Constant Ear Infections

I've had tubes in my ears since I was a little girl and I don't think it's anything for you to worry about. According to my mom, after they were pu tin the infections stopped. It's not a big deal, just be happy you'll be at the doctor less :)

The same happened to me too. Finally after numerous ear infections the ENT put tubes in my 10 month old. It took about a week and he was finally sleeping through the night. One tip, use silicone ear plugs when bathing. If soapy water gets in the ears the tubes can fall out. It's okay for regular water. My baby still gets ear infections, not as many and his ear drains now instead of being built up behind the ear. Hope this helps.

Hi A.,

My 21 month old had tubes put in his ears at about 10 months of age. He didn't start getting ear infections until we put him in day care and there was a ton of colds there that he caught. Once he got tubes, he hasn't had a prob since. His ENT was QUICK, about 10 min not even. In and out of post op. If you child gets tubes...its probably the best thing.

Hi A.! You will be amazed at the change you will see in your daughter once she has tubes put in, but just remember thier is no guarantee she won't have ear infections ever again.

My son had them at 9mo and then again this past June at the age of 2. The first time I admit I was nervous (what mom isn't) but it was over in a matter of minutes. He was still on a bottle then and did cry some with his first bottle, but handled it okay the second time around. There may be a lot of drainage too. Just be gentle cleaning out her ears, and be sure to follow the direction of the ENT with any drops that are prescribed. Depending on the ENT they will also tell you whether or not you need to use ear plugs in the bath tub and while swimming. The firt time around the ENT we had chosen wanted us to use them at all times, this new ENT for the second set was not as concerned, but we felt that it was safer so we do use plugs on occasion in the bathtub and we use this head band type thing when swimming with plugs.

The most difficult was not being able to feed him after midnight, especially the first time around when he was 9mo.

Good Luck, and Congrats on your pregnancy!

I have had friends that got tubes in their kids and haven't had any problems since and the process itself was pretty easy. We thought our son was going to need them, but he cleared up and hasn't had another one since. Now, we did ask specifically for a different antibiotic. There were 2 kinds out there that didn't hardly do anything. And we did discover that if we didn't give him the dosage until the bottle was empty, then it did reoccur. Tubes are kind of like eye duct tubes. they'll go under general anesthesia and the process doesn't take long (not even long enough to a magazine article). Kind of groggy afterward, but from what my friends have said how they bounce back depends on the child.

My daughter was a year old when I gave her up for adoption, (i was 16, long story) but as long as i had her she had one ear infection after the other. i took her to the doctors and they continued to give her medicine, but it didn't help. then one day about a year later i was talking to my aunt, who adopted her, and i asked about her ears. she said that every night after bath time she put a drop or two of rubbing alcohol in her ears and to this day she has not had an ear infection. (a remedy my aunt learned from her mom) now i am 26 with two boys, 3 and 5 and the first time my oldest son got an ear infection i asked his doctor. he said it was fine to do. i have to tell you, the logic behind this is that an ear infection consists of infected fluid in the inner ear. antibiotics dry up that fluid and your body reproduces it, healthy. rubbing alcohol does the same. i am not a doctor, i don't know all the medical details, but that is the gist of it. also, i have used this remedy on myself, and if you treat an ear infection with rubbing alcohol it stings pretty good for a few minutes. if you do it, say after bath, on a healthy ear, it only feels cold and wet for a few seconds, and it is supposed to prevent an ear infection. so if you decide to try this, know that it will sting for a few minutes unless your daughter is without an ear infection at the time. since my oldest sons first ear infection, neither of my children have had an ear infection. p.s. ask your doctor first, and when you do try it cover your daughters eyes. i got some in my sons eye one time...oops. he was fine, but i am a lot more careful now.

My oldest two children have both had tubes and I have a baby getting ready to get tubes and with the older two, they have not had an ear infection since! I will say, however, to be sure that when the tubes are rechecked and its time to see if they have fallen out, be sure that they are. 13 yrs ago my sons was supposed to of and it grew to his bone is his ear..but this is not common!
Your girl should have immediate results!!
Good Luck!
A.

i know tht when my youngest of 3 had ear infections? he was teething every time so that could be a sign as well . getting tubes can and cant be a good thing watch for them closely they can fall out when they arent suppose to and can sometimes cause more problems get them only f she really needs them. but with my youngest i knew when he was teething cause he had ear infection all the time like every month till he got his teeth in. good luck

My son is six years old and almost a year ago we decided to have tubes put in his ears due to constant ear infections. My son had so many ear infections that the meds actually stopped working because his body had grown prone to the meds. The surgery went really smooth but I must warn you that after the surgery your child might get sick and given throw some blood up that is normal don't be freaked out by it because it is a normal process. My son is doing well now and has not had another ear infection since we had the tubes put in his ears. Now my 10 month old son is going through the same thing and we are thinking about having tubes put in his ears. When the doctor first said anything about tubes in ears i freaked out and I said NO... but I did some thinking and decided that tubes were worth a try because the ear infections were getting worse and the meds had stopped working.... Good luck with it all and I hope everything turns out as good for you....

Hello,
I had ear infections constantly when I was little. I can tell you from personal experience that tubes are a miracle. They don't hurt you just have to make sure and keep up with cleaning the ears out. My first set fell out on their own and one of my second set had to be scraped out. Avoid that if you can. Tubes are great and it was awesome when I noticed that I could hear my mom talking to me and she didn't have to yell anymore. My nephew also has tubes right now and the doctor visits and antibiotics have dramatically decreased since he got them. He's two and his language has improved so much since getting them. He didn't really talk before, just grunted. So good luck to you and your daughter.

K.

P.S. the best part about being in the hospital was the ice cream they let me have.

Be prepared for her to cry after the surgery! They don’t put them completely out, so when they come out of surgery, they are already semi conscious. They will be given a pain reliever at the hospital and if needed you can give her additional pain meds as the doctor directs. My Son didn’t need anything additional, he had a rough 20 minutes or so but after that it didn’t bother him at all. I honestly don’t know if it’s the surgery or the anesthesia that makes them so weepy. Just hold her and comfort her until she settles.

Also, don’t be surprised if your daughter still gets infections with tubes. However the infections should be few and far between. If she does get one, you’ll know right away because of ear drainage and if medication is needed it can be given in the form of an ear drop. Ear drops go right to the source, rather than oral that goes through the entire system.

My Son had tubes put in 5 months ago (he’ll be a year in Feburary) and after a rocky first month and a half (he had a couple of infections) he has been infection free. It was well worth it in my opinion. Once the tubes were in he started jabbering A LOT, his voice sounded different to him because he wasn’t always hearing things muffled.

MY DAUGHTER WAS THE SAME WAY WHEN SHE WAS LITTLE! WE HAD HER 1ST SET OF TUBES PUT IN AT THE AGE OF 10 MTHS. SHE WAS A TOTALLY DIFFERENT CHILD! mUCH HAPPIER & WE COULD TELL SHE COULD HEAR BETTER. THE SURGERY ITSELF ONLY LASTED ABOUT 40MINUTES. RECOVERED WASN'T BAD EITHER! MAY WANT TO ASK ABOUT GETTING HER TONSILS & ADNOIDS OUT ALSO! WE ENDED UP HAVING HER TUBES FALL OUT A YEAR LATER & HAVING THE SAME THING ALL OVER AGAIN UNTIL THEY PUT "T" TUBES BACK IN & TOOK THE TONSILS & ADNOIDS OUT WITH IT. (RECOVERY ON THAT ON WAS ROUGH) NOW 3 YEARS LATER SHE HAS HAD HER TUBES REMOVED & IS DOING WONDERFUL! GOOD LUCK & IF YOU NEED TO TALK LET ME KNOW!! ____@____.com A Little about me: I have been married for 12 yrs & have a 9 yr old boy & a 5 yr old girl. I have run an in home childcare center for the last 11 yrs!

My name is A.. My oldest had ear infections for months. We tried the medication, all the shots, and even discussed tubes. Tubes scared me half to death. I researched how many complications arise due to tubes in a child's ear. I started looking for other solutions. I was seeing my chiropractor for my back due to the pregnancy and he suggested I bring him in. Everyone in my family freaked out. Don't panic. All it is pressure points, NO realigning what so ever. We did these session for about a month I think. My three year has not had an ear infection since. I am not saying it will be the magic solution but it is something to look into. Most doctors will start pushing tubes if your daughter can't get rid of them. If you would like the number and name of the chiro I was talking my son to just let me know I would be glad to pass it on. Hope this helped. Good luck

I have a 2 (almost 3) year old and a 7 year old. They both had a lot of ear infections so we got tubes put in. They are great. They both did great with them. They dont get ear infections anymore and the actual procedure took only about 15 minutes. Its always scary when your child goes under but it is so quick and worth every minute.

A.
My oldest son got tubes but in his ears when he was a 1 1/2 old. I had the same problem that he was having ear infections every month and I wouldn't know about them until I took him to the doctor for his check-up and she would say "by the way he has an ear infection." We never knew because they were that serious.
I completely recommend the tubes because after my son got them he didn't have another ear infection while he had them in his ears and after they came out he only had a few but it was very little and far between. He is now 9 years old and I can't remember the last time he had an ear infection.
Plus I had tubes when I was growing up and they helped me a lot too.
You can expect to be very careful when ever she takes a bath you will have to have ear plugs in her ears or if she goes swimming or anything around water. It is a pain to remember every single time but you get in the habit and it will be worth it in the end. I really hope that this helps you. Surgery only takes about 30 minutes to 1 1/2 just depends on the child. They are able to go home that same day and there is hardly any pain.
Good Luck and I hope that it works out for you like it did for me.
S.

i am a mom of an eight year old boy who is and has always been prone to ear infections. they wanted to put tubes in but i did not have it done and we worked through his infections with medications and they did eventually get less and less. he now only gets them when he is sick with colds and etc.. i saw all my friends kids getting tubes and that seems to be the quickest solution the doctors like to give. i am glad we just worked through it so my son didnt have to go trough the surgery although a simple one i think they are not always the right thing. like with everything else how well they take depends on the child. i have known kids that getting tubes made the infections worse because of the tubes. as the mom you will need to decide what is best for your child dont just follow blindly behind what a doctor says. good luck.

We almost had to have tubes put into our daughters ears, but thank God she just all of a sudden got better. We had to try like 4 different meds however. I would say, don't worry about the tubes. I have heard that it is very common and it will help her out so much. They can be a pain, but I would just think positive and know that soon the poor little thing will be better... and that is the goal. I will keep her in my prayers.Good luck!

My daughter never had tubes in her ears yet but she gets ear infections a lot more then i think she should too. She is just getting over one now speaking of. My nephew and my sister in law both had tubes when they were younger and from what i hear it didn't hurt them any.

Good Luck & Hope Things Get Better For You..

J. F.
Le Mars, Iowa

I got my first ear infection when I was 35 so I finally know the pain my daughter went through. It was not fun. Tubes are the best thing that I did. She has had to have the procedure two times. It was wonderful. A whole new kid!! Don't worry about it cuz it's a daily thing. Just follow the directions and good luck.

Hi A.! Placing tubes is a really simple procedure and generally (depending on the surgeon) takes roughly 5 minutes. Many studies have been conducted on the different types of ear tubes and for the most part it seems that ear infections are greatly reduced and when the child does have an infection, it's much easier to take care of with antibiotics. Basically what they do in the procedure is they make a small incision in the ear drum, they suction out whatever fluid is behind the ear drum, and then they place the tube in the eardrum incision. This allows for air to flow in and out and fluid to continuously drain so it's not backing up behind the ear drum. Where I work, we do not put IV's in the children and use a type of gas to put them to sleep for the procedure. They are taken to a recovery room afterwards to wake up. Usually they are fussy immediately afterwards, but as the day goes on they become there normal selves. I hope you have good luck! If you have any other questions you are free to email me! ____@____.com is goes well with your little one! =)

My middle son had constant ear infections as an infant. One had lasted for over a month. I was told the same as you and opted to go with the tubes. It was the right decision for him. It takes very little time for the surgery itself. Once the tubes are inserted, the nurse will bring your baby to you and monitor her until she wakes from the anesthesia. She may wake up calmly or she might wake up screaming and fighting. Either way is normal. My son woke up kicking and screaming until he was completely awake and then he was fine. Once she's awake the nurse will check her again and if all is well she'll be sent home. You'll probably be told to give her tylenol for pain and watch her for any signs of problems. She might sleep a lot or she could just continue on like nothing happened. After awhile the tubes will come out on their own. My son has had only one ear infection after the tubes. Good luck and know she will be fine. You will probably have more difficulties than she...lol.

Personally, I didn't start getting ear infectionns until I was in my 20's...but I can tell you from experience they are very painful. It put me, a strong 20-something year old, in tears more than once. I went to an ENT also & I was told to try cotton in my ears at night 1st...then tubes would be the next option. I look like an idiot with cotton in my ears @ night but I've been ear infection free for a couple years. I don't know that I'm much help here- but ear infections are awful. These kids of ours are strong when they can suffer thru teething and ear infections...when often times it brings adults to tears with all the pain!

My son had to get tubes in his ears when he was 18 months... I was very scared but I am very glad that I had it done. I had to throw a major fit to get the military doctors to even consider sending him to an ENT to get tubes put into his ears. They told me that tubes would not help with his ear infections only make it so he could hear better. He did get tubes in his ears but they not only made it so that he could hear better, they also stopped him from having any more ear infections until he was about 4 years old. He had had ear infections so often as a baby that he did not speak until he got the tubes in his ears. Once he got the tubes he started making normal baby sounds and I put him in speeck therapy. He now is a very articulate boy and speaks very well for a 6 year old. I think having tubes put in his ears was the best desicion I could have made. The only thing that scared me was the way children act when they are coming out the anestesia. My son was a devil child... he woke up screaming and then passed out again. He did this ever 30 minutes for about 4 hours and then he woke up and ate and was all better. He has since had two other procedures and this has been the norm for him coming out. Anyway tubes are a very good idea... do not let anyone tell you they won't help for anything other than hearing because to me even if thats all they help for wouldn't you want your child being able to hear anything they are able to hear?

I get ear infections almost every time I get water in my ear. So maybe avoiding that will help. Also, q-tips are bad. Any doctor will trll you that. It packs wax into the canal. a few drops of mineral oil will loosen it up and it'll come out on it's own.

Not much, but I hope it helps. After a while antibiotics don't work anyways. Your body becomes immune to them.

My son had tubes put in his ears when he was 3 and let me tell you what a difference it has made. No more ear infections, no more colds and he has hardly ever been sick with anything since then. The tubes are falling out on their own now and he seems to be doing good. Just make sure you don't get water in the ears until the tubes fall out. Hope everything went well for you.

A.

hello my name is R.
and i have four kids and my oldest is 13 teen, and she used to get ear infections all the time excpecially summer, she used to take med but i found out from my grandma that if you take a straw and some distilled white vinager and put in ear and let it set for a few seconds and put the head to the side to drain out the ear,it is allot cheaper than a doctor and meds and it does work. It stared with her abuot 2yrs and stopped at 11 years old i taught her after every shower or what not, tip head to side and let the water drain out because the bacteria loves dark moist areas,and now we have no issues,

My 3 sons have all had tubes, my older boys when they were 4 and the baby at about a year. It was MUCH easier for the baby because he really didn't know what was going on and we could just cuddle with him to make him feel better. The hardest part was in not being able to eat before the surgery, but they got him in really early in the morning. If it's needed, i wouldn't hesitate to do it again with a good dr and facility.

My 7 year old had tubes put in also and it doesn't take long at all and helps tremendously!

The tubes are great for the kids. I have a 7 year old daughter that has had them twice. She had 9 infections in 1 year so they put them in. Her ears didnt hurt her till the eardrum was ready to rupture and then she was miserable. I was scared to when I heard that word surgery but Im so glad that she had them. It sure helped her alot, she was behind in her learning (speech) because she couldnt hear what was being said to her. After the tubes she caught up in her speech and started talking more and more clearly. Hope this helps.

The biggest adjustment is the constant presence of ear plugs which can be difficult to insert initially but will quickly become part of your regular routine. My daughter (now 8) had chronic ear infections and her first set of tubes when in at 7 months! She eventually had tubes 3 times and her tonsils and adenoids removed. While the surgery aspect of our baby's is difficult - I remember the change in her being so positive it overrode any misgivings I might have orignally felt! In addition, I became aware of the pain she was in due to pressure. Just knowing she wouldn't have to endure this any longer made it all worthwhile.
I recently came across her infant ear plugs so felt compelled to respond to you. I will include you and your daughter in my prayers and am hopeful that your outcome is as positive as ours was!
p.s. - our procedures were all at BoysTown National Research Hosp. and they are VERY well equipped to deal with this type of situation. I highly recommend them for peds.! Good luck!

My 10 year old and 7 year old had constant ear infections as well. My 10 year old was supposed to have tubes-BAH! I go to my local CashWise Grocery store or healthfood store and look for something called "Wally's Ear Oil" or any other olive oil based concoction that includes Garlic and Mullein. This oil kills the bacteria and antibiotics/tubes are not necessary. Whenever one of my kids gets an infection, I get them diagnosed, treat it myself, and take them for a re-check to make sure it's gone. Follow the directions on the bottle. Something that helps comofort-wise is if you take a dry washcloth, place it on a cookie sheet, put it in the oven for a few minutes, and then place over the affected ear(s) for 10 minutes.

I too had tubes in my ears and it was a godsend. I can't recall if there was pain since I was very young when it happened, but I do know I didn't have a single infection after they were put in and mine fell out on their own. I would recommend it to anyone with similar problems with their children's ears.

My son had the same proublem and he ended up with tubes and now he dosent get ear infections. He also ended up getting his tonsils out also which all in all was a god sent he is never sick and is talking a ton better.
hope this helps

Tubes are the greatest thing we did for my daughter. She got the tubes when she was about 10 months old, and she hasn't had an ear infection since. The procedure was very quick and was no problem at all. We just gave her Tylenol afterwards and kept her home from daycare for the day. She was a new baby the very next day. It also helped her speech development, as she wasn't hearing very well with all that fluid trapped in her ears!

Definately get the tubes. My son had his ear drum rupture because we didn't get them soon enough, this is very painful, and gross. My son had terrible ear infections-he did have another really bad one after the tubes but they decreased by 85% i would say. It doesn't take very long to do, and when they called me back i thought something might be wrong but they were done. IT was quick and prevents a lot of pain.
A.

hi A., i have four kids of my own . my oldest had to have tubes put in her ears when she was about three or four . she had lots of ear infections when she was little also . it seemed like every time we turened around she would have an ear
infection . so i know what your going thour right know . but the tubes were a good thing . just have to make sure you don't get water in her ears now . i was told the pain there in is like if we were sticking something sharp in there ear and kept
jabing it in there ear. so i could just imagen the pain there in ... hope this helps .. i think the tubes are a good thing..
let us know how this went....

Hi A.!

I hope I can help put your mind at ease. My daughter Olivia has had two sets of tubes and has done GREAT with both of them! (She had to have a second set after the first set fell out after about a year.) She was just like your daughter - having ear infections all the time. It seemed like she was constantly on antibiodics. It's one of the best decisions my husband and I have made! : ) After talking to many of our friends, neighbors and coworks we discovered lots of them had children who also had tubes and for them it was also a very good thing.

We had Dr. Rapp do Olivia's tubes here in Lincoln, NE. The procedure is really quick. Like you've probably already been told, when your daughter comes out from under the anesthesia, she may be groggy, scared, upset and/or confused about what happened, but this time is really short lived. She can have something to drink right away so we brought in a sippy cup of one of her favorite things in the world - orange juice. Make sure to take her favorite blanket(s) and/or stuffed toy for comfort going back into the surgery room and for when she wakes up. If I remember right, she will need to be on an antibiodic and ear drops after the procedure to prevent any infection and (drops) to keep the tubes open.

The second time, it was recommended that we have her adneoids taken out as well. This lengthens the recovery time just a bit and usually causes the child's throat to be a little sore and breath smell funny for a week or so.

Please let me know if there's anything else you want to know. I'd be happy to answer any questions! : )

Everything will go fine on Tuesday, I'm sure! You can look forward to a lot less ear infections (if any!) in your future!!! YEA!!! You've made a great decision! : )

Have a great day!
H.
(Lincoln, NE)

tympanostomy tubes are very common among young children. Your child will probably take a few days to recover...as comes with any surgery, she may not be very hungry. I would ask the doc about pain management after the surgery....plan to have a day or two to spend with your daughter after the surgery because she will probably want mom!

Oh A., I totally understand!! My first son suffered constant ear infections for the first 13 months of life. We tried every antibiotic and eventually burned out his intestinal track. When he was 13 months he under went many procedures. He had tubes put in, adniods removed, tear ducts opened, and a manuel sinus flush because they were so packed with infection that on x-ray they didn't show any black areas, they were solid white!! I did a foolish thing and asked our ENT what he felt like on the day to day basis and he told me, "Imagine the worst sinus infection you have ever had, the worst sore throat you have ever had, times that by 3 and that's how he's felt for a long time. Oh, and by the way the medicine that is supposed to make you feel better, makes you feel worse because then you get uncontrollable diarrhia." I looked at his little face and I teared up because he was in so much pain. But, now he is almost four with his second set of tubes and as healthy as a horse. So just hang in there and tell her that everything is going to be okay, mommy will fix it.

My youngest son had tubes in his ears when he was 4, and the infections stopped for about 6 years. It was a God send. Some children are born with smaller eustation tubes, and fluid builds up there very easily. One way to cut them back is to not send them to bed with a cup or bottle, and don't smoke around them. Tubes don't hurt them much, but not getting them can lead to massive amounts of scare tissue in their ears, and possible rupturing of the tempanic membrane. Good luck with the tubes tomorrow.