Tell me your Ear Tube stories

[720L]

We've been told by a ear,nose and throat dr that our DD7 needs tubes in her ears. We aren't sure if we want/need to do this so I'd like to hear your stories/opinions.

 

[ChrisnSteph]

My 4 year old son got them placed a few months ago. Cured him of his chronic ear infections! The surgery itself is minor, takes about 15 minutes, and my son was bouncing around find a few hours after it was done.

 

[Christine]

My son had them when he was 10 months old after have 12 back-to-back ear infections. They were a godsend and I don't know what would have happened if he didn't get them. I have to say, 7 years old seems a little "late in the game". Has something recently started?

 

[720L]

" I have to say, 7 years old seems a little "late in the game". Has something recently started?"

That's exactly what we thought! She doesn't have any ear infections all summer (and she swims every day).....but as soon as school rolls around she gets them. Her 1st one this year started on Halloween, and 2 rounds of antibiotics didn't cure it, plus her ears are plugged. We went to the ENT because we are supposed to go to Disney in 3 weeks and didn't want her to fly with infected ears. They did a hearing test and said she is only hearing about 50% of what we hear, because of fluid in the ear. We would like to wait it out, but when she can't hear that well it makes us feel we should do something.

 

[Christine]

" I have to say, 7 years old seems a little "late in the game". Has something recently started?"

That's exactly what we thought! She doesn't have any ear infections all summer (and she swims every day).....but as soon as school rolls around she gets them. Her 1st one this year started on Halloween, and 2 rounds of antibiotics didn't cure it, plus her ears are plugged. We went to the ENT because we are supposed to go to Disney in 3 weeks and didn't want her to fly with infected ears. They did a hearing test and said she is only hearing about 50% of what we hear, because of fluid in the ear. We would like to wait it out, but when she can't hear that well it makes us feel we should do something.

I understand your concerns but I think I would have to agree with your doctors that the tubes would be good. A 50% hearing loss is quite significant. Also, all of the fluid and infections can cause permanent scarring and possibly a permanent loss.

 

[golfgal]

DD got tubes in when the took out her tonsils/adenoids when she was 5, almost 6. She hasn't had an ear infection since (she also had horrible strep which is why they took the tonsils and hasn't had that either).

 

[mainewmn]

DS had them put in at 10 and they wore OK when he had them, he still managed to get some ear infections even with the tubes in place. Although I must say the number of infections he had from that point on dropped drastically, he is 15 now and still gets about 2 ear infections a year.

 

[micki7337]

Our DD had tubes done in first grade. She never had a history of ear infectins but failed the hearing screening at school. A visit to the ENT found the fluid that has been sitting behind the ear drum since birth resulting in hearing loss.

We had the tubes done in the morning and she was home by lunch. The only issue was the general anesthetic that she vomited after waking up from the surgery. A little scarey for her but not painful.

At the time the tubes were placed we were told she would/should recover from the hearing loss after the tubes were placed. We did all the follow up appointments as required and were told "everything looks great". Flash forward 3 years and she again failed the hearing sceening at school. A visit back to the ENT now finds that she's not hearing 40%-50% of the spoken voice. She has now been diagnosed with a disease of the bone in the middle ear. She just received a hearing aid a month ago.

I would not hestitate to place the tubes. But what I would do is insist the ENT conducts a hearing test soon after to ensure that any hearing that was lost before tubes has returned. I would have the ENT test yearly. We made the mistake by accepting the "looks great" statement. Looking back the ENT did not retest to determine if her hearing had returned to normal. We also relied on the yearly screening from school to determine if DD continued to have problems with her hearing. No news was good news. Now in 4th grade DD is struggling (failing) and has been declining since first grade. God only knows how she was able to get this far with the amount of hearing loss she has been faced with the past four years. Do not rely on the screenings done in school - they are only that, screening. Our ENT believes DD was able to guess often enough to past the screening.

Good luck making an informed decision!

 

[SC Minnie]

My Mom got tubes at 55 due to fluid in her ears.

DD has then as a baby. She still had ear infections but did not have the pain because the fluid could get out.

 

[Karel]

Tubes can be a great thing. But they are not always a permanent cure.

I have very bad ears. They keep the doctors fascinated. I believe at this point I do have hearing damage. A cold or allergies acting up means instant ear infection.

I had them twice when I was elementary age and once in college.

The surgery has changed a lot since I had them so it's not as big a deal anymore. I think she'll really benefit from them and have a great time on vacation! Trust me, it's better than walking around not hearing correctly.

Oh, and my ENT told me once that chewing gum is very good for ear problems; keeps everything moving.

Does she have allergies?

 

[720L]

We think she has allergies, but haven't been to an allergist to confirm yet. She is sniffly quite often, but Benedryl helps that. She also got her tonsils and adenoids out when she was 5. (we did the tonsils because she had HUGE tonsils, and they suggested the adenoids because maybe that would help the ear infections) I wouldn't say she has chronic ear infections. Usually the antibiotic clears them up. She has maybe 4 or 5 a winter. Maybe that is chronic?

 

[Karel]

I think that is a lot for one winter. I would think anymore than 2 indicates trouble.

I would look at getting a better allergy med too. Benedyl can be great but it can make one reaaaallly sleepy too. There are a lot of better things out there she can take.
A decongestant would probably be good too, clear all of the ick out.

 

[mchames]

I am speaking from personal experience and while from what I've been told complications are rare, both myself and my DD5 have experienced them. Here are our stories:

When I was a young child I had many ear infections. At age 6 (mid 1970's) I had my adenoids removed and tubes put in my ears. The tubes eventually came out and we thought all was well. At age 8 it was discovered that I had lost 75% of the hearing in my left ear. The hole from the tube had never closed up and actually got bigger leaving a large hole in my eardrum. I had to have reconstructive surgery on my left eardrum. At that time the surgery to repair my eardrum was relatively new and from what I was told (too young to remember exactly) took about 5 hours to complete. I do remember spending a week in the hospital though. I did regain the majority of my hearing in my left ear after the reconstructive surgery but to this day I still have chronic ear pain though actual infections are rare.

Fastforward to my second DD's first birthday... and her first ear infection. After 3 months of consecutive ear infections, at 15 months it was decided that she should have tubes put in her ears. I was not thrilled with the idea and was basically told that I was an anomaly and that my fears were unfounded. After the tubes fell out, it was discovered there was a perforation in her left eardrum that had not healed. Yes, you guessed it folks, the same ear that I had problems with 25 years earlier!! Needless to say I was extremely upset and angry that my concerns were blown off by the ENT that did her surgery. He left the state shortly after her diagnosis and we switched doctors (we would have anyway) to a pediatric ENT with a national reputation who has been wonderful, but the story does not end here.

Our new ENT had decided not to repair the perforated eardrum at that time since it was quite small and as he put it was acting like a "natural tube" and he thought she might need a second set of tubes he didn't want to close it up yet... she was about 2.5 at the time. Fast forward to this past summer, DD is now 5.5 and gets her first bad ear infection in nearly three years. Our ped is concerned with the condition of the perforated eardrum and sends us to the ENT. By the time of our appointment the infection has cleared up, and he tells us the ear looks good, the perforation is still there, but still acting as a tube so he's going to leave it alone.... but there is a serious problem with the right ear!

The tube in the right ear has not healed properly. I'm going to try to explain this the best I can, her eardrum had become depressurized. Instead of being tight like a drum, it was sucked into the ear in a kind of v-shape. He was afraid a cholesteotoma (a type of tumor) was forming. On September 23 he removed her adenoids hoping this would help her underdeveloped eustachian tubes and put a tube in her right ear with the hopes of repressurizing her eardrum. He also removed fiberous growths from her ear. Her right eardrum is extremely fragile. As of her post-op appointment in October, things are looking good. Her eardrum is back in the normal position and her hearing is in the low normal range which is consistent for children with tubes. She will go back in March to be examined and have another hearing test.

I fully expect that she will need further surgery to repair her eardums when she gets older but right now things look good. I did not write this to scare you, but I did want to relay my personal experience.

Mary

 

[dbarker]

DS18 had tubes put in when he was 19 months old. They were a Godsend. He hasn't had any problems since. Just a couple of ear infections over time...nothing major.

I strongly suggest that you have your DD tested for allegies. October is my worst allergy month. Sometimes my eustacian tubes get fluid in them from the congestion from allergies.

Good luck. Prayers and Pixie Dust.

 

[WebmasterAlex]

Our DD, had tubes place at about age 6. It was an absolute godsend. We used to joke that we knew every emergency room on the east coast! After her first set of tubes it all stopped. The last winter before the tubes was awful

 

[Our 2 Princesses]

If you want more info, there is a long ear tube thread on the family boards from a couple days ago.
My dd had tubes at 1 year old and they worked miracles for her.

 

[720L]

Thanks everyone, I'm going to check out the family board thread. BTW--I give her Childrens Benedryl Allergy and it doesn't seem to make her tired. Karel: what meds do you suggest?