If your child had ear tubes, how long did they stay in?

[LoveBWVVBR]

How long did your child's ear tubes last for before they fell out?

My DD has had her miraculous, wonderful, amazing ear tubes for 6 months today. Yesterday I caught a glimpse of her right ear and I could see the tube! It was quite visible to the naked eye when I just looked into her ear canal. The left one is also visible, although not nearly as much as right ear. I called her ped.'s office and they said that if the tubes are visible, then they're coming out. Do they really only last 6 months? I had somehow convinced myself that they should last a year or more. It feels like she just got them put in! Her ENT doesn't automatically replace tubes unless the child starts having ear issues again. My DD is still under 2 years-old, so it's possible that she could start having problems again. I just can't believe that they could be coming out after only 6 short months. I wish that she didn't have to start having problems again to get another set of tubes, and I really wish that they lasted longer No parent wants to have their child put under anesthesia any more than absolutely necessary of course!

 

[Papa Deuce]

One lasted about a year. The other just came out last week... it fell out after 15 months.

 

[Nicolepa]

Well they last on average for a year, but it can be as short as 6 months. I don't think I'd hold much weight to what the ped's office says. I actually had the Ped say that one of my sons tubes was not functioning/on it's way out. 4 months later when I went to get his hearing tested again they were both fully in.

I know how you feel about having to put them under. We ended up taking them out at 12 months because they were blocked. They will probably have to be put back in in the next few months. For various reasons the ENT did not want to replace them at the time. So he will be put under 2x in less than 6 months!

Has the ENT looked at them? Mine has you come in every 6 months to check them.

 

[MdmMim]

DD had tubes inserted 3 times. I think they lasted for almost a year (long time ago). We put them under her pillow for the "tube fairy!"

 

[poohandwendy]

My son had tubes placed in his ear when he was 6. One fell out right around the one year mark. The other stayed in for another 6 months, but I had to use tweezers to remove it because it bothered him when it was coming out. (it was visible, but stayed that way for a while and was causing him discomfort)

 

[mookie]

Our dd had tubes in her ears at 9 mos. (yes, she was young!!!)

The one fell out after about 9 mos, but it took the other ear FOREVER (almost 2 years!!!) to fall out. It was out, but just sat there in a ball of wax, not hurting anything.

 

[Kathi OD]

DD had tubes inserted 3 times. I think they lasted for almost a year (long time ago). We put them under her pillow for the "tube fairy!"

I thought we were the only ones who had the tube fairy come to our house. Wait till DD finds out that she wasn't so special after all! She also had tubes 3 times and they fell out between 12 and 15 months.

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

Well they last on average for a year, but it can be as short as 6 months. I don't think I'd hold much weight to what the ped's office says. I actually had the Ped say that one of my sons tubes was not functioning/on it's way out. 4 months later when I went to get his hearing tested again they were both fully in.

I know how you feel about having to put them under. We ended up taking them out at 12 months because they were blocked. They will probably have to be put back in in the next few months. For various reasons the ENT did not want to replace them at the time. So he will be put under 2x in less than 6 months!

Has the ENT looked at them? Mine has you come in every 6 months to check them.

My DD saw the ENT at 1 month and then every 3 months after that. Her next appt. is in one month. I am hopeful that the ped.'s office is wrong about this, because I really want these tubes to last for a year. I'm sure that DD will probably need another set, but it would be nice to minimize the # of surgeries she needs for tube replacements. I'd hate for her to need 4 sets rather than 2 sets because they only last for 6 months rather than 1 year, KWIM? Having them put under anesthesia is just so scary

 

[nskjerven]

DD had hers put in at 3 years old, they lasted almost 2 years.

DS had his at 18 months, fell out 6 months later, DS had 3 ear infections in short order tubes back in again out again at 6 months 3 more infections perm tubes this time....they stayed in for 4 years. Our ENT visits are at least every 6 months. His tubes are out now and I'm worried about the cold season approaching...

I wish we had done perms on the 2nd time, rather than 3rd. With the perms you have to go under to have them removed too. Not a good day for mama.

 

[LisaNJ25]

Wow I am suprised how long some of them are lasting.. I was told 6 months from my ent. I was hoping for only 6 months.

My 8yo had them put in in August. My 2yo had them put in 2 weeks ago (his before surgery pic is in my signature) he also had his tonsils and adenoids out.

Crazy thing is none of my kids have a history of ear infections. My 8yo we found out had hearing loss becase of fluid build up and the same with DS.

Can I ask what you parents use in their ears for showers? I have ear plugs made for my 8yo. She only has a tube in 1 year. But 2 months later the dont fit right. I dont know if her ear has grown. I have been using the wax earplugs you buy for swimming.

 

[DVCindy]

My dd had hers put in at 18 mos old. We were amazed at how long they stayed in ... and functioned properly !!

The one that stayed in the longest fell out when she was 7 years old !!!! That's correct ... one stayed in for 5 years and the other for almost 6 years. No one seemed too alarmed, either.

At every dr. appt, they would confirm that they could still see them positioned correctly in the ear. They did drain from time to time when she would get a cold or upper respiratory infection.

I did read about the possibility that some actually have to be surgically removed ... luckily we didn't have to go that route.

Edited to add ... we were never told to use any type of ear plug or wax for the bath, shower, etc., as long as we were careful. The only thing the doctor wanted me to avoid was lake, ocean, pond water, etc. and prolonged underwater swimming in a pool.

 

[Nicolepa]

Wow I am suprised how long some of them are lasting.. I was told 6 months from my ent. I was hoping for only 6 months.

My 8yo had them put in in August. My 2yo had them put in 2 weeks ago (his before surgery pic is in my signature) he also had his tonsils and adenoids out.

Crazy thing is none of my kids have a history of ear infections. My 8yo we found out had hearing loss becase of fluid build up and the same with DS.

Can I ask what you parents use in their ears for showers? I have ear plugs made for my 8yo. She only has a tube in 1 year. But 2 months later the dont fit right. I dont know if her ear has grown. I have been using the wax earplugs you buy for swimming.

My ENT says they are fine to shower w/o anything. Baths are fine too unless they like to lay in the water for long periods of time. For long baths and swimming he gave me a special kind of earplug that fits into the ear but doesn't affect their hearing. He said we only need to use them in the pool/lake etc.

 

[nskjerven]

no plugs for us either. never have we had a problem with swimming or showers. just those darn colds that head to their really small ears/tubes.

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

Our ENT doesn't believe that earplugs are necessary even for swimming. She said that studies have shown that they aren't any more effective than not using any earplugs

 

[maps]

1st set at age 6months lasted 1 yr

2nd set at age 18mths lasted 1mth!! They both got completely blocked and nothing could unblock them.

3rd set at age 19mths lasted 1-1 1/2yrs

4th set at 4yrs lasted 1yr for one tube but the other we thought was falling out on mulitple occasions and ended up staying in for over 2 yrs.

Now we have the opposite problem--the tube that stayed in for so long has granuloma tissue growing around it and my son woke up with blood dripping out of his ear!!!

We have to use cortisone drops for 6 weeks and then he goes it to get the tube out--hopefully in the office.

 

[Val]

My DD10 had her first set of tubes at 5, her last set about a month ago (we are praying they are still in!)....she has had eight (8) sets total! She has multiple ear/hearing problems (otosclerosis, malformation of temporal bone, eustachian tube dysfunction and autoimmune inner ear disease with mild/moderate bilateral hearing loss), so it is probably her ears rather than the tubes. She has had cholesteotomas develop/removed, too!! Ugh!

We laugh (better than crying) about her lack of ability to keep those dog-darned tubes in her ears- tell our otologist that we want a minimum 30 day guarantee or the next set is FREE!

 

[Southern4sure]

My oldest had the tubes put in at 18 months old. I was told they would come out within a year. His stayed in almost 5 years. I took him to the dr several times making sure it was ok and was told yes and to be thankful.

 

[Nicolepa]

Our ENT doesn't believe that earplugs are necessary even for swimming. She said that studies have shown that they aren't any more effective than not using any earplugs

My ENT said you could go either way. That they say they are not needed, but from what he's seen he's not convinced. The earplugs were less than $20 and covered by insurance so I went ahead with them.

I do have to say that I did forget to use them at the begining of summer and shortly thereafter he started having problems with his hearing again. Coincidence probably but there is no way of knowing.

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

I also wanted to ask if any of you could actually see the ear tubes (while they were still in properly) when looking down your child's ear canal?

 

[LisaNJ25]

I also wanted to ask if any of you could actually see the ear tubes (while they were still in properly) when looking down your child's ear canal?

I cant.