in his ears as a toddler...but one had for the first time at age 6. He hadn't had any issues earlier---had ear infections from time to time but the fluid always cleared right away.
At 5 and a half, over a 6 month period, he was on antibiotics 7 or 8 times due to chronic fluid and congestion. He had his adenoids removed as well. And we've seen some major behavior changes--for the positive!
I don't know any parent who has regretted a quality of life procedure--such as tubes in the ears--there are immediate results.
It's also good to know that there is zero recovery time--for both tube placement and adenoid removal---(it's the tonsils that make it tricky) my kids were always in school the next day. When my older son had for the second time (at age 5) he went into surgery at 10:00am, we left the hospital only an hour later and asked him what he wanted for lunch...he wanted pizza. at 11:20 we were eating pizza in our local pizza store-- Smile

You can message me if you have any additional questions.
Also, we do see an audiologist and ENT in the same office.

sky

Thu, Jan 21 2016, 1:29 pm

L K wrote:

Sky, if you have been happy with your ent, do you mind my asking whom you've used?

And you said your ent did the hearing test and not an audiologist?

We used Dr Kazahaya in CHOP (voorhees satellite office). I've been very happy. The place is run a bit like a factory but they have been on top of it.

We originally found the issue by a local audiologist. In ChOP they have their own audiologists we use when we go, but he needs to get his hearing tested more often then we have to see the dr, so they don't mind if I go local in between the CHOP appointments.

Locally I used Advanced Hearing Center on Reagan Court. she is very thorough and made my son comfortable.

My son had is adenoids removed with his first set of tubes. I didn't find the recovery to be so easy. He had a low grade fever for a week and was miserable, I wish I had been better prepared for that. The tubes alone really have an immediate recovery.

thunderstorm

Thu, Jan 21 2016, 4:45 pm

sky wrote:

I found putting tubes in my son for hearing loss gave me a new child, and allowed him the control over himself. It was the best for both of us and the entire family.

.

I had the exact same experience...I regret I didnt do the tubes sooner....it delayed my sons speach. He needed tubes 3 times. The last time at the age of 10 I removed his adenoids as well and he never needed the tubes or had fluid again....
The first time my son got tubes, he was 4. We came home from the hospital after his surgery and he went to the bathroom. He jumped when he flushed the toilet...he never heard that sound before!!! He was so impressed when an airplane flew over head..he never heard that sound before....

sky

Thu, Jan 21 2016, 4:51 pm

Bizzydizzymommy wrote:

My son too was amazed at some of the sounds he heard after he had his tubes put in . He was very sensitive to sound for a some time and startled easily. I was so sad about the things he missed (and the times people got upset at him because he just didn't listen. )