Parents of chilren with tubes in their ears.

magj0y

Only sometimes do other people not understand him but not very often. He has been referred to speech therapy since he started kindergarten and I havent heard anything back about it yet! He is now in the middle of grd 2.

Sometimes you need to push it, I know I did! The school is obligated to provide for it.

Also, can't your dr just call out for a referel? seems really weird that the fam dr. would want to see him (again)!

karenjoy

Part of my job involves going into schools to check 4 year olds for speech and language development, I also test hearing and refer to audiology and speech and language therapy dept, this is one of the most important aspects of my work, I also screen for vision, growth, comprehension, fine and gross motor skills etc etc

This is provided by the NHS School Nursing team and we go into all our local schools and see all the children, unless their parents opt out of course, but it means we pick up on all sorts of things like glue ear and speech issues that might have an impact on the childs development and education, we can refer directly to the consultant so no need to see the Dr, I am not sure if you have this service where you are, but it might be worth asking the school if they have access to this kind of thing and you might be able to bypass the Dr and fast track, like I can x

We also see any child if asked by the school or parent, its not just 4 year olds

MeMyCatsandI

My son (he's 20 now!) had tubes put in his ears THREE times. The first two times they came out in a year or so. His ears just pushed them out in an effort to heal. The third time, the ENT put in the tubes and took out his tonsils and adnoids. That was about 13 years ago. Hasn't had a problem since.

I haven't heard that tonsils aren't removed anymore, and I highly doubt that to be true. If he has recurring infections, they'll likely remove them.

AimersBee

I had them as a kid, I think I was around 8ish. I had a TON of ear infections... not sure what they told my mom but they did put tubes in. I don't recall much about having them in except for being made to wear earplugs while swimming (and a seriously style cramping headband to keep them in :laugh: ). I do know that I haven't had an ear infection since. :happy:

I also had a TON of ear infections as a child, and even all the way until about 3 years ago (i'm 27)... The ear infections were pretty painful, and I as well had to get tubes in my ears when I was around 6-7 years old. Had to wear the earplugs as well while swimming. I'm not sure if the tubes really helped? Maybe.. They fell out randomly though, I remember freaking out cus a piece of metal or whatever it was came out of my ear unexpectedly, thought it was some tool an alien used, hahaha, (I watched a lot of scary movies when I was younger).

Anyways.... I had such pain a few years ago with ear infection, it would feel like someone was hitting me in the side of the head with a hammer, it was unbearable, I had to take 3 tylenol 3's with codene (taking one pill every 30 min or so until the pain went away)to actually somewhat knock me out.

As of now though, I haven't had an ear infection in quite some time. I do have tinnitus (constant ringing in the ear) though, didn't know there was an actual word for it until I was 16, and I thought it was normal, but apparently not, who knows if I was born with it or it actually came about after the tubes? I couldn't tell ya..

AimersBee

dbl post *deleted*

stljam

I had tubes put in my ears and my adenoids removed when I was around 4 or 5, granted this was 30+ years ago. I was literally going deaf and the ear infections were very frequent and bad. I better knock on wood but I haven't had an ear infection since the surgery and have not had any issues other than what my wife calls selective hearing, lol.

If you want to know more or have specific questions, pm me.

katie070563

Grommets can be really effective for relieving glue ear, reducing the pressure in the middle ear that is causing the pain, and restoring hearing loss as the fluid drains out. Grommets can fall out occasionally, but it is a simple, quick procedure to insert them but can have lots of benefits. Good luck

vidald

My son was 18 months old when the ear and throat infections started. I spent every second week at the doctor's office, it was the most frustrating thing. He would spike 104 fevers and become delirious and hallucinate! I allowed a doctor to put tubes in his ears but got angry because it didn't help him. I saw 4 ear and nose specialists and had one dr tell me to stay home and stop sending him to daycare! Seriously, I almost clocked him for that! 2 years my son spent on antibiotics and since he had been on it during the development of his teeth, he had most of the enamel of his teeth wear off because of the antibiotics. I had to get most of his molar teeth crowned.

One day I had to use a different medi clinic, the doctor I saw there took one look at his throat and said he needs his tonsils out! After all of my visits to all of the quacks, none of them would take the tonsils out because they said kids need them to prevent infections! GRRRR! We were referred to a doctor in a city 45 mins from us and didn't actually see the dr before the surgery due to bad weather and couldn't travel. After my son had the surgery, the dr explained to me that his tonsils were sooo swollen and his adnoids had filled 90% of his sinus cavity! He was surprised that my son could even breathe!

I also had tubes put in my ears at 17 and it was the worst thing I ever had done. Water getting into your ears was the most painful experience. I had custom ear plugs but they never kept the water out! When the holes finally closed up, I could finally enjoy going back into the water!

Whatever you do, make sure that it isn't the child's tonsils or other underlying issues that may be causing them.

Jenny_Taylia

Thanks everyone for the replies!

Now....

Does he have to be in the middle of an ear infection or throat infection for them to want to do something? Or can he go in pain free with no infections for them to say he needs tubes or his tonsils out?

smiley245

Usually your referal papers will indicate that this is a recurring problem and when you meet with the specialist he will discuss the history of ear infections/health of your child.

I also see that you are in TO (I'm in Ottawa) I have been told the same thing when it comes to Strep. My dr told me one has to have strep 7 or 8 times a year to be considered.
It sucks my daughter suffers from these a lot (we did strep back to back 5 times one spring....)
The clinic nurse also informed me I would have better chances of having them remove the tonsils, if we asked for a throat swab every time. This way it builds up a "confirmed case" as to why we should have them removed.
frustrating!

Jenny_Taylia

Usually your referal papers will indicate that this is a recurring problem and when you meet with the specialist he will discuss the history of ear infections/health of your child.

I also see that you are in TO (I'm in Ottawa) I have been told the same thing when it comes to Strep. My dr told me one has to have strep 7 or 8 times a year to be considered.
It sucks my daughter suffers from these a lot (we did strep back to back 5 times one spring....)
The clinic nurse also informed me I would have better chances of having them remove the tonsils, if we asked for a throat swab every time. This way it builds up a "confirmed case" as to why we should have them removed.
frustrating!

See the thing is...I have not taken him to the doctor EVERY single time. Quite a few nights he would be crying in so much pain...but in the morning nothing was bohering him at all. His throat would hurt to the point he couldnt swallow because it hurt so bad...but later that night it would be fine. Will this effect anything? Like the fact that the doctor doesnt have mumerous reports of this?

ReneeJ814

I'm not a parent, but I'm a graduate student in speech-language pathology and will soon graduate, so I think I can provide some insight here. You made the right move by making an appointment with the ENT. He/she will be the person who can identify whether or not your son will need tubes in his ears. I'm sure they will probably check his hearing there, but it probably wouldn't hurt to see an audiologist for a full evaluation if you're concerned about your son's hearing. As lauramac said earlier, chronic ear infections can do permanent damage to your son's hearing if they go untreated.

Here's my two cents about his speech. Based on your description of your son's speech, it sounds to me like he has trouble pronouncing his R's. This is not uncommon because R is the hardest sound to learn and also the hardest sound to teach. Some children can pick it up very easily and have the R sound when they are as young as 4 years old; however, in some chidren the R sound doesn't fully develop until age 7-8, which is your son's age range. Based on your description, this is the sound that gives him trouble, which shouldn't greatly affect the way others understand him. Do strangers have a hard time understanding him? By the way, his speech may not have anything to do with his hearing.

For now, I believe you are making the right first step. See the ENT and get the ear infections resolved first. If there are hearing problems, get those resolved as well. After this, if you are still concerned about his speech, you should see a speech-language pathologist to evaluate his speech. If he goes to public school, he can be evaluated and possibly treated there. If not, there are probably university speech and hearing clinics or private practices. Talk to your son's pediatrician or ENT about this and I'm sure he/she can refer you to somebody. I hope this helps!

Only sometimes do other people not understand him but not very often. He has been referred to speech therapy since he started kindergarten and I havent heard anything back about it yet! He is now in the middle of grd 2.

If he is mostly intelligible, he probably won't qualify for speech services in the schools. Talk to his pediatrician and have him/her refer you to a private practice. As many children there are that have speech problems, I'm sure he/she has a list of reputable speech pathologists.

christine24t

Growing up, I always got ear infections and had five sets of tubes before I was six. I have only gotten a couple of ear infections since then. I'm sure it helped that I grew up and my ears grew (they're common with kids because of the small size of the inner ear, everything is soooo close together).

Is your son receiving help for his language deficits? I had to go to speech therapy for mine (and a special school as well).

magj0y

Thanks everyone for the replies!

Now....

Does he have to be in the middle of an ear infection or throat infection for them to want to do something? Or can he go in pain free with no infections for them to say he needs tubes or his tonsils out?

My doctor just asked for my history, he looked at my throat and scheduled the surgery.

xsabrinalynn

Does anyone here have a child who had tubes put in their ears?

My son, Michael....is 7 yrs old...almost 8. Such an amazing little man. He has had bad ear infections every year, about 4 or 5 times a year and even when its not an ear infection he still complains his ear hurts when you touch it. Some nights he wakes up almost screaming in pain. He has a very large vocabulary but doesnt pronounce a lot of words/letters correctly. For instance...He doesnt say thats her toy...he says thats ho toy. Or Wemembo instead of remember.

He also gets throat infections as well, This boy has had strep throat many times, tonsilities and even scarlet fever. Im thinking his tonsils need to be removed but Ive been told they dont do that anymore unless its life threatening.


So Im wondering if you think they are going to say he needs tubes in his ears? Will their be a huge difference after they are in? I have an appt made with the ear throat and nose doctor but that isnt until the end of December so Im just trying to get some info about it because I worry about anything and everything! Thanks!

I had the same thing growing up - ear infections, ear pain, tonsillitis months at a time. Once I got my tonsils out, it all stopped.

castlerobber

Both my kids started ear infections early--6 months for the older one, 4 months for the younger. Each one got tubes at around a year old. Didn't completely stop the infections, did stop the pain that went along with them. They finally outgrew the infections around age 2 1/2 or 3. Never had to have tonsils or adenoids out.

They both had trouble pronouncing the same few letters, so each one went through a couple of years of twice-weekly speech therapy sessions when they were in kindergarten and lower elementary school. My daughter's speech is clear unless she's tired. My son probably could use another six months of therapy; his sounds are correct, but he tends not to enunciate well.