Question about tubes in ears

[LaraK]

So my son now needs tubes in his ears and his adenoids out. Have you had that done to one of your kids? My son just turned 4. The ENT said it will only take about 20 minutes. My son has been under general anesthesia three times before, but I hate doing that to him...what was your experience like?

I know I have to do it, he has hearing loss in both ears at this point...we're trying to reverse that.

This is my sickie..he has multiple medical issues. One of the reasons they are moving forward is that when he goes into a bad cycle, everything flares up...his asthma, his EE (eosinophilic esophegitis) and his CFS (cyclical fever syndrome). I just get really anxious with him when he goes in for procedures.

 

[ChristmasElf]

One of my children had tubes put in his ears when he was 2.5 years old. The difference was night and day.
The procedure was just under a half hour and then he was in recovery for about an hour or so after that.
He never had another ear infection and eventually the tubes will fall out on their own (you won't even notice when they fall out)

You won't regret getting the tubes.

 

[lsyorke]

DS had this done when he was 3...best decision we ever made, this started the healing of his horrible ears that had gone on for 2 years. His hearing loss in that ear was completely resolved after this. Out of all of his ear/throat surgeries the adenoidectomy was the easist for him.

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

No experience here, Lara, but when DH had rotator cuff surgery at an outpatient clinic years ago, I was amazed that in the hour I spent in the waiting room, a couple came in sat for a few minutes, then the doctor came in to tell them he was done with their boy's tubes. They couldn't have waited more than 20 minutes. I was still waiting for DH's Dr long after they left, and his surgery took less than an hour.


I'm sorry your boy has to go through this..at such a tender age. But think about how much it will help him.

I just was wondering..do the Drs think these procedures may help with some of this other problems?

 

[Kathi OD]

It's always scary when little ones have to undergo surgeries, but this is one that he should breeze through. You will be astounded how well he hears afterward, and I mean immediately after.

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

DS had tubes placed in both ears when he was just shy of 3. After that, he finally began to talk in complete sentences. And he never had another ear infection after the surgery. My only regret is that we did not do it sooner.

I hope it all goes well for your DS. I understand your worry, especially with a child who has many medical complications. Stay strong.

 

[maps]

Do you have my son??!!!

He was diagnosed with EE at 2yrs and developed asthma and allergies as a baby. He started getting ear infections at 3mths of age.

Had his first ear tubes at 6mths(dramatically improved his hearing and he starting babbling for the first time!), 2nd at 1yr, 3rd a month later since they blocked and 4th set with his adenoids removed at age 5.

Knock on wood, his ear infections drastically reduced after the adenoids were removed.

The procedure itself was simple, less than 20minutes, but my son always had a difficult time coming out of anethesia so that was the only complication we had.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

 

[LaraK]

Do you have my son??!!!

He was diagnosed with EE at 2yrs and developed asthma and allergies as a baby. He started getting ear infections at 3mths of age.

Had his first ear tubes at 6mths(dramatically improved his hearing and he starting babbling for the first time!), 2nd at 1yr, 3rd a month later since they blocked and 4th set with his adenoids removed at age 5.

Knock on wood, his ear infections drastically reduced after the adenoids were removed.

The procedure itself was simple, less than 20minutes, but my son always had a difficult time coming out of anethesia so that was the only complication we had.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

The world is small! Do you go to CHOP for the EE or do you have someone local? I'm considering trying to get a referral for a full work up with more patch testing (last patch testing was when he was about two...which is when we finally figured out his diagnosis too)

Thanks to everyone for the feedback.

 

[tiggger1]

my son got tubes in May. He was 16 months old. He needed them because he had at least 6 ear infections in 5 months. Plus we thought he couldnt hear..

we got to the hospital for 6:30 am. they checked us in and made him change into hospital pj;s. They gave him a stuffed animal to play with and did pre-op hpaperwork and vitals. We sat around in the pre op room till about 7:30. I got to carry him into the OR with him, so I needed to change into a gown. When we got into the OR, I layed him down and they gave him the stuff to knock him out. 2 seconds later, he was out and I was walked back to the pre-op. they made us go back into the waiting room. I had enough time to go to the bathroom and get a glass of water before the dr came back out. Literally less than 10 minutes. He said he had glue ear (sticky maple syrup like fluid) in one ear and had close to no hearing. the other had clear fluid. about 10 minutes after that they let us go to the recovery room. Chase was crying when I got there and they said I could hold him. He was very fussy for about 10 minutes but after they gave him some juice he was fine. A nurse came in and gave us instructions and told us we could leave. We were in the car by 8:15...
We noticed a huge difference in his hearing one the way home.. I was asking my husband if we could stop at Dunkin Donuts on the way home and Chase got all excited and said :donut! clear as day (he had never even said that word!) within a week he had at least 30 new works and was mimicking everyone.

He has only had 1 EI since the tubes and that was because he fell face first in a kiddie wading pool and I didn't have his ear buds in and I didn't the drops for his ears either. He was up all night and the next day he had major drainage from his ears.

 

[LisaNJ25]

My youngest had it done it Oct. HE had just turned 2. HE has his adnoids out, tonsils out and tubes put it. Everything went great and he stayed overnight int the hospital. Never had any reoccurring infections. his tonsils swelled up few months before and just never went down. He also had fluid in his ears which cause hearing lose. He had been talking so good and those few months with fluid really threw him for a loop. Now he has a very high pitched voice which the dr said to expect.

My older daughter had 1 tube put in las august at age 8. That one was much faster. Her tube looks likes its coming out now. She goes back to the ent next week.

 

[maps]

Not familiar with CHOP. I live in a very rural area and the closest place to have patch testing available was 2 hrs away.

I didn't bother with patch testing since my son only eats about 5 foods total and I didn't want to restrict him any more. Since he's growing (although slowly) we decided to leave things alone.

His diagnosis came unexpectedly from a biopsy obtained at age 2 when he had an endoscopy done to rule out celiac disease.

 

[LaraK]

Not familiar with CHOP. I live in a very rural area and the closest place to have patch testing available was 2 hrs away.

I didn't bother with patch testing since my son only eats about 5 foods total and I didn't want to restrict him any more. Since he's growing (although slowly) we decided to leave things alone.

His diagnosis came unexpectedly from a biopsy obtained at age 2 when he had an endoscopy done to rule out celiac disease.

My son has been worked up for celiac a few times too...right now we've isolated his food triggers to pears, bananas, turkey and chocolate...but he also has environmental allergies that trigger the EE. I live near two maor cities with some of the greatest medical institutions in the world (Baltimore and DC) and I still had to travel two hours for his patch testing. CHOP is Childerens Hospital of Pennsylvania and it's in Philly...it has a whole eosinophilic disorders clinic.

 

[5 for WDW]

All three of my kids have had their tonsills and adenoids removed. My sons due to severe sinus infections and multiple cases of Strep. My daughter due to severe Sleep Apnea. Tonsills are much tougher then just the adenoids. My middle son had his adenoids removed in one surgery, his tonsills and adenoids again (they grew back, he was only one when he had them removed, it is not common for them to grow back) the following year. His recovery with the first surgery was no where near as uncomfortable as with the tonsills.
Both of my sons also had multiple sets of ear tubes each, too. They make a world of difference. My oldest also had hearing loss. He is 11 now and had his last set of tubes when he was 6. He has permanent loss in one ear but, he is a totally different child then he was when he was younger and having repeat sinus and ear infections.

I hope your son has an easy time with the surgery. You too. I know it is no fun to watch your kids going through any kind of surgery. Tubes and removing adenoids really make a huge difference in kids with medical problems.

 

[stacy347]

DD13 had to have them done when she was a toddler also (it was close to her 2nd birthday when they were put in). She had them in both ears.

The surgery was so quick...we tucked her onto the gurney, kissed her good-bye and went down to the cafeteria to grab a bite and go outside for a minute and just in that short time, we were being called back.

I will say that she was really miserable that first day so we had to keep her on Tylenol and just really baby her for the rest of the day but after that we saw huge improvements. She had previously been on almost continual treatment for the chronic ear infections and after the tubes, she only had a couple of ear infections for the rest of her childhood.

Another plus ~ she became a LOT less clumsy. With all of the ear infections, she never seemed to have good balance and the poor child always had bumps and bruises!

Good luck ~ I think you'll be very happy with the results.

 

[LaraK]

After the surgery, you have to use ear plugs when they get wet, right? How about swimming?

 

[maps]

Thanks for letting me know about CHOP--hadn't heard about it. His doctor didn't even know what EE was when he was first diagnosed so it's been a learning experience for all of us.

What symptoms does your son get from his triggers? My son has always been so inconsistent it was really hard to monitor if his treatment was making a difference.

 

[Froggyswife]

LaraK. My oldest dd had tubes put in twice. The second time they removed her adeniods as well. The difference in her was like night and day just as another poster said. No more crying all night grabing her ears and screaming. Poor doll. You will not regret getting this done believe me. It doesn't take long at all. He may have some nausia afterwards from the anesthetic as soon as he can keep down some water they will let you go home.

Since he is 4 he shouldn't have to have it done again. My dd had a set put in when she was like a year old then again when she was 3 because well they grow and push the tubes out of the ear.

 

[LaraK]

Thanks for letting me know about CHOP--hadn't heard about it. His doctor didn't even know what EE was when he was first diagnosed so it's been a learning experience for all of us.

What symptoms does your son get from his triggers? My son has always been so inconsistent it was really hard to monitor if his treatment was making a difference.

My son vomits primarily. Usually at meal times. He also will say he feels sick (it's easier now that he can talk...he tells us he's going to throw up or that "his throwup hurts"...his way of saying he's having nausea). He does sometimes have a little trouble swallowing.

He's a huge kid and never lost weight...he stopped growing for a while, but he's caught up and is off the charts again.

We got lucky...I work in healthcare and had a great Pediatric GI doctor who studied at the eosinophilic clinic at Children's in Philly....he figured it out much faster than somoene else would have I think.

We need to get another endoscopy this fall because we're still getting symptoms, although he seems pretty stable right now overall. It will be his fourth biopsy...

 

[5 for WDW]

After the surgery, you have to use ear plugs when they get wet, right? How about swimming?

It depended on the Dr for us. My oldest had to use ear plugs while swimming when the tubes were in but, my middle son did not have to after the first week.
Both had to have cotton in their ears with vaseline on the outside for the first week after surgery. They also could not swim for one week after the tubes fell out.

 

[LaraK]

It depended on the Dr for us. My oldest had to use ear plugs while swimming when the tubes were in but, my middle son did not have to after the first week.
Both had to have cotton in their ears with vaseline on the outside for the first week after surgery. They also could not swim for one week after the tubes fell out.

Thanks, I was planning on signing him up for swim lessons this fall...I may touch base with the doc about that first.