Update - to flying (son (4) has fluid in ears)

[oceanmarina]

Hi all. First I want to thank everone who responded to my post, I got a lot of great strategies for relieving ear pressure when flying.

We are scheduled to fly to WDW Monday morning. I went back to the ent yesterday afternoon. He said my son's ear infection has cleared up. There is fluid in both ears in the middle ear, but it's not infected. He said there is air in there too, so that's good (although I don't understand why that's good).

He basicially said because of malpractice he has to tell me not to fly (in case of ear drum rupturing), but we can if we want to. He did'nt give me any clear picture of how much a risk it would be. He said it's a chance it can rupture.But he also told me off the record her would fly with his kid too (whicvh makes me feel it's a small chance of rupture). DH did not like the ENT we saw, he definately rushed us. My husband felt he had to say don't fly in order to cover himself for malpractice.

We don't haver the time to drive, so it's fly or cancell. My friend's wife is a pediatrician & she said she would fly if her kid had fluid in the ear, the chances of rupturing are slim to none. & my other friends husband is an audiologist who said he would definately not fly with fluid in a child, since they have a greater chance of rupturing an eardrum.


So DH says "it's up to me". I have to decide by today & i'm more confused that ever...sigh......

 

[GoofyFairie]

Are you giving him a decondestant? That should help shrink tissues and open up his tubes so his inner ears can drain. Administer around the clock. My guess is that air bubbles in the ear are a sign that the fluid is draining. I am not a dr or nurse, but have had fluid build up in my inner ear many timaes as an adult and I can tell you that sometimes it is painful, even if it isn't infected. MY ent and pcp both tell me to take decongestant to drain the fluid. Chewing gum can help work it out once the tubes are opened up. I'm sorry your family is experiencing this delimma. Wish I could wish your problem away and send you merrily to WDW.

 

[pilotwife_02]

I'm sorry to hear about your son's illness. I didn't see your first post, is he acting like it's hurting him a lot? I was having a lot of problems for a while with fluid in my ears for some strange reason for a while. And this was going on right before we were going to Hawaii where we had a layover in LAX so it was going to be two flights with double the take offs and landings.

My doctor wasn't concerned about rupture, she never even mentioned it me, guess it wasn't that bad, but she did say to make sure I kept taking decongestants round the clock starting ASAP to make sure I had them in my system as long as possible to keep the fluid draining as much as I could.

She also gave me a pain killer to take for the flight since in her words "I'm not going to lie, it's going to hurt going up". I did take the meds like she said and it didn't hurt at all. Can you give your son some Motrin to help with any pain and give him some stuff to remind him to pop his ears? Lollipops, sippy cup with some special juice to entice him to drink the while time while taking off etc. The hardest thing for him will be taking off, after you are in the air he won't have any problems.

Good luck!!

 

[oceanmarina]

Dawn,

Hi. Nope, he's acting happy as a clam. He is not complaining about his ears at all.
I'm actually trying right now to get an appt. today for a second opinion, that doctor definately rushed me yesterday.

~ Marina

 

[pilotwife_02]

Hopefully if he's acting like it doesn't hurt the decongestant and motrin can help!

If you get an appointment today ask the doctor about something to help him while taking off. I don't know what they can give a 4 year old pain killer wise you know, but my doctor gave me demerol, she was that concerned that it would hurt that much so see what they can suggest (motrin/tylenol combo or some other combo).

 

[princessmom29]

The fact that there is air in the middle ear means that there is room for expansion/contracture. That is what causes the pressure when taking off and landing. If there was no air in the middle ear there would be no room for that process to take place. The fluid in the ear is mostly water, nad water does not expand or contract readily, so that is the reason for rupture when fluid is present. The pressure inside the ear increases and the water canot contract and has nowhere to go so the eardrum ruptures to release the pressure. If it were me i would probably fly with the child based on what you have said. I would think that as long as there is air in the ear that the pressure changes would not be great enough to cause a rupture. I am not a medical professional, but I am a scientist, and I do a lot of research when my kid is sick. We have battled chronic ear infection, so i have done a lot of reading.

 

[Madzac]

I am a family physician and I would fly with my kids in your situation. The chances of rupture in my opinion is very small. Two of my three kids had multiple ear infections and now have tubes. I did fly once with my middle one when he was just finishing meds for an ear infection. Many, many people have fluid in the ears all the time... for weeks post ear infections, and many people with chronic allergies. You just dont know if you havent been to the doctor. If it isnt hurting him, I would not be concerned. Certainly do what feels best to you as his mom, you know him best.

Hope you are able to go!!!

 

[lori123]

I would also go. My son always seemed to have fluid in his ears - even having tubes put in twice because his hearing was severely impaired by the fluid. DH works for the airlines so we fly a lot (pre and post tubes) - and have never had a problem. By the way - he also had a rupture - not when we were flying but just during a hum dinger of an ear infection and it didn't affect his hearing. My friends son also ruptured during an infection and his hearing is perfect as well. Good luck with your decision!

 

[mousygirl]

we have also been battling fluid in the ears for over 3 years now. My DS has had tubes and still got infections. We can never tell if he can't hear us or is choosing not to hear. We have been to several ENTs and hope he will eventually grow out of it.
I would def. fly with the fluid. My son had to have the fluid for 3 months before they would even consider putting in tubes. He flew during that time with no problems. He also had his ear drum rupture, which oddly enough, did not really hurt him.
Go for it! I have found that most of the specialist doctors do rush and that many have an attitude. Our best ENT dr. was an older guy, who really took his time.
have fun!

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

We are a family that has a lot of fluid issues in our ears. My GP has us take Sudafed for a few days before flying and 1-2 hours before. It helps.

 

[tartemis]

Do you have trip insurance? If yes, I would definitely cancel. If not, that is a harder decision, but I may cancel.

FWIW -- I had a lot of ear infections as a child (and eventually had tubes put in when I was 5), but I recall flying one time when I was about 3 or 4 and I had problems with the pressue in my ears. For 2 days after the flight, my ear wouldn't regulate and it was an awful experience -- I just remember the pain being so awful.

We canceled our first Disney trip because my DD had unexplained vomiting a couple of days before. Granted, I was a first time mom and am probably in general a neurotic person, but to me it just wasn't worth it. Plus, I knew that I wouldn't have a good time if I was constantly worried about her.

 

[Lstar311]

Well, my honest opinion is that if it was my kid I wouldn't risk it. Do you have trip insurance, would you be able to postpone the trip? It totally sucks but I just couldn't take the chance of something that I know could be a possibility. There are always things that could go wrong that you can't control but if you know about this and go and god forbid his ear does rupture how will you feel? I personally don't think I could take that chance w/ my child. Good luck with your decision and if you go I hope you have a great trip!