Ear Tubes - does anyone regret getting them for DC?

[Manda]

My DS (now 2) had chronic ear infections from 6 months to about 13 months. Our ped just kept giving him antibiotics and referred us to a ENT. On my own, I decided to stop giving him milk suspecting that a milk allergy could be causing that (it's very common). The ped acted like I was crazy. We finally got into the ENT about 9 weeks after he'd had his last ear infection and the ENT wanted to do tubes. In my experience, all ENTs want to do tubes. I refused. He wasn't in an active infection. They checked his ears and said there wasn't currently fluid in his ears and they checked his speech and hearing and he passed with flying colors. Yet, they still wanted to do tubes. Surgery isn't a proactive measure, IMO. And, by this time, I was pretty sure that cutting dairy from his diet was working. So, I made an appointment with an allergist and, sure enough, he confirmed that DS was allergic to milk with a simple needle prick. Since being off dairy, he's had two minor infections over about 15 months that were easily resolved.

 

[TinkerbellMama]

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.

May I ask if you inquired any further as to their specific objections? I ask because the literature pretty clearly shows that chiropractic treatment is safe and effective for a variety of ailments and conditions, most certainly neck pain!! Additionally, it is extremely effective in reducing or eliminating ear infections and just plain maintaining one's health, period. I hope you will do some independent research on this matter before completely making up your mind against it. My ds has been seeing a chiropractor since he was 9 days old, and will always see one so long as he lives under our roof. We consider it as essential as eating healthy foods and exercising. Our whole family goes, monthly, and guess how often we have been sick in the past five years? Dh got ONE virus about 3 years ago. That's it--the sum total of our collective illnesses!!!!!! Before that time, I'd say we had about an average number of colds/flus/etc. I also had a 100% pain-free, complication-free pregnancy, and my ds was born at 43 weeks, 1 day, so that's a lot of time in which to possibly grow uncomfortable or awkward...but I never did!!! There is definitely something amazingly healthful about chiropractic care...I'd bet my life on it! Interestingly enough, our chiropractor's son is 14, also adjusted from birth/not vaccinated (our son isn't, either), and he has been sick exactly once in his lifetime...stomach bug. He was very upset to have to miss a day of school after a lifetime of complete wellness! I give chiropractic care 6 thumbs up (two from each member of the family--darn cats don't have opposable digits and they also don't see the chiro, LOL)!!!!!

 

[TinkerbellMama]

My DS (now 2) had chronic ear infections from 6 months to about 13 months. Our ped just kept giving him antibiotics and referred us to a ENT. On my own, I decided to stop giving him milk suspecting that a milk allergy could be causing that (it's very common). The ped acted like I was crazy. We finally got into the ENT about 9 weeks after he'd had his last ear infection and the ENT wanted to do tubes. In my experience, all ENTs want to do tubes. I refused. He wasn't in an active infection. They checked his ears and said there wasn't currently fluid in his ears and they checked his speech and hearing and he passed with flying colors. Yet, they still wanted to do tubes. Surgery isn't a proactive measure, IMO. And, by this time, I was pretty sure that cutting dairy from his diet was working. So, I made an appointment with an allergist and, sure enough, he confirmed that DS was allergic to milk with a simple needle prick. Since being off dairy, he's had two minor infections over about 15 months that were easily resolved.

GOOD FOR YOU!!

We are a 100% dairy-free family, by choice, because we believe it causes a host of health problems even for the "non-allergic". If you are interested, please check out the following very informative article:
http://www.notmilk.com/kradjian.html
It is a letter from a physician to his patients, explaining why he feels dairy products are not healthful for them. Stumbled across it years after quitting dairy, ourselves, and found some information there which we had not encountered before!

 

[kiddoc]

As a pediatrician, I'll add a few things:
1. Criteria for tubes are 4 infections in 6mos or 6 infections in a year. These come from peds and ENT.
2. Preventive antibiotics are NOT routinely recommended anymore.
3. I personally do not recommend chiropractors for pediatric patients. I have seen multiple instances where children were misdiagnosed by chiropractors and had inappropriate treatment. I do not deny that chiropractors can be very helpful for neck/back pain, etc. However, I feel that they often push treatment for things that they can do nothing about and cause patients to withhold life-saving medical treatment.

Just my 2 cents worth!

 

[lecach]

Well its been a week since the tubes and DS is still flicking at his ears and occasionally pulling on them. The Dr. said that was normal but I just wanted to ask all of you if you experienced this? The ENT said that as long as there was no fluid leakage that there was nothing to worry about. And DS has been on Amoxicillan 3 times a day since the surgery so infection shouldnt be a concern. We dont go back for the surgery followup until Dec. 14 - but if there is a reason for concern I will of course go back sooner. Can anyone give me advice?

 

[dlrhine]

No worries my DD aged 2.5 when she got tubes did the same thing. The ENT told me they could just tell something was different and everything seemed louder. I'm sure your child will be fine!

 

[lecach]

Thanks! Hopefully you're right about the ear pulling.

Poor thing also has a raging yeast infection from all the antibiotics. We have some cream that the Dr. prescribed when he got one before. And we're done with the Amoxicillan tomorrow.

I just want my baby to feel better. Especially for his 1st birthday party on Saturday. Where has this year gone????

 

[belle&beast]

I haven't had time to read all the posts, so forgive me if I repeat information. I am a pediatric speech pathologist and a mom of a 23 month old with cronic ear infections. In my professional experience tubes can make a huge difference in speech and language development. That is my biggest concern for my son. We even switched pediatricians because ours was not very aggressive- the infection would go away but he is always fluid filled. As soon as we went to the new doctor, we were referred to an ENT and had a hearing evaluation. I am calling tomorrow to schedule the tube placement. I know how scary it is, but especially at this young age it can eliminate the need for speech therapy. Yes, that is my job, but I would rather see a child not have problems later!

 

[frayedend]

DS (11 mths) has had about 9 ear infections. And he seems to be getting them while on antibiotics too. I told the Dr. that I wanted tubes and he said we could do that or try a low dose antibiotic for 6-8 weeks and then see how he does. I spoke to several people at daycare and they said every child that has tried the low dose has still ended up needing tubes. What should we do? Im so afraid that DS is going to have some hearing problems - the way he shakes his head makes me think he has fluid in his ears. Has anyone that has chosen tubes regretted it?

I haven't really read the replies, but our experience was the same. They had us do antibiotics over and over. It never worked. They tried the antibiotics low dose, still nothing. We finally ended up demanding ear tubes. We could not go another day or night without sleeping due to the constant crying. It was so sad to see my son in pain. After the ear tubes he never had an infecton again!! They fell out normally after 2 years (I think, it's been a while) and he has been fine since. Definitely see a specialist, but don't settle for antibiotics over and over. They are not good for digestive system and other things. Just my experience. Good luck, I know what you're going through and it is difficult.

 

[jennifer293]

Well on Friday we took our final trip to the dr. office for another ear infrection this time in both ears so I requested that we be sent to an ENT. We have an appt. on January 9th. She is currently on Augmentin to try and clear it up until they can see her, but the ped. did say that it felt like her top palette(sp?) in her mouth flet like it was not closed together. He said that could be the reason and if so they may have to remove her adnoids or her tonsils instead of doing tubes. Who knows!!! I am just glad that we have the appt. with the ENT so we can get this taken care of ASAP!!!

 

[staci]

Well on Friday we took our final trip to the dr. office for another ear infrection this time in both ears so I requested that we be sent to an ENT. We have an appt. on January 9th. She is currently on Augmentin to try and clear it up until they can see her, but the ped. did say that it felt like her top palette(sp?) in her mouth flet like it was not closed together. He said that could be the reason and if so they may have to remove her adnoids or her tonsils instead of doing tubes. Who knows!!! I am just glad that we have the appt. with the ENT so we can get this taken care of ASAP!!!

Just thought that I would tell you they removed ds's adnoids AND did tubes during the same procedure. the ent said that if we did tonsils it would be longer with more recovery, but with just the adnoids and the tubes it was over very quickly.

 

[jennifer293]

Just thought that I would tell you they removed ds's adnoids AND did tubes during the same procedure. the ent said that if we did tonsils it would be longer with more recovery, but with just the adnoids and the tubes it was over very quickly.

Is this a procedure that they just do in the office under general anesthesia or is this a stay overnight at the hospital kinda thing? We haven't talked to much about it with DD as it would FREAK her out. We figure we will wait till the ENT appt. and go from there!!

Thanks for the heads up!!!!

 

[staci]

Is this a procedure that they just do in the office under general anesthesia or is this a stay overnight at the hospital kinda thing? We haven't talked to much about it with DD as it would FREAK her out. We figure we will wait till the ENT appt. and go from there!!

Thanks for the heads up!!!!

We did it outpatient at the hospital. They put him under, the whole thing lasted about 1/2 hour I think. (From the time he left us until they brought him back). The brought him back to us as soon as he started to wake up. We had to stick around for an hour or so to make sure that he came out of the anesthesia ok and that that he didnt seem to be in too much pain. He was actually miserable the whole time in the room, but the second we got into the parking garage he started to laugh and play. I think the hospital made him nervous. He really didnt seem to notice the adnoid part at all. I was worried he would have a sore mouth but we just did cold squishy foods for that day or two and he was fine.

IDK if it becomes an overnight procedure with the tonsils? My friends son had them done, if I remember right he was discharged the night he had it done, but he did have to stay in the hospital for most of the afternoon.

 

[jennifer293]

Not that I would ever put a price on my childs health, but our insurance is really screwy. Outpatient procedures cost me 20.00, but if she has to stay in the hospital for just one day it costs 1500.00. SO you can see why I asked....I hate to see her have to go through any of this but if it will keep her healthy then that is what we will do. I am sick and tired of trying this anitbiotic or the next one. None of them seem to work for more than 2 weeks. I have had enough!!!

Thanks for the info!!!

 

[staci]

IMHO it was worth it . Our out of pocket was about $700 (and we are living on a VERY limited income) but he had ear infections every day for about 2 months. The tubes were done in March, and to this day he has been perfectly healthy. It totally helped on the plane too, as my ears were killing me and he was not bothered at all. In Oct the doc said that the tubes looked to still be in great shape and we hope they will make it through this winter.

Our copay at the doc is $20, and in those 2 months of repeat visits and medicine, we spent over $200 on copays alone.

 

[jennifer293]

If I had to guess I bet we have spent about 300.00 or so on Dr. visits and RX's, but 2 or 3 of teh meds he has given her have been a 50.00 co-pay because they didn't make a generic. Pretty sad when the medicine costs more than the doctor himself.

HOW long was your child down after the procedure? She is in Kindergarten now and I don't want her to miss a lot of school time.

Also DH was saying that if they put tubes in she can't go swimming. Is this true because she LOVES the water!!

 

[undertheradar]

Our Ds underwent surgery at 11months and we never regretted it. There may be other ear infections, but he never experienced as much pain as prior to tubes. They can swim- use swimmers putty or something like it.

 

[staci]

If I had to guess I bet we have spent about 300.00 or so on Dr. visits and RX's, but 2 or 3 of teh meds he has given her have been a 50.00 co-pay because they didn't make a generic. Pretty sad when the medicine costs more than the doctor himself.

HOW long was your child down after the procedure? She is in Kindergarten now and I don't want her to miss a lot of school time.

Also DH was saying that if they put tubes in she can't go swimming. Is this true because she LOVES the water!!

DS honestly acted awful at the hospital (crying and clingy); once we got in the car (about 2-3 hours after the procedure) he was smiling and babbling. We got home and took it easy that night but he played pretty much as normal. He was only 17 months so he wasnt talking much; idk if his voice was maybe scratchy but physically he acted almost normal. The next day he was completely fine acting, but dh stayed home from work with him just in case as he was too little to tell the daycare people if he felt poorly. He went back to daycare the next day.

That was it.

Keep in mind ds did NOT have tonsils removed, just adnoids and putting tubes in.

 

[jennifer293]

DS honestly acted awful at the hospital (crying and clingy); once we got in the car (about 2-3 hours after the procedure) he was smiling and babbling. We got home and took it easy that night but he played pretty much as normal. He was only 17 months so he wasnt talking much; idk if his voice was maybe scratchy but physically he acted almost normal. The next day he was completely fine acting, but dh stayed home from work with him just in case as he was too little to tell the daycare people if he felt poorly. He went back to daycare the next day.

That was it.

Keep in mind ds did NOT have tonsils removed, just adnoids and putting tubes in.

Thanks I guess we will have to see what they want to do at her appointment.

 

[JakeJoshMom]

My oldest son had tubes 3 times. They are great! We had fluid in his ears and the ENT said that if I put my fingers in my ears that is how my son is hearing. MUFFLED. He was 9 months when he had his first set.
My youngest was 6 months when he had tubes...he is going on 2 years and still has his tubes.
GO For it. It is sooo worth it.