Tubes for ear infections (advice needed)

DS has had 6 ear infections in the past 8 months. We have a referral to see an ENT.
His pediatrician said most likely he will need ear tubes put in.

Anyone's DC ever go through it? how was the experience? Did it help?

I've read a bit on the subject and it just doesn't seem worth it.
Right now he has to use nasonex daily to keep the tubes open and if he gets an ear infection he needs antibiotics.

From what i've read, the risks include scarring and hearing loss. in some cases, they still give antibiotics for infection. he will not be allowed to swim and will have to be careful with water.

ds is 2 and 7 months. he loves to play in the bathtub. he loves going to the beach and splashing around.

i am trying to avoid this so very much.
anyone know of natural remedies? anything else i can try before succumbing to what i consider surgery on my baby?

TIA

Re: Tubes for ear infections (advice needed)

DS had back to back infections for several months prior to having tubes. Although I was nervous leading up to his surgery having tubes places helped him. The procedure is super quick. The worst part for him was waking up disoriented. He was ear infection free until they fell out a year later. He had no negative side effects from having tubes...his hearing is normal. His ENT never said to worry about water...just to treat him as we normally did around water.

After they fell out he got an ear infection and we started to see a chiropractor. This has helped as well and he has been ear infection free since then.

Re: Tubes for ear infections (advice needed)

My daughter is supposed to get tubes. I asked both ENTs and both said she could swim. I would check that out.

Tubes for ear infections (advice needed)

all 3 of my boys have tubes. For us it was a no brainer because they had no movement of the ear drum - which means they only heard things super muffled, they always had fluid in the ear drum - it also effected my older son's balance- he was 15 months when he got them - his are just falling out now a little over 2 years later

when you go to the ENT - they will test the ear drum and hearing - that really helps your decision and if there is fluid remaining - in my research i learned that lingering fluid can also cause scar tissue and permanent damage - so tubes are the lesser evil

my older son wears ear plugs in the pool and has since he was about 1.5 without a problem - he know he has to wear them. My twins were under 1 last year so we got by without ear plugs unless we were working on going underwater

in the tub, i do not have them wear the ear plugs but the twins don't go under the water too much. My older son used to go under lots so he used to wear his earplugs in the bath

for us it was the best becasue now I know they are hearing well

Re: Tubes for ear infections (advice needed)

My DS had them put in at 15 months. He had something like 6 infections in 6 months. He was ALWAYS on antibiotics. I resisted for a while, and took him to a chiropractor (I have heard stories where this helped other kids) but it didn't help him. Finally, we did it, and he started talking right away. He had a few words before, but it was like night and day. Obviously, he couldn't hear as well before the tubes!
The recovery was easy.
He had one tube for 4 years, the other for 5. He does have lots of scar tissue, but it is mostly from the infections themselves and only a little from the tubes.
Once he got the tubes, his ear infections dramatically decreased, but he still got sinus infections. When he did get ear infections, we were able to treat with antibiotic drops instead of pills, which was way better.
Also, our doctor didn't make us wear the earplugs in the bath or pool... I know some do.
If I were you, I would try natural remedies, like a good chiropractor, but in the end, the tubes were what worked for us.

Re: Tubes for ear infections (advice needed)

DS had tubes today, he is playing like a champ now...so glad we did it, now we will see if it helps like everyone says it will

Re: Tubes for ear infections (advice needed)

My friend's DS just had them put in over the weekend. The doc had diagnosed him with 40% hearing loss and he was having speech problems. They said he had fluid behind his ear drum? (I think)

Later that same afternoon his mom was putting him down for a nap (he's 2.5) and he looked up and said "Mommy I can hear" . She said he's been doing great and has been telling them to lower the tv and talk lower b/c he can hear so much better and his speech therapist is already noticing a big difference.

I'm not sure about the swimming or the water but I know that they go to the Y quite often and he used to use ear plugs.

Good luck!

Tubes for ear infections (advice needed)

my DD had them best thing ever she was on antibiotics for 2 years:(

Tubes for ear infections (advice needed)

My DD has them...it is worlds better than 2 weeks on antibiotics, less than a week off then back on...knock on wood, she hasn't had one since!

Tubes for ear infections (advice needed)

I had recurrent ear infections when I was younger and had tubes put in when I was 3 and then when I was 5. Ear infections subsided. The only negative was I had a very bad reaction to the anesthesia and ended up back in the hospital due to dehydration.
Whenever I went swimming I had to wear ear plugs which was the worst. As I kid I hated it.

Re: Tubes for ear infections (advice needed)

Well my son just had the surgery today. so i can only comment on a little bit.

He's 14 months. He had to have it because he had fluid in his ear that wasn't draining properly and hadn't in months. So we didn't want it to affect his hearing and no antibiotic would be able to clear it up.

The surgery was SO EASY! They first gave him 3 ml's of a relaxer and then they used the gas mask to put him out. It was just 10 minutes. The nurses were fabulous and the doctor came right out to talk to us after. Then the nurse came and got me when he was waking up which was only a few minutes later. My son was a trooper and never cried.

He was just tired. When i brought him back to the room, we just cuddled and he wanted his water ASAP and he drank his whole sippy cup of it. He fell asleep on me there and then the way home he slept. Put him in his crib and he slept until 11:30. He finally ate something around 1 and took a nap from 2-4:15. Then bed at 7pm.

It was so easy. Couldn't have gone smoother if we tried. They gave us drops to use 3 times a day for 5 days. And yes we have to be careful of water for baths and otherwise. But we're allowed to use ear plugs for that if we want. But he really didn't give us any restrictions, but i'll be sure to ask at his follow up visit.

Message edited 4/12/2013 8:45:45 PM.

Re: Tubes for ear infections (advice needed)

My dd got them at 17 months and they were truly a miracle for her. She had constant ear infections, and fluid in her ears. She would scream for hours, never slept and would throw up all the time. This went on for months. She had ear infections from feb-june and than from sept-until Jan it was just awful.

I got two opinions from ENTS and both said tubes were the best option for her. I was afraid to get them done. I was very afraid to put her under for an operation and I was afraid of scarring.

The operation was quick and immediately she was better. No more ear pain, no more anitobiotics. My dd swims and goes in the tub with no plugs. She only had one ear inefection since getting tubes and had to use drops not antibitics to get rid of them.

Her tubes have been out(the fall out 9-12 months after the procedure) since Feb and she has already had one double ear infection. Our ENT is watching her and hopefully we won't have to put tubes in again but she may not have grown out of ear infections yet.

Re: Tubes for ear infections (advice needed)

Thanks for the replies ladies.
DS is 2 and 7 months, has never had a hearing problem, talks a mile a minute (mainly english with words from two other languages in between). His infections are painful only for about a day. he's great with taking medicine.
he's also a very rough-playing boy. if someone were to see all his black and blues, i would be accused of child negligence. i'm not a negligent mother; ds plays rough and doesn't notice most of the time when he gets a black and blue.
here are some of the thoughts running through my head:

if i put in tubes, how can i guarantee he won't move them or dislodge them, or heaven forbid push them into his middle ear?

what is he's allergic to anesthesia?

if i don't do this, what if his tolerance for antibiotics keeps on building?

is there no other option? there has to be another way!

Re: Tubes for ear infections (advice needed)

At like 18months and several ear infections our ped. rec. tubes so we saw an ENT. At the first appointment it was just like ok we will do tubes. I didn't like that. We followed up with a different ENT for a second opinion because I was VERY opposed to doing the surgery. The second ENT suggested following her. Her hearing tests had not implied any loss. We would follow up every couple of months. Around Dec was the first time the test came back that there was a hearing loss and at that point (around 27mo's) the new Dr. suggested the tubes. The day of the actual procedure was scary and traumatic for me as the parent. My DD did great, she also had adenoids done. She has not had any fluid since the surgery, even when she was congested recently. My DD has been a much happier child since the surgery.

It helped that I was very confident with the Doctor that we were using. The bottom line was my DD's life was in his hands and I needed to be comfortable with who was doing the procedure.

Re: Tubes for ear infections (advice needed)

Re: Tubes for ear infections (advice needed)

My son got them at 10 months. It was a lifesaver for him. He had constant ear infections(8 back to back) After tubes he had 1 in 2 years. He is 4.5. As they get older their anatomy changes and their eustachian tubes angle differently to better drain fluid, so chances are by the time the tubes are gone, your child will have little issues after

Re: Tubes for ear infections (advice needed)

DS hasn't had a problem with ear infections- yet! Lol
BUT I had tubes put in twice growing up bc of infections. I was 5 the first time I got them in... 28 years later I STILL remember what a difference they made with my hearing!! We came home and I said "what's that sound?" It was the refrigerator running... I had never heard it before! My parents knew they made the right decision at that point. I did need to get them again 4 years later- but I'm kind of a special case with the way my canal is shaped.
I did have to wear little ear plugs for swimming- but no big deal, I still went
I also am a speech therapist and look at it from that point- what a difference better hearing can make with speech/ language development!!

Re: Tubes for ear infections (advice needed)

There’s tons of posts on here (a lot from me) that advocate for it.

I personally had at LEAST 6 pairs of tubes in my ears. They fell out and I’d get infections and we’d get them back again. I was also a high board diver and competitive swimmer in my younger years.

AJ had tons of ear infections and I pushed for the tubes. WE got them when she was 17m (finally) and they sell these little ear plugs that form to their ears that hold VERY well and water isn’t an issue. I’ll also tell you that airplane trips were SOOO much better with tubes in as there was no buildup of pressure. Her speech improved with tubes as did her hearing.

Did I have to be careful with water? Yes, but not “NO WATER OVER HER EARS” scare type. Just kept them dry when you can and didn’t let her submerse for long periods of time without the plugs. I totally loved those plugs btw.

To me, the benefits for her long term health well outweighed any inconvenience. As far as falling out goes. You may have to get them put back in or move up to the alternative versions but still worth it to me!


ETA: AJ got hers at 17m old and the first one fell out about a year later. The second one fell around when she was nearly 3 and didn’t truly exit her ear until it was removed last year.

Message edited 4/17/2013 12:02:14 PM.