Parents of chilren with tubes in their ears.

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Jenny_Taylia
Jenny_Taylia Posts: 540 Member
in Chit-Chat
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!
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  • _Calvin_
    _Calvin_ Posts: 122 Member
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    My son had them put in when he was around 2 1/2 . He was having a lot of the same issue, constant ear infections mostly. Our pediatrician told us he would have to have 4-5 in a 9 month period to be considered. When he did she still tried to talk us into seeing if he would grow out it (i.e. ear canal get larger). His mother and I decided to have the procedure done. Thank god we did. After that he never had another one. No more holding him while ear drops were put in his ears.

    The day of the procedure was a little scary. I had to carry him back to the operating room and stay with him while they put him under. I was not back in the waiting room five minutes before they came and got me to say it was done. When he first woke up he screamed bloody murder and I thought we may have made a mistake. In hind sight I think he was just scared because he woke up in the arms of a stranger and he did not understand what was going on. He cried a little more on the way home, maybe a 20 min drive, but after that he was great. As soon as we got home and went to his toys and never slowed down.

    We did go ahead and pay for the customized ear plugs for bathing rather than just using cotton balls. If you can afford them I would suggest it.

    Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any other questions about it. I will happily answer if I can.
  • LauraMacNCheese
    LauraMacNCheese Posts: 7,198 Member
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    My son was around the same age as Calvin's when he got his tubes put it (he just turned 8 this past Saturday). It was one ear infection after the other...he'd get over one & a couple of months later he'd get another one. His doctor finally suggested the tubes. The infections stopped almost entirely once those were in.

    His speech & hearing didn’t improve though. So, they opted to take out his tonsils & adenoids. During that surgery, they went to replace one of his ear tubes as well. When the doc came out to tell me everything went well, he had in his hand a small container. Inside the container was a popcorn kernel that my son had shoved in his ear, unbeknownst to anyone. Everyone in the waiting room got a good chuckle out of that. I still have it somewhere, LOL!

    Both surgeries had me nervous…he was only 3 when had the tubes done & 4 for the tonsils/adenoids. But both times they gave him meds before they actually put him under to keep him calm. The hardest part was having to wait for him to come around from the anesthesia...they wouldn’t let me back in recovery until he woke up. That was the longest 20 minutes ever. Like Calvin’s son, mine was screaming bloody murder both times. But I agree with him that it was most likely because he was totally disoriented & surrounded by strangers. Once I was able to hold him, he calmed right down & dozed off and on for the rest of the time we had to hang out at the hospital.

    Unfortunately, the infections caused permanent damage to my son’s hearing. He’s been using hearing aids for a couple of years now & does very well. His speech has improved dramatically, although it’s still hard to understand him sometimes. But he’s making great strides & we’re really proud of him.
  • FitnFabMichelle
    FitnFabMichelle Posts: 161 Member
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    My daughter had tubes in her ears when she was younger. And then 2 years ago, right before she started kindergarten she got her tonsils removed. Our lives have been so different since. When she had the tubes in (they eventually fall out) the ear infections lessened tremendously...but she was getting strep throat all the time and that's why the tonsils were removed. And chronic ear infections do affect speech, because they affect hearing. I'd go see an Pediatric ENT and get those tonsils removed if I were you. You and your son will be so much better off. That being said...that first week after the tonsils are removed are tough. :(
  • homerjspartan
    homerjspartan Posts: 1,893 Member
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    3 kids. All three had tubes. Greatest surgery ever. Each one starting getting ear infections at about 1 1/2 and they kept on coming and coming. It was so bad in my middle daughter that the doctor said that all the antibiotics were doing was getting rid of the infection in her ear, but the liquid was staying, so then in a week it became infected again. By age 2 each kid had tubes.

    Surgery is surgery, but this was the simplest procedure. Takes about 15 min once they are in and they were outside playing the next day (acutally think my little one was out the same day, but she is a little nutty). The worst part was them coming out of the anesthesia, a little freaked out and crying and so forth.... but the rest was great.

    Total ear infections before tubes - 11 billion
    Total ear infections after tubes - ZERO
  • newhabit
    newhabit Posts: 426 Member
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    it was life changing. no more sleepless nights. no more ear infections. i'd say go for it. i dont' regret it one bit. she got them at 10 months and is almost 3 now and finally can sleep.
  • slimy72
    slimy72 Posts: 12
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    My son improved leaps and bounds with the tubes. And as for not taking tonsils out, I had mine out last year and it was far from life threatening, my life is so much better now. Our pedi said if my son gets more than 3 throat/strep infections a year for two years in a row, out they come.
  • LeenaRuns
    LeenaRuns Posts: 1,309 Member
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    My son has tubes--got them in in April. He's 2 1/2 now, had frequent ear infections, but none since the tubes. He's still not talking much, and his vocab isn't great (buddy for water, booba for school bus), so he's in speech therapy.
  • brendaj39
    brendaj39 Posts: 375 Member
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    My daughter who is now 15 had them in when she just turned a year. She had constant ear infections, always spiking a fever with them..they would put her on meds and as soon as she was done she got it right back. She wouldn't take or make any sounds because because she wasn't able to hear with all the fluid that was in her ear, plus when she walked she looked like she was going to tip over. After she got her tubes put in she started to walk faster and straighter. Plus she started to talk more.

    When she was 4 she got her tounsils and adnoids taken out, and that is when they removed her tubes(she had the heavy duty ones in) and she is doing awesome now. The only sad part is in one of her ears she still has problems with it when she goes swimming so she has to wear ear plugs...but a very small price to pay for her to be able to hear and talk....plus it helped on the sleepless nights of her waking up when she was little from the pain...

    Never regretted having her do the surgery...it helped 100%
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
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    My daughter got tubes when she was 4. Yes, it made a huge difference.
  • Im_NotPerfect
    Im_NotPerfect Posts: 2,181 Member
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    I've had both my kids into an ENT and he told us they look for 4 infections in 6 months or 6-7 in 12 months. Both of my kids qualified but we decided to wait and see what happens. So far, so good. My son got 4 in 4 months this spring/summer, AND a bout with strep. But so far this fall, he's been fine.

    I've heard tubes help TREMENDOUSLY. I was just concerned with getting my kids off the constant antibiotics!

    As for his speech, I had the exact impediment as your son, but never had ear issues. I went to a speech therapist when I was about his age and now I'm fine.

    If he's in THAT much pain, I'd see if you can get him in sooner. That's 2 months!! What does his normal DR say?
  • Beleg
    Beleg Posts: 227 Member
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    My son got his first set when he was 3 and got his second set and adenoids taken out at 5 he ear drum has ruptured a couple times since then he is 12 now. But he has never had a ear infection again since tubes at 5. He was getting them about every 6 weeks.
  • Flab2fitfi
    Flab2fitfi Posts: 1,349 Member
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    My son had them but it at 4 - before hand he was classed as deaf due to glue ear. Before he had them done he was diagnosed as having global development delay and his speech was very poor. The difference it made is amazing. He is now 8 and classed as gifted and his speech is perfect.

    The operation was scary ( well for us) but went very well - he was asking for food within minutes of coming upto the ward and was allowed home within hours.
  • ccota0614
    ccota0614 Posts: 4
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    My son had tubes put in when he was 3. Surgery went very quickly and smoothly, and he was a bit disoriented when he woke up but quickly calmed down when he saw us. The best part was driving down the road right after, we heard him say "Mom, Dad, I can hear everything now!". Before that we didn't realize how much the infections had affected his hearing. His speech improved dramatically. My other son had his tonsils removed when he was 8. He's snored since he was 6 months old, and removing his tonsils and adenoids not only gave him a MUCH better night's sleep, it stopped all the infections and pain he'd been living with. I actually had to listen closely to make sure he was still breathing the first night after, he was so quiet. I would say seeing a pediatric ENT would make all the difference in both cases. They will usually not put children through years of torture when they will likely have them removed at a later date anyway, and their bedside manner helps the children make it through as stress-free as possible. Oh, and there is bright red "putty" for swimmers ears that works wonders for bath-time with the tubes in. They fit nicely for a waterproof seal, and last multiple times before replacing with more. That's what our ENT recommended, and you can get them for really cheap at Walmart.
  • lfcutie
    lfcutie Posts: 103 Member
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    My son had his tonsils, ads, and tubes at 5 years old....i took him because one day the teacher said he wasn't listening....not really like him....we testing his hearing and it was below normal...then went to an ENT that said he had fluid in the back of his ears and he looked like he had a low grade infection most of his life....his tonsils were severely enlarged...he had all three done at one time and now we are working on his speech which is improving...his hearing drastically improved....his breathing also improved...he is not sick as much ...overall after surgery was the hardest part but was worth all his benefits...
  • Klopford
    Klopford Posts: 129
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    Not the parent of one, but I had this problem myself. I would get bad ear infections as a kid and had my first set of tubes put in when I was two. I don't remember much from it except that I was really scared when they put the anesthesia mask on me. Eventually they realized my adenoids were ridiculously large, so during my second surgery (age four) they removed mine while putting in a new set of tubes. My last surgery was at age 6 because one of those tubes didn't come out on its own.

    Mom never seemed very scared or worried about the surgeries. She'd always be positive and encouraging and tell me things would be easy or even fun. I questioned her on this years later and she told me that she really was scared... just didn't want to let me know because then I'd be scared too. I guess it helped :)
  • magj0y
    magj0y Posts: 1,911 Member
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    They do take tonsils out, I had mine out last month and I'm pushing 40. Do it while he's younger.

    Think ice picking stabbing at your ear, that is how it feels. This has plagued me for many many years and for the last ten years I've had upper respiratory infections and the last 5 years strep -at least once a year-

    if you've never had strep, it's a burning ring of fire in your throat.

    My daughter had her adnoids & tonsils out and eartubes in, after that she was fine.

    Please do it. It's a LOT of suffering for a little kid. I wish my mom cared enough to get my tonsils out when I was a kid. I have scarring in my ears from so many ear infections.

    swab his inner ear with a bit of rubbing alcohol to evaporate the water after he gets out of the bath to kill bacteria and get the water out.

    Also, his speech could be due to the many ear infections making it hard for him to hear exact pronunciations. So you may want to get him some speech therapy, they should provide it free at the school
  • blackmamba886
    blackmamba886 Posts: 177 Member
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    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:
  • perfectingpatti
    perfectingpatti Posts: 1,037 Member
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    Thank God for tubes! My son had chronic ear infections from 6 weeks to 9 months old when we had them put in. Never had another ear infection again.

    He had his tonsils and adenoids removed when he was 9.

    Had a septoplasty/rhinoplasty a year ago, at age 19.

    Hopefully he's done!
  • researchgirl82
    researchgirl82 Posts: 23 Member
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    Tough but best decision we every made. Daughter got tubes at 14 months. No more ear infections and her vocabulary and language are no longer suffering. Do it. And if you need to see another doc for second opinion, go for it.
  • Rogue_Minx
    Rogue_Minx Posts: 71 Member
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    I don't have any children but I had those problems myself and had the tubes put in when I was around 3 or 4. Things got much better after that and I'm really happy my parents decided to do it. The tubes have long since fallen out (I'm almost 23 years old) but I don't get ear infections like I used to. =)

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