Ear Tubes - does anyone regret getting them for DC?

[Befferk]

I haven't read all the other replies, but I definitely recommend checking out a chiropractor. You would be amazed at what they can do. My son has gone since he was 8 weeks old (colic). A properly adjusted spine will alleviate ear infections as well as promote the overall immune system. Google some searches on chiropractic for kids. My cousin had tubes for her 1st two kids, and had problems, and she thought her 3rd would need them too, but talked to her chiropractor 1st. They got the little guy's ear problems cleared up without the tubes. It doesn't hurt to check it out. Chiropractic treatments are covered by most insurances.

Beth

 

[J. Galt]

Putting in tubes was the best decision we ever made for our little one who had recurring ear infections. We hemmed and hawed about it because we didn't want to put her through the surgery. Well, the surgery was so unbelievably minor. It took all of five minutes to put the things in her ears. The worst part is when they are coming off the anesthesia and they are crying,etc... because they are all disoriented, etc... We brought her home and she slept the rest of the day. The next morning she woke up and you would never know that anything had happened except that we had no ear infections after that.

The main problem for most kids is that the little tubes in their ears (estrucian tubes or something like that... can't remember) that are supposed to drain the fluid are very short and horizontal. This causes fluid to just sit in there and cause infections. The artificial tubes create better drainage for the ears until their little heads can grow and their natural tubes can point in a more downward direction (ie. they create better drainage for themselves). This is why most kids eventually just outgrow ear infections. This is how our ENT explained the use of tubes to us.

You can still get ear infections with the artificial tubes in, but most likely you can clear them up with ear drops rather than putting them through the whole antibiotic thing.

I just wish she still had the things in (they have since fallen out). We haven't flown since they fell out and I am really hoping we don't have any infections for our next trip to WDW in a couple of weeks (it would be her first ear infection since they fell out if it did occur. I'm just concerned because flying was a definite trigger of an ear infection before we had the tubes put in).

 

[pmtaylor]

Both of our kids have had tubes. My daughter, unfortunately, had to have them three times. The last time she had them put in , we saw a different doctor with the same ENT group, he talked about removing her adnoids (not sure the spelling is correct) because a lot of the time that is what is causing the problem. We agreed to let him do it. It was the last set of tubes and that was three years ago and she has had one ear infection since.

Good luck..

 

[padams]

DS had recurring ear infections as an infant. The ped didn't want DS to get tubes because DS would respond to the antibiotics. However, once he was off the antibiotic, he'd get another ear infection. Finally, when DS was 19 months old, we insisted the ped refer us to a pediatric ENT. The ENT told me that our ped wouldn't agree to ear tubes for the ped's own son, and the ped's wife finally took their kid to the same ENT and insisted that tubes be put in.

I wish we had done the tubes earlier. DS' speech and hearing had been affected by the constant fluid in his ears. We didn't know that at the time. What he heard sounded like what you hear underwater. He's 8 now, and he did 2 years of weekly speech therapy to correct his articulation issues. He has also had to work extra hard at spelling, and we are finally seeing some progress in that area. Because he had had difficulty identifying sounds, spelling phonetically didn't work for him. We've determined that he just has to memorize the spelling words.

BTW, my other DS has never had an ear infection in his 10 years of life. However, he gets very stomach virus that comes within a mile of him...

 

[brytorlyn]

When DS was 2 the doctors told me he needed tubes and maybe his tonsils out too. They wanted to go ahead and book the surgery but it was my first child and the idea of anesthetics and surgery were so scary I said I needed to think about it. I also worried about the damage his frequent/constant ear infections might have on his hearing but I wondered if there was anything else that could be done. (He had chronic ear infections over the previous year and there had been talk of low dose antibiotics too)

I worked in the medical field (in a hospital lab), and I am a very cautious parent but I decided to go to a naturopath (natural medicine practitioner). I picked a reputable doctor with good credentials and figured it wouldn't hurt to talk to him and see what they suggested. I was a little wary but figured if he recommended "eye of newt" I could always book the surgery.

He recommended some natural herbal medicines that were very inexpensive and easy to take (I read up on them and they were safe and had been used for years to treat infections of this sort). Within two weeks I took him to my physician who was shocked to see that his ears were clearer than they had been in months. Whenever we suspected an ear infection after that, I took him to my doctor, pockected the antibiotic prescription, and gave him the herbal meds and then returned for the follow-up visit and everytime the ear infection was gone. I had his hearing checked when he was about 3 and again at 5 and everything was normal.

Just a suggestion too...dairy products (especially milk) can be very phlegm inducing and reducing the amounts of milk during times of colds can really help. I was always reluctant to remove dairy products from my growing child's
diet but I did for short periods and today he is an 18 year old 6ft 210lb football playing university student so it didn't seem to hurt him any!

 

[TwinkieMama]

My DD was also born with a cleft lip & palate so she got tubes even though she only has about 1 ear infection per year (which is unusual for cleft palate kids).

As others have said, we have no regrets. I would reccomend seeing an ENT and having them do it- which I think you are. Duke is awesome! We had wonderful experiences there. Her tubes were put in with another surgery so the tube part was no big deal.

As others have also said, you may still get infections... they will just drain. I personally think it is wonderful to know what is going on as opposed to guessing or like us, wait until she flunked hearing tests. Anyway, because of our history with the docs and her status they would give me prescriptions over the phone whenever I saw drainage. I could get the infections cleared up right away, didn't have to sit in a room of sick kids, etc. etc. Anyway she got the tubes as 10 months and actually had more infections since then (she is 3.5 yrs now) but they are easy to spot and clear up.

I , personally, as a mom and a molecular biologist, want to save the antibiotics for when their is need vs all the time (as another ped reccomended to us). I would be carefull with any child but especially a girl on those constant low dose antibiotics.... who needs a yeast infection when they are 15 months old????

As others have also said, tubes can be in too long so just keep seeing your ENT as reccommended. After worrying every winter that her tubes will fall out and we will have to get (and pay for) another set, she still has the original set from 2002. We are due to get them taken out this spring if they don't fall out before then.

 

[lecach]

We went to our ENT appointment on Friday. He said DS had met every requirement for tubes and has had double the number of ear infections that are required for tubes. He looked at DS's ear under a special microscope and he said DS had fluid in his ear - and that it can lead to bacterial infections and even meningitis. I wanted to say "who are you trying to convince?" - I was all ready for the tubes anyway. So we're going for it. The scheduler will call me today to set the surgery time. Hopefully it'll be soon. The only thing I am worried about is the eating before surgery. The brochure they gave me said something about no food or beverage 6 hours before surgery. I will have one screaming baby on my hands with no bottle. Did I read that correctly?

 

[poohfriend]

the surgery for my little one was scheduled very early. Our ENT takes the youngest first on surgery days. (I think at 16 mo, we were #2). Anyway my still nursing toddler/baby had to be placed in the car still asleep. And when we got to the hospital, it was one new thing after another and he never asked to eat!! He wanted to be held as we walked the halls, registered, got his little baby gown, etc. Our hospital gave him a beanie-baby type thing to hold onto. And my very clingy DS was so entralled by that toy he didn't notice the nurse had taken him down the hall away from us.

We stood in the hallway maybe 20 feet from the OR. The entire procedure was less than 5 minutes. We were not able to hold our little one until after recovery. I still think he was away from us less than 30 minutes. It wasn't long after that the nurse gave us the okay for liquid!

I know doctors and hospitals handle it all differently. Your experience may be quite different. Still I'm hopeful that your DC will be occupied wth all the "New" stuff around, that the bottle won't be called on. Your child will be under anestisia and food is a no-no.

We haven't had a single ear infection in the 6 months since tubes. I used to cry when a simple "sniffle" started because I knew within a week we'd have a sick baby (MISERABLE) and then have 10 days of yucky diapers because of the antibiotic (all of them upset his system). With the way it worked in our household we had more bad weeks each month than good ones. I will never regret tubes!

GOOD for you for finding and ENT. I hope your little one will be better soon!

 

[crisi]

Continued use of antibiotics gave my DD a senstivity to penicillian. So now she can't do a lot of antibotics and our options are limited. Tubes earlier may have kept this from happening. In a few years we will test her to find out if her sensitivity is actually an allergy or was just our imagination, but she is still too young to test.

 

[TinkerbellMama]

Please consider going to a chiropractor BEFORE resorting to tubes! I had a double tympanostomy (tubes in both ears) when I was a toddler, and I have problems to this day because of the tubes...my ears pop, ring, and "back up" frequently because of scar tissue. All for nothing, since the tubes didn't stop the ear infections, btw! (Doesn't work for everyone.) Chiropractic is safe and highly effective for many children who get ear infections...last I read, the "cure" rate is around 80%!!!!!!!!!!

 

[TwinkieMama]

yes- they do need to fast before surgery
I would call and confirm what you are reading with the ENTs nurse and if you are nursing make that clear over the phone. At Duke they gave us a shorter fast window for breast milk than for formula. Our surgery was scheduled by age so surgery time was like 7 am with a 9 month old. As the other poster said, they day is wierd enough what with getting up early and going to the hospital so she didn't seem to want any food. I also woke her up to give her a bottle at the last possible time with the hours that we were told (again the tube surgery is super quick but she was also have a complicated palate repair and wasn't out of the OR until noon.)

Duke is awesome! Our ENT there was the best. Another good resource there is someone they call the "Child life specialist" ... this person will help you navigate your hosptial experience and give you all sorts of good tips. They will also give your child some goodies.

 

[abbylukesmom]

I didn't have a chance to read all of the responses. But I wanted to ask if you have taken him to a chiropractor yet? I was very doubtful of them at first, but after taking my ds for almost 4 months, we have seen vast improvements!

Just last week I was talking to the doctor (chiro), about ear infections. He said he had treated a few for that & it always helped.

Good chiro are hard to find. If you choose to do it. Do lots of checking to find a reputable one....I don't trust my baby to just anyone, & I'm sure you don't either!!

By the way, My ds did have tubes when he was 2 years old. I have never regretted it, although he still had several infections with the tubes. It just cut back on a few.

Best of luck to you! Since your ds is so young, he should be one of the fisrt ones in for surgery. Which makes keeping the bottle from him a tad bit easier!

 

[lecach]

Twinkiemama: We're not actually going to Duke now - the first ENT appt. they had was in January and I just couldnt see waiting that long. So we're going to NC Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat. The surgery will be at the NC Specialty Hospital on Roxboro Road. Someone from the hospital is supposed to call me and discuss the surgery time, fasting, etc. with us. I was thinking that if the surgery is at 7 I would wake him at 12:30 to give him a bottle. He normally wakes up around 4:00 a.m. for a bottle so thats why I am a little worried. But maybe if he gets one at 12:30 he'll last a little longer.

 

[TwinkieMama]

How long does he go without food before his 4 am feeding? I think the midnight bottle should hold him over until surgery is over. I am sure the ENTs there are great too.... we were at Duke because of the need for plastic surgery.
Let us know how things turn out.

 

[WantToGoNow]

My 23 m/o dd has had tubes since she was 4 months old. I do not regret getting them – they were a lifesaver for us and a hearing saver for her. She had a 6 week long double ear infection that would not clear up. They tried multiple antibiotics and when she started having a terrible diarrhea that would not clear up she was sent for blood work and stool sample testing to see if we had destroyed the good bacteria in her system.

We were sent to an ENT specialist who got us in the very week that the pediatrician’s office called him. We went in on Friday and my dd’s tubes were put in Monday. He said we nearly waited too long. My baby had lost all of her hearing – from the constant fluid/infection in her ears. The procedure was easy and we were home 2 hours later.

They told me if her hearing was going to return it would take atleast 3 days to do so. We were so worried. On the 4th day, we noticed the hearing had returned – she was startled all day long and cried most of the day. She had been living in a silent world and we didn’t even realize it.

She still has the same set of tubes. The ENT doctor has mentioned having them replaced with new tubes soon. She has had 3 ear infections since they were put in – the first only 3 weeks after the surgery. I have noticed though that the other two infections happened soon after I took her swimming and forgot the ear plugs. It has now been well more than 6 months without an infection.

 

[mmcguire]

DD had countless ear infections up until about 15 months. Every time she got a cold, it was like clockwork -- a week later she had an ear infection. DS NEVER had a single one!

DD was scheduled to have tubes put in, but I was laid off from my job a few weeks before it was scheduled. For financial reasons, we decided to postpone the surgery for a couple of months since she wasn't having any trouble right then. As it turned out, she has not had an ear infection since. I know that some kids take longer to outgrow it, but I guess we just got lucky.

 

[mmcguire]

Sorry, duplicate post. Didn't think it went thru first time

 

[Maybelle]

Hi. I'm a speech Language pathologist in the public schools, and I work with all age kids, but predominantly preschool right now.

Do the tubes if possible, you may avoid a long bout of speech and or language therapy down the road.

Get recommendations on ENT's from your pediatrician, but also ask around to other parents you know, specifically if you know anyone else who has been through the procedure with their child. You will probably have to select an ENT based on your insurance carrier, but if you have a choice, go with someone you have heard good things about and feel comfortable with. If you can, schedule an appointment for a consultation, and look for someone else if you are not satisfied.

Good luck.

 

[Maybelle]

Hi again. I would also recommend AGAINST taking a little one to a chiroprachter (I think I spelled that wrong.). That recommendation is based on advice I recently got from both the occupational and physical therapists that I work with when I suggested taking my dd (8) to one because she was having some neck pain. Both of them stated in no uncertain terms that they would never take a child to one. MHO.

 

[mjh8955]

Our DD is now 11. She had tubes in at two and a half after non-stop ear infections. The first tube fell out on its own when she was about 3 or 4, the other tube soon followed. We worried that she would need a new set of tubes but that apparently did the trick. The ears just needed to get totally clear of infection and then she was fine. Not one regret other than we wished we would have done it earlier.