Ear tubes - yay or nay

amother

Jean

Tue, Dec 21 2021, 9:27 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

So I hear everyone telling me to do it asap. My plan was to wait and follow up in 6 weeks, as per drs instructions. I'm also having him evaluated for speech. Is that a dumb plan? He's already 24 mos, I can't see that another month would make that much of a difference.

Something tells me I'm gonna end up doing it, I just need to know that I checked out every other option first.

SLP here. get the tubes done. lack of hearing will effect speech ...which will effect language development... which will effect classroom performance later down the road. just do it asap.

amother

Lightcyan

Tue, Dec 21 2021, 9:59 pm

Speaking from the perspective of a mother of and experienced speech pathologist.

You are already beginning to see the consequences of fluid build up (and that's not even counting child's probable discomfort). Why continue to ignore it and do more damage. The Dr. Is correct in telling you the risks but, that is required for every procedure. Your job is to calculate the gains vs. Risk. In my opinion- there is an obvious choice. Look at the statistics and daven.

Also, there is some misconception here. Some posters seem to think the tubes will be a replacement for speech/language therapy. At this age- the tubes are not enough. Your child needs both.

amother

Outerspace

Tue, Dec 21 2021, 10:13 pm

amother [ Powderblue ] wrote:

I would personally try to address it alternatively first.

We did some alternative stuff. My dc did have frequent ear infections and was antibiotics.When we gave her acidopholus the fluid cleared up and the ENT said no tubes necessary. And we also gave her some homeopathic stuff.

BUT BUT BUT
- There's already hearing issues
- Finding a really good practitioner is next to impossible. I had the luxury of my kid being in a differetn situation and being able to experiment with a knowledgeable layperson with stuff like homeopathy and acidophous that were harmless AND done with antiobiotics. If they wouldn't have worked we would have done tubes.
- Oh and try to find an alt practitioner who's covered. The trial and error is not something to be doing now.

AND
- Like my ENT said when he told us tubes weren't necessary: they're like mechanics. They do this all the time and they're GOOD at it. Of all the ped drs we saw, the ENTs were the best. They were kind and qualified and knew their stuff. When tubes are the best option, and you've made an informed decision, you should really be at peace with it. OP hatzlacha!

SYA

Tue, Dec 21 2021, 10:44 pm

I had one child where the fluid wouldn’t leave. Garlic Mullen drops didn’t work, neither did raising the bed by the head. It resulted in 90% hearing loss and caused major speech delays.

We did the tubes and by that evening the child was making clear sounds and saying words. This was at 15 months. We had been on a few months waiting list for the surgery. Within 24 hours we saw a big difference. Speech therapy helped the child catch up and BH the child can hear and speak well today.

amother

Amaranthus

Tue, Dec 21 2021, 10:48 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

My 2 yo old has fluid in his ears for quite a while already. No ear infections, bh. His hearing is not 100% and he isn't speaking well. ENT said he's a good candidate for tubes, but I could wait a bit and see what happens. Anyone done it and can give any advice? Pros and cons?

My son was diagnosed with silent otitis at almost 3 yrs of age. He never got ear infections. Yet he only had like 33% hearing and his ears were filled with gelatinous goop. He barely spoke. Ear tubes changed his life. I wish we would have known what was going on and done it sooner.

FranticFrummie

Wed, Dec 22 2021, 1:06 am

DO IT!

When DD was 5, she needed her tonsils and adenoids out. The doctor said they were HUGE. Surprised

He also said that she needed ear tubes, so it was all done at the same time. The results were immediate. When we were waiting to go in, she kept wanting them to turn up the volume on the TV in her room. When we were in recovery, she wanted it turned down, and then just asked for it to be turned off.

For that last year or so I had labeled DD a "difficult child". Not only was she dealing with low level antibiotic resistant strep and tonsillitis, but she couldn't hear me!

I'd thought that she was ignoring me, or being spacy, or being defiant. The truth was, she had no idea I was talking to her. Because she was feeling the toxic effects of strep, she was cranky most of the time.

The procedure gave me my child back. Literally, she was a whole new kid pretty much overnight. She had returned to her sweet, sunny, cheerful and cooperative kid that I knew was underneath there all the time. I'm so glad I had it done before she went into First grade.

I think that the only reason that she wasn't speech impaired was because I am a big believer in reading to you kids as often as possible, and because of my own hearing issues I tend to over enunciate words because I don't hear myself well.

She's lucky she's an only child, and I had the time to put in. If I worked full time and had a bunch of kids, I can easily see this problem not being resolved until much later.

OP, you are an awesome mama for catching this early, and being on top of it! Anesthesiologists are amazing these days. They use the lightest dose possible, and the doctors work quickly because this is such a routine procedure. They can probably do this in their sleep. Even with DD's extensive ENT problems, she was still in and out in 45 minutes, wide awake and wanting a popsicle.

(Side note to PANDA/PANS moms. Please get your kids' tonsils and adenoids out ASAP if you haven't done this already. Antibiotics don't penetrate those areas, and strep can hide there and then flare up when it gets a chance. I was told this by a top ENT at Seattle Children's' Hospital. )

amother

Molasses

Wed, Dec 22 2021, 4:39 am

I waited a while and did tubes adenoids and tonsils at the same time. My kid never had an ear infection and had strep only once. He was just under 2. Before he had tubes he used to like when I would talk very loudly the first time I did that post op he burst out crying. Within a few months his speech exploded in Hebrew and English and he hasn't stopped since. My only regret is that we waited so long and didn't pick up on hearing loss until we went to the 3rd doctor

amother

Diamond

Wed, Dec 22 2021, 5:01 am

If the speech delay is minor, and it's just a few fluids, then it might not cause long term issues. With my dd, who said a handful of words by age 2, we opted out of surgery. We gave her some medicine (I guess Claritin?) She registered a 15% hearing loss, and the surgeon said he didn't recommend surgery in this case (though a top ENT did recommend, we were getting mixed opinions.) Well, I can tell you that today she does NOT STOP SPEAKING. In two languages.

So it depends on the severity of the hearing loss, and if you see nice progress with your child. If your child has a vocabulary of zero words by age 2, though, I'd probably opt for surgery.

amother

Wed, Dec 22 2021, 7:37 am

amother [ Diamond ] wrote:

So it depends on the severity of the hearing loss, and if you see nice progress with your child. If your child has a vocabulary of zero words by age 2, though, I'd probably opt for surgery.

The hearing loss is not severe - ftr, he responds at approx 30 or 40 decibels as opposed to the average "below 20". And it's not getting worse, it's staying stable for the time being.

But we are dealing with more issues. He speaks somewhat, but the words he has is prob from before the fluid buildup started. His newish words are all being pronounced funny, prob cuz that's how he's hearing them. And, he sometimes trips for no apparent reason, which makes me believe he's losing balance.

amother

Diamond

Wed, Dec 22 2021, 7:52 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Wait, the fluid is recent? If that's the case, why not try the claritin?

amother

Canary

Wed, Dec 22 2021, 8:08 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

The fluid is sitting for about 4 mos now. And I tried Claritin for about 2 weeks. The only reason we discovered the fluid and connected all the dots, is because he had meningitis last yr pesach and as routine, audiology has to be followed for about 5 yrs.

Im not sure 2 weeks is long enough. Ive heard of people doing for longer. Personally, I'd also do chiropractic care but that doesn't seem to be a popular opinion here lol. It gets a passive aggressive hug.

amother

Dustypink

Wed, Dec 22 2021, 8:16 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Claritin should be taken for 30 days, but if the fluid is at the point of effecting his speech, hearing, balance, it probably might not clear up fully and will keep on building up again. It's really uncomfortable for the child. If you'll anyways do tubes, don't wait.

amother

Dustypink

Wed, Dec 22 2021, 8:17 am

amother [ Canary ] wrote:

Chiropractor doesn't help long term. You need to keep going back regularly, sometimes for years, to keep the fluid away. It's generally not a one time and done thing.

amother

Wed, Dec 22 2021, 8:21 am

amother [ Canary ] wrote:

Yes, I'm seeing that too. Interesting to see so many people going the good old conventional route. You would think that in today's day and age, there are alt routes. But that's why I ask here. I think I got my answer.

Same like I wouldn't tell the dentist not to fill a cavity and I wouldn't deny my child eye glasses if s/he can't see well. Pretty much the same thing, except for the general anesthesia. But 'ya gotta do what 'ya gotta do.

amother

Wed, Dec 22 2021, 8:23 am

amother [ Dustypink ] wrote:

Chiropractor doesn't help long term. You need to keep going back regularly, sometimes for years, to keep the fluid away. It's generally not a one time and done thing.

That's interesting. So then what makes the fluid not build up again after doing tubes? That's another one of my fears. What if we do tubes, they fall out and then the fluid builds up again? We do tubes again?

Or is there something about the tubes that help keep the fluid away long term even after they fall out? I know this is prob a question I should have asked the Dr, but I didn't think of it then.