Chronic Fluid in My Son's Ears, Hearing loss........what to Do???

My daughter was born with fluid in her left ear and was never able to pass a hearing screening because of it. I had tubes put in and it is working out great. The fluid drains and she is much less likely to get ear infections. There is a great ENT out of Childrens memorial... her name is Nancy Young. Either way I would definitely recommend the tubes.

HI Lynne,

My son had chronic ear infections, and we have put two sets of tubes in his ears, and removed his tonsils and adnoids. It was the best thing we ever did for him, and he is only 3. He had 14 ear infections before he was 13 months old.

I would highly reccomend getting tubes. I know it is scary, but this will help him tremendously. I would also get him into speech thereapy and you will see how quickly his speech will improve.

Best of luck,

Jolie

Best of luck,
Jolie

Well I have a couple of friends whose children have had tubes in their ears and it has made a big difference. Now I have a 3 year old son who won't talk and is in speech therapy once a week. The therapy is working but for us to give him a hearing test is hard because of the fact that he won't sit still. The difference with my son is that he has chronic ear infections and I do think that he will need tubes soon. From my understanding the surgery is nothing and it is quick. It will help with the speech and hopefully with the fluid. Good luck with everything

Just wanted to comment that I agree with the other moms so far...my 4 1/2 y.o daughter is in the last stretch of having the tubes. She will be getting them out in about 5 months. She also had fluid in the ears and suffered hearing loss and speech delays. She is now in speech class through our public grade school. She has regained almost all of her hearing. She is due to be checked again to see how it is going. (she has been having problems picking up one of the tones..slightly) The procedure WAS quick and painless for her, I was more nervous for it. Good luck!

My son had the same problem - water in ears, no infections, and the idiot pediatrician we had then didn't refer us to an ENT (we didn't realize that the water in his ears Every well-baby visit was something to be concerned about, because he never had an infection.)

We noticed he was having problems with his hearing right before he failed the hearing test in preschool, when he was about 3.5. He got the tubes a few months later. I definitely recommend it before you have any further speech/coordination problems. The surgery was over pretty quickly and he has had no further problems with his ears although the tubes have now fallen out. (he does have balance/vestibular issues that he has occupational therapy for and I'm pretty sure the fluid was the cause.)

Lynn,
Our 18 month old daughter had the same problem as well as our neighbors 2 1/2 year old. We had the tubes inserted (10minute procedure) and within 2 weeks their speech was definitely improved. My girlfriend is going through the same thing with her 2 year old daughter. We saw Dr. Michael Gartner, he is in Orland and Joliet, he has been around for a while and is very good. He took out our neighbors (adult) tonsils as well as her 7 year old daughter. Good luck, we wrestled with the decision for 3 months, wish we would have done it sooner. Sara is much happier and hears everything!!!!!
M.

Lynn,
I highly recommend getting tubes put in for your son ASAP.
I have 4 children and have experienced a variety of issues regarding "fluid in ears".

1st child - no infections, no problems, speaking well at 18-24 months.

2nd child - constant fluid in ears, and doc kept telling me "it's just fluid", and not to worry - we did have a few ear infections... but, mostly "just fluid" - which they don't treat... well, at 20 months, we did get tubes.... This child ended up in speech therapy at age 3 due to speech issues caused by not being able to hear from birth to 20 months

3rd child - same thing as 2nd child, and I grew more and more annoyed w/ doc.. but, again, trusted him and waited and waited.. got tubes at 20 months, and this child also ended up in speech therapy.... starting at 22 months and is still in speech therapy... (he's now 3 1/2)

4th child - I wasn't taken any chances and after 3 ear infections/"flud in ear" I insisted on tubes at 6 months (he now didn't dare disagree with me) which we did... and low and behold, this child was talking up a storm at 17 months.. (she's now just 2) and literally, talks about as well as my 3 1/2 year old....

I completely attribute the speech issues to not being able to hear well. they are totally related.. think about it, how can they learn to talk properly if they can't hear what we are saying clearly.....

Oh - and I'm no longer with that peditrician that made me wait and wait for tubes... I wish I would have left him earlier and followed my gut... oh well, live and learn... and share experience with others, i suppose.

Again - I highly recommend getting tubes for your son now....

Good luck with your decision,

K.

Hi Lynn,
I would also suggest chiropractic care. Chiropractors have had a lot of success with ear infections. I have a great chiropractor in Oak Park. He's been treating pregnant women, women and children for years. Let me know if you'd like to contact him.
J.

Lynn... Please go see a well trained chiropractor! Most of the time, there is a vertabrae that blocks the canal causing the fluid to build up. My daughter has been adjust every 2-3 months since she was 3 months old (and only 1 ear infection to report!)... she is now 18 months! I'm not sure where you are, but I highly recommend Dr. Richard Whitney... he has an office in Naperville & Lisle. Good luck!!

hello, my son had tubes put in his ears when he was about three years old. It was kind of scary ( mostly for me), but he did so much better with them. He had the same problem as your son with the fluid and it completely helped. My son went from having ear infections every two weeks( and becoming immune to the antibiotics given to him) to having an ear infection every once in a great while. I thank God everyday day that he had those tubes put in. Good luck on your decision and if you want to talk, just let me know.

Lynn, I would highly recommend the tubes first and see how your son does. My dtr was 4 when we found out she had lost hearing and she is now hearing impaired with a hearing aid for her left ear. I would highly recommend that you do something before your son looses anymore of his hearing completely. I don't know where you live, but Dr. Gartlan who is located in Joliet and Morris is awsome. He did all of my dtrs surgerys and I would highly recommend him to anyone. Good luck

I have a 20 month old daughter with a similar problem and am also considering tubes. I am an infant/toddler teacher and have seen dozens of children do really well with the tubes. I am under the impression that most children regain full hearing when the fluid is gone. Hope this helps.

I highly recommend tubes! They are awesome!

Lynn:
Having 2 out of 3 children with tubes and one with her tonsils and adenoids removed at 5, I consider myself an expert on the subject. Although my children were sick with infections all the time and were on countless medications, the consistent fluid behind the ear is troubling, at best. Have you been referred to an Ears, Nose and Throat Specialist? I'm surprised that during regular checkups that your pediatrician didn't catch the constant fluid. Maybe you were luckier than me in that you weren't at the office all the time with ear infections! I think they could name a wing after us!

Anyway, my oldest daughter had them twice! Yes, it was traumatic for me moreso than for her at 2 1/2. The child has to wear special ear plugs when taking a shower, bath or going swimming. My kids took swimming since they were less than a year old! My son had to have them at 9 months of age because we had exhausted all the antibiotics and were in danger of not being treatable for any type of illness. It did pain me to do it but my children did not suffer and the procedure is so quick. My kids were younger, so it was hard to explain to them. You owe it to your son to give him the right to hear clearly and learn how to speak correctly without having children ridicule him in the very near future. I do remember my daughter being given a hearing test as well. Did your son have one? If not, he is old enough to do that.

My children can hear and speak well. The tubes eventually just fall out on there own and the tiny hole repairs itself. Regular checkups should be made to ensure that the fluid leaves the ear. He is lucky that it never got infected, but he does deserve to hear. Just think what the world sounds like when you are under water. That is what his world sounds like to him, so you can't blame him for not hearing or speaking correctly. I hope this helps. I would be happy to discuss any other concerns of yours as well and wish both you and your son the best. You can reverse this and it truly is more painful (seemingly) on us mothers, as most things are!

Wishing you well,
K.

My son who is now 11 had chronic infections when he was little beginning at 6 months. When he was 18 months they put in a set of tubes. He still had infections for a whole year after that. Then they put in new tubes but this time they took out his adenoids(they could not do this at 18 months because they grow back if taken out too early). What a difference!!!!! He has only had about 3-4 infections since. Go for it!! The only drawback is having to use ear plugs for baths and for swimming. Make sure you get the better ones.

My son had the same thing, but fortunatly no hearing loss, but did have the speech delay. 4 dyas before his 3rd birthday he had the tubes put in and immediately there was a noticeable change. With some speech therapy and the tubes, he decreased his delay from 14 months behind to only 3 months behind in about 5 months. The tubes were the best thing we could have done, i only wish we had realized all this sooner and done it sooner. Good luck.

Hi Lynn. I have a 5 year old daughter and she went through kind of the same thing. Except she had a lot of ear infections. We ended up putting tubes in her ears, taking out her tonsils (only because they were enlarged), and taking out her adenoids. It has helped sooooooo much. This was done about 2 years ago and no problems came up. They will tell you that the tubes usually fall out after a year or two. My daughters tubes just fell out a few months ago and since then she has had one ear infection with a little fluid build up, but she is doing great and we are going to put another set of tubes in this summer. If you have any questions about surgery, please don't hesitate to ask.

My daughter just had tubes put in last week, she is 2 1/2, she had fluid build up too and let me tell you, it was the best thing we could have done for her, it was virtually painless, quick and easy! We saw a specialist at Rush, my daughter hear more clearly, speaks more clearly and it is amazing everything she was missing before, she now thinks the singing in church is too loud, it is amazing! I would recommend it, there really are no drawbacks!!! LEt me know if you want to know anything else
M.

Hi Lynn-

We went through this with my son. He had tubes put in his ears around 1 year of age. His speech wasn't where it should have been at that time, and the tubes made it possible for him to progress with his speech. Surgery is always a scary decision, but it was a VERY quick surgery, and it made a huge difference. Something we did notice was that he backslid with talking for about a month after the surgery. We kind of attributed this to the fact that he was probably adjusting to hearing the world differently than he had before, and after that he progressed quickly. He did receive speech services starting a few months later, which helped. My daughter is a year and a half older, and had more ear infections than my son, but didn't have tubes. We wish she would have, because she still has trouble hearing clearly, and her articulation is not where it should be at 5.