anybody have experience w/ this?

long story--short version:

cole hasnt had many ear infections (2...possibly 3), but often has fluid & negative pressure (i know because he is in a research program at uga). the audiologist recommended after our latest visit to talk to our pediatrician & ENT doc because he does have some loss of hearing in the right ear & below normal hearing in his left ear. she also has said (& more than once) that he seems to have enlarged adenoids.

will tubes improve his hearing?
whats the surgery all about---hosp stay? anesthesia?
anything i need to know to ask docs?

thanks ladies :)

I dont know about hearing issues, but Jessica had many many ear infections as a baby and they put tubes in when she was 1 1/2...they knock them out (only so they will be still) and it takes about 15ish minutes, they watched her in a room for four hours i think and we then went home...she had them checked a couple times that year by her ENT doc...by the time she was three, one had fallen out by itself and the other the doc took out which took two seconds...he said it was just hangin out in the ear canal...its not a big deal at all...i was scared to death cause i didnt know what to expect...shes never had an ear infection since...and shes ten now...

Hi! I am hard of hearing and so I will help you out with these questions you have.

1)Will it improve his hearing losss?
If his hearing loss is only due to the fluids that are not passing in the ear correctly, yes it will. If his hearing loss is any of the three other types than no it won't.

2)What is the surgery all about? The hospital stay, anesthsia, etc.
The surgery is that they will put your son totally out with general anesthsia for the time he is in surgery. You will see him in the recovery room. They will go in and put these tiny little tubes in his middle ear so that the fluids will drain better than they are now. The length of the stay depends on how well he recovers from the surgery and the anesthsia. My length was long because I also got my tonsils and adnoids out at the same time.

3)Anything you need to know to ask the doctors?
Ask them any worries, fears, information you don't understand. You want to have your son go through surgery with you being fully understanding in laymen terms what is happening every step of the way from pre-op to post-op to what you can and can't do with him until they fall out by themselves. Like you have to put cotton in his ears to not let any water in them while washing his hair and he can't go swimming until they have fallen out. When they do fall out what do they look like so you know and don't panic when you see something come out of his ear.

I had them in when I was eight years old and then when I was nine they fell out while at school in the library before lunch. I am still hard of hearing, still have fluid run through my ears at different times of the year due to colds or allergies, still get earaches due to colds or allergies, and I still loose my voice and have my jaws lock on me due to colds and allergies. We have come to the conclusion that it was a temporary fix with the fluids in my ears, but not a permenant one.


I wish you and your son the best with his surgery for tubes in his ears. :)

Sorry to come in so late: i don't know wich way you chose.MY DS#2 had this all done when he was 2 almost 3. he had signifigant hearing loss and was not speaking well.He had tubes in and his adinoids removed and had signifigant improvement, but he had other health issues crop up after his surgery that we are still having trouble with.good luck to you.

finally saw the ped today & we are being referred to an ent doc. our ped believes tubes & adenoinectomy will help him.

The most common cause of ear infections is a food intolerance. Tubes, etc will not help much if that is not addressed. Well, it may in the short run, but not the long run. Other problems may crop up. Dairy, wheat, soy and corn are the most common culprits.

ear infections are not his problem though....fluid retention is. would an allergy cause that? would there be other indications of allergy?

Oh yah,that was our biggest problem after we got the surgery done.Poor guy has really bad airbourn allergies. :rolleyes: We chose not to medicate him ; his meds made him worse to deal with.You can do the elimination diet to see if it is food;it is a pita but you can always see for yourself.We did try to go GF(we thought he might be celiac) but the rest of the family made it so hard.It was also very expensive for us to feed a family of 5 GF.Wich if you have a child with food allergies is the only way to go for fewer hassles.