Ear Tube Surgery for 9 Month Old

My daughter had tubes put in at around 10 months, my son was a little younger. Like others have said, it's so fast, and it really does make the ear infections stop. I was worried too, but I was more worried about the long term effects of all those antibiotics. I say go for it.

I was terrified, but after several painful ear infections which were becoming resistant to antibiotics I had tubes put in my son’s ears when he was about 11 months old. By this time he had already experienced delays in speech because the built up fluid in his ears wasn’t allowing him to hear normally. After it was done we saw improvements right away and no more ear infections! They did fall out after a few years and he got another ear infection right away. More tubes and no problems. While it was scary to have him put under and taken back into an operation room where I couldn’t be with him, overall it was worth it to have him be free from the pain of ear infections and back on track developmentally for hearing and speech. It sound like you’ve done the homework and with three doc recommending tubes I would go for it. Good luck!

my dd had it at a year. I waited too long, and the ent basically told us that if we didnt have it she would have permanant hearing loss. So we did it. She was under for 15 minutes, cranky afterward, but we gave her a bottle right away, then by the afternoon she was normal. She slept a little more than usual, but that was it. She's 3 now and hasnt had any problems since!

You are very understandbly nervous because this is your baby! =0) Both of my children fought the ear infection fight as well. Our kitchen counter and fridge had a nonstop rotation of amoxicillin, omnicef, and augmentin. It was awful. We are a daycare family as well, so I understand very well. My son had his first set of tubes when he was 10 mths old. I too was very nervous about his age because our daughter was 3 when she had her surgery. However, we really trusted our ENT and knew it was for the best. The whole entire procedure (OH! And he also had his adenoids removed at the same time) from the time they took him away from us, to the time we got to go back to him was 30 minutes! And that was placing tubes and removing his enlarged adenoids! He was a little groggy and snuggly but smiling. We kept on top of his medicine and ear drops and he was totally fine by the next day. It was SOOOOO much easier than I ever imagined with such a small child. He wound up growing too quickly and that first set fell out only after 6 mths instead of the full 12 mths. So, we had to go and have a 2nd set of "long term" tubes placed. He's almost 4 and they are still there (as far as we know). But, I can tell you that we haven't had an ear infection since!! With our daughter, her ear infections were caused by her adenoids and enlarged tonsils, so he didn't opt to give her tubes. She had the removal surgery at age 3 and she too never had another one! And she's 6 now. So, trust those ENTs because this is what they do for a living. =0) Good luck to you and your little one. I promise you have antibiotic free days ahead!!! hugs!

Ear infections are your child's engine light coming on to tell you there is a problem and it's not because he has a tube deficiency. Most babies/kids have ear infections because there is a sensitivity and the fluid behind the typanic membrane (ear drum) can not drain properly. I would do everything in my power to clear this up without surgery....and then the tubes usually coem out, as the body tries to rid it of a foreign object.

Here's my unsolicited advice, since you wanted advice on ear tubes, not preventing the ear infections.

1.) Try switching formulas or make your own NOT with soy or whey.
2.) Give a probitoic (my preference is PB8)
3.) Herbs for Kids - Echinacea/Goldenroot
4.) IF you are breastfeeding, eliminate dairy, corn (including corn syrup) and consider taking the PB8 yourself.
5.) get him adjusted by a pediatric chiropractor - they can get amazing results from taking the pressure off the upper cerival/neck area and allow the ears to drain. Our chiro adjusts the kids and their ears....and within 24 hours have no more infection. Don't ask me why, but it works like a charm.

http://icpa4kids.org/finder.html?q=otitis+media

our daughter was 10.5 months when she had the surgery. She had her 4th ear infection that winter, and the consensus was to have it done.

She did great. She had the tubes put in first thing in the morning. She was a little cranky late morning, slept most of the afternoon and was herself by the evening. She was never a kid who appeared to be bothered by the ear infections - each time, we took her in because of serious drainage from her nose.

Unfortunately, she's a week away from her second birthday and has her 3rd ear infection this season. One tube has fallen out, and the other one is in her ear canal. We're hoping to make it through without another visit to the ENT, but we'd do it again in a heartbeat if it were recommended.

Your physician's recommendations are completely in line with the recommended policy from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the association for ENTs.

Good luck. It gave us several months of non-issues until winter rolled back around. Ironically, her brother who is almost 4 has had 1 ear infection ever. Different kids, different immune systems.

That was my son, lots of ear infections as soon as he was off antibiotics, another one would show up. They were recommending tubes then we went to see a chiropractor (very skeptically I might add). It WORKED! Never had an ear infection again (and he had a really bad one that burst his ear drum before that!). Took him off milk and gave him soy and seeing the chiropractor regularly the dr.'s were amazed. It's worth it to try it.

I AM SO GLAD YOU POSTED THIS QUESTION!!! My son has been suffering from ear infections since he was 5 months old, and began daycare. He was getting sick all the time, and by the time he got better with antibiotics he'd get another infection within weeks. I felt as though I was living at our pediatrician’s office, in fact all the nurses there said that they were my son's Aunties....After about 3 infections; our pediatrician referred us to an ENT, who we have been working with for about 9-10 months now. I really didn't want to do the tubes as I am petrified of the anesthesia. So, we had him on the low dosage antibiotics once a day for 4 months...after 4 months, the ENT said to stop giving them to him and see how my son does. I made a joke as we were leaving that we'd see him within 10 days with another ear infection. I kid you not, that's exactly what happened! Two weeks ago my son got sick with a fever and cold, and after 3 days of his fever I took him to the pediatrician, and of course - EAR INFECTION!

I immediately called the ENT who said it was time to seriously consider the tubes, or else we'll just have to treat future infections with antibiotics. My husband and I really do not want our son growing up with antibiotics, so we have agreed with the procedure. We are having it done at Children's Hospital on Thursday. Our ENT does the procedure at a couple different local hospitals, including Children’s'. We decided on that hospital just in case something goes wrong, I wanted him where there is a lot of pediatrics around to care for our son (I’m paranoid).

I've been a total wreck every since we made the decision. I know this is the best course of action at this time for our son, and I'm not worried at all about the procedure. It’s the anesthesia that freaks me out.

My son is just about 21 months old now. I feel as though I gave it my best effort to avoid the tubes, but we have heard really good things about the procedure and how your life will improve dramatically once the tubes are in place and you have a healthy child again.

Thanks again for posting this question as there have been some really good feedback given from other mom’s that I found extremely helpful!
Good luck with your decision. I know how tough it is.

I feel for you! My son started getting ear infections at 4 months old, so severe that the pediatrician said his hearing was muffled. The oral antibiotics weren't really clearing them up either. After his third one in a row, he was referred to an ENT specialist who recommended surgery immediately. I was so scared - at this point my baby was only 5 months old. We had it done through Children's Hospital. They explained the whole procedure to me - a children's anesthesiologist specialist would be standing right over my child with a mask the whole time, all vitals would be monitored constantly, and the procedure would only take about 10 minutes. I went for it, and the tubes have been a godsend! No more oral antibiotics and diaper rash - any new infections are just treated with ear drops. My son is now 20 months old, and his tubes are still in. He sails through his daycare colds now with no difficulties, and I am very VERY greatful that we got ear tubes when we did! He has no speech delay, which can easily occur due to all the temporary hearing loss caused by so many infections. In the past they would require ear plugs for even taking a bath, so that no water would get in the ears. They discovered that it was not necessary and changed the policy - I haven't had to use ear plugs at all. He can't feel the ear tubes at all - no irritation of any type. Every 6 months we go in for a checkup at the ENT office, and he's looked great each time.

The only out of the ordinary thing that happened during this whole process was the first set of ear plugs fell out a month and a half after we put them in, so we had to get another set put in when he was 7 months old. This is not common - the ear plugs usually stay in for 6 months to two years before falling out. The procedure was exactly the same the second time around and he came out of it just fine.

The scariest part was when I went to get my son after the procedure - at 5 months he was totally out of it for about 15 minutes, crying and not even able to nurse. I finally got him latched on and he calmed down, and by the time we left he was smiling at the nurses. The second time we went through the procedure he recovered almost immediately, nursed for a while, and then grinned and waved at the nurses as we were leaving. By the time we got home you couldn't even tell that he'd just been through a surgery.

My advice would be to go for it, even though it is totally scary. It's been well worth it.

My son had tubes put in his ears at only 10 months old. His ear infections were so bad the antibiotics weren't working anymore. I was a mess at the hospital. I cried my eyes out until the doctor came back out literally five minutes later. He was just fine :). He also came out of the anesthesia like nothing even happened. They monitered him for about an hour and we were on our way home. I could see a difference that same day. He was much happier :D.

My son has had ear tubes put in twice. I would reccommend it. I know it is scary. I cried as they took him from me. (He is my first and only child). I can't even tell you how fast the procedure was. We had pretty much just sat down in the waiting room and they came and got us and said it was done. It is an easy procedure---just gas anesthesia. The second time was harder since he was having his adenoids removed at the same time--then it was harder for me--it took longer since he had to go under general anesthesia. My son was about the age of your daughter when then first put them in.

Try taking your daughter off all dairy products. This problem runs in my family. Once we dealt with food allergies by way of elimination (not shots),
the immune system improved, ear infections stopped and no surgery was needed. My nephew on the other hand, whose family would only follow their doctors' recommendation, had tubes put in (age 2) and has had little improvement. He is still sick all the time and miserable and yes, still on dairy products.

Do a little research outside of your pediatrician's office like what you're doing now.

With kind regards,
D.

My daughter had them put in at 11 months and did great! She had 9 ear infections in 5.5 months and we were starting to worry about her hearing (and I didn't want her on antibiotics all the time).

The "surgery" was SO fast! The doc took her and she was back in my arms in less than 15 minutes eating Cherrios. I highly recommend it! However, I'm not sure how it is in San Diego since you have much better weather than the Midwest, but my daughter had them "off season" (ie all summer), so the doc felt it was more an issue with her ears than getting colds and stuff.

Hello J.,
Please relax and don't stress too much. I know it is so hard to do when they are telling you your new baby must have a surgery. I was exactly in your shoes. My son had his surgery done when he was 9 months old, since he was about 1 month he had continuous ear infections and colds, it seemed to me he was on antibiotics for his whole first 9 months. They kept telling me, if the ear infections continue he will need the surgery. Sure enough that day came, and since of course it was scheduled out about 2 weeks after they told me, I had 2 weeks to stress about my son being sedated. The day came and it was a same day surgery, we went at 8 and he was out of surgery in less than an hour. Honestly he woke up just groggy not even a tear. I was amazed! I believe it was the right decision for him because he has only had 1 or 2 ear infections since he had them come out. I would say the hardest part after this surgery is the bathing. You can not get a drop of water into their ear until these tubes come out. So we bought the ear plugs from the doctors office, but those did not work out well for him. Then his dotor recommended cotton balls with a little vaseline... and that worked great! I am glad he had it done younger because now that he is 4 and loves being in the pool and taking showers, that would have been impossible if he had those tubes in now. It took a little over a year for the tubes to come out. Don't mean to stress you out on that, you get used to the bathing routine after a while. Good luck to you and your child. I hope she has a speedy recovery just as my son did.

My 13-mth daughter just had tube surgery last Monday, and we have her f/up appt tomorrow to see if the fluid is out of her ears. She actually had a double ear infection prior to the surgery, and 5 before that within a 3 month period. The surgery took all of 10 minutes and we were actually out of the Surgicenter in 1 1/2 hours. As for the anesthesia, they only use a very minimal amount and it was not an issue. My friend's kids had tubes in their ears at 6 months old, with positive results. I would highly recommend it.

Our daughter did great, but they had to give my husband a Valium!
He REALLY hates Doctors, hospitals.. But once he realized she had lost so much of her hearing, he finally agreed.. She really did great and never had a ear infection again. It changed all of our lives.

We also chose to take our son to a chiropractor when our doctor recommened tubes. After seeing the chiropractor he has only had one ear infection in the past two years. I was so nervous about putting my baby under general anethestia so I decided to try this first. If it does not work for your baby you could always try tubes next.
C.

you may want to try this supplement first ..its called "Serrapeptase" google it for ear infections ..but do not use it if your child has any bleeding disorders b/c it does thin the blood ...good luck

xo

My grandson was deaf. He had a Doc who wanted to put tubes into see if it would help. During the surgery he discovered the baby had had an untreated ear infection that had left debris in the inner ear and that was why he was deaf. He spent an hour just cleaning out the goo. The baby can hear now, his hearing appears to be normal.

If you do decide to do the surgery it will be wonderful for your baby because he won't be in pain anymore.

I REALLY didn't want to do it. My son got his first set of tubes at 1. We had a very similar story with lots of infections. He did fine after the surgery and was up and ready to rock within hours. His appetite improved right away. Chewing and swallowing hurt when your ears are full of gook! The tubes did fall out which is totally normal after about a year. At 2 he wasn't talking and he got another infection. After his second infection in a month we decided to place the tubes again and remove his adenoids. Big difference!! At 9 months they don't usually do the adenoids because they have to put them under and there is increased risk of bleeding. I wish I had done the tubes at 8 months like my doctor said. I put it off thinking I was making the right decision but I was wrong. My baby was in a lot more pain than I realized and as result of all of the inflammation he has mild hearing loss. The benefits outweighed the risks for our family.

I'm going to "second" the chiropractor. My dear friend's son was the same way. She was also scared to do surgery, so she started him in chiropractic care and he NEVER had another ear infection. Just another possible option. If you choose to try chiropractic, find one that treats children. I'm sure your doctor will not find this as an acceptable alternative. It's totally your decision and obviously you will be want to do what is best for your child, either way.

My daughter didn't have tubes, but she did have eye duct surgery at age 15 months. Honestly, I was a mess, thinking of what could go wrong. The entire process was so short, I didn't even have time to use the bathroom and grab a snack at the vending machine before they were telling me she was headed to the recovery room!!! I know it's a different surgery and all, but kids are so surprisingly resilient. The doctors do this every day and they are good at it. Like the other posts mentioned, it's reallly in and out -and for my daughter, the hardest part was that she couldn't eat that morning!! Good luck to you and your daughter!!

My daughter had tubes put in both ears at 9 months and my son at 6mos. They were continually on antibiotics, not sleeping, not eating well prior to the tubes. I was also a little nervous about the anesthesia, but it was all worth it, both times! That afternoon after the procedure, you wouldn't even know they had surgery! No pain, no fussiness......no more infections! No more antibiotics! They started sleeping well, eating well and my son started talking more. It was actually quite amazing. My son has had one more infection since his tubes, but at 17 months he had a pretty severe head cold, so there was a cause. Good luck, but I would definitely recommend it.

Hi J.,

Sorry if I speak out of turn and not exactly answer your question but we were able to dodge tubes altogether with principled chiropractic care. Our pediatrician wanted to put tubes in my oldest's daughters ears (she had seizures from the infections). After I researched it, I was looking for other options. After we started the chiropractic care, the infections went away.

If you don't have an upper cervical principled chiropractor you can find one at www.ucspine.com. I was a kid that had multiple surgeries when I was little (and my body knows that today) and I wish my mom had had the internet to do research for me.....

God bless,

M.

HI... I understand your concern! My son also had reoccurring ear infections... horrible! We did the tubes and are glad we did. My son was about a year with his first set... he kept them for awhile...then did loose them and started getting infections again... While he had the tubes... he was infection free... YEAH! He had to have a second set, then again a third set. The Dr's have said that he will eventually grow out of the need for them. He is turning 10 next week... his last set was about 2 years ago... and I am not sure if this set is still "in place" but we have had no infections since this last set. The "surgery" is very quick... they give your child a drink form of pre anesthetic which made my son very relaxed and sleepy and then put the mask on him to knock him out the rest of the way. The procedure and wake up only took about an hour... fortunately they take the kids first for these procedures. Really nothing to recovery... So for us... the benefit of the tubes was worth the concern of the anesthetic and the concern over re-occurring infections/ antibiodics... and I think has helped him in the long run. Good luck with your decision adn your daughters health!

Ok my son was a typical ear infection child from a very young age i think that he was around 9 months to a year. i would definitely suggest that you get them. She has to go under b ut the outcome very much outweighs the worry because these ear infections can also cause long term damage to her ear in this case you can get damage to the ear drum, my son was effected that way and even though she may be young it's better to do it when they are young because then they have no remembrance of pain. She will also feel 100% better. I also wanted to let you know that the daycare is NOT causing your daughter to get ear infections, or even a cold but still try to make sure her hands are always clean and try to wipe her face and around her mouth, that might help with the colds. I wish you good luck in this decision. I just think that if I would have done the surgery sooner, my son might have been alot better off!

DO IT! both of my sons had to have this done; one at age 1 and the other at 9 months like your daughter! I also had reservatons, it is normal. It is your baby and this is surgery. But all the fear aside a good friend of mine put it this way (she is a nurse) We are blessed to have procedures that can help children in this way. This is a surgery that these dr.s do all the time so they are GOOD at it. Your baby will feel better immediately and guess what...sleep through the night, eat, play and do all those wonderful things more often. She won't keep getting sick and she will not run the risk of not beig able to hear, possibly causing learning issues. We are so lucky that these procedures can be done, the pain is gone and our precioius bundle can go on growning and learning without this hindering them. Good Luck. Oh and one other thing, they come out of the annesthesia (sp) really grouchy!! screaming, crying the works. This is a good thing! They are just coming out of it and are having a hard time. It really means all is well. Just be aware. My drs let me nurse as soon as my boys were awake and that really seamed to help calm them. I aslo took a couple new toys, books something to keep them occupied in the morning. They cant eat for hours and are hungry and grouchy, so that helped keep the mind busy,
Again, Good luck!

My daughter got tubes the week before her first birthday. She had all the same symptoms your baby did...chronic infections and too many antibiotic perscriptions to count. The prep for the surgery was the most difficult; and the waiting for the dr to come get her too. But the surgery itself was super fast and has made a world of difference. We've adjusted to ALWAYS using her earplugs for every bath, swimming, etc. Good luck in your decision! :)

When I hear about parents thinking about putting tubes in their kids ears I like to tell them about my DH. He had tubes put into his ears as a child and now he has hearing loss and pain in his ears. He can't blow his nose without pain and hates to get water in his ears for the fear of getting an infection and the pain that comes along with it. I know that a lot of the time the tubes work and everything is great but I would suggest looking into all other routes of treatment first. I have heard wonders about chiropractic care for child. It isn't the same kind of adjustment that they do on adults. It's very gentle and almost like a massage. You could also look into using things like garlic and/or mulin (sp?) oil in the ears instead of oral antibiotics. They are both an all natural antibiotic and I believe the mulin oil is also a natural topical pain relief.

Hi J.,

I just read your "So What Happened" response and I wanted to give you a shout out for following your instinct. I am so pleased to hear the alternative treatments are working for your daughter. I was hesitant to post alternative treatments, especially since you were looking for feedback from parents who have done the surgery.

I just read a great article in the Pathways to Family Wellness magazine on ear infections. The magazine is a publication put out by the ICPA, International Chiropractic Pediatrician Association and it's a great publication. Check it out if you get a chance.

I love that the ped felt the infection could have cleared on it's own....yes, they do that and most likely did so with the aid of the supplements and ear oils as you said. I can't help but wonder why then so many pediatricians and doctors are SO QUICK to prescribe the antibiotics for an infection that will clear on it's own without further complications.

I hope this alternative experience has started you on a path that will open your eyes to the amazing ability of our body.

Peace,
J.

My daughter had 16 ear infections in the spam of several months, was miserable.The doctor suggested tubes and I had them in 2 weeks later....she was in and out of surgery in 15 minutes.They inhale the sedation, the doctor looks in the ear canal makes a small slit like a button hole in the eardrum, places a small tube in the hole...like a button would fit in a button hole and moves on to the next side, then they are done.They go to recovery for 15 or 20 minutes...may vomit later in the day...my daughter did once.She slept for several hours and woke up her old self.We put ear drops in twice a day for 3 days and she has not had an ear infection since.

Don't do it. Check with Weston A Price foundation research and articles first.
http://www.westonaprice.org/index.php?option=com_googlese...
the GAPS article and the next one are the best for info. Try something different unless you want to go from this to more and more drs and problems like allergies etc. Make sure she is breathing thru her nose also

Okay I went through this with both my girls and actually we all 3 had tubes in our ears at the exact same age, 8 months old. I feel like it was a medical must for my girls because even at surgery time, they were on antibiotics and still running high fevers. The fluid had to be released and that was the only way it could get out. Normally doctors don't even like to do the surgery when the ear is infected but they gave the go ahead on both my girls because antibiotics were not effective. Yes, they have still had ear infections but I think also a family history of bad ears has something to do with it. Plus the girls have had nowhere near as many infections as they were having. I really think it depends on what is best for the child at the time.

All 3 of my sons had PE tubes placed several times. In all 3 cases, they did very well after this procedure and it did help vastly with the infection issues. None of them had any infections until the tubes fell out and eventually we got another set placed. My first son was between 9 months and 1 year (he's 16 now, so I cannot recall exactly his age) when he got his first set. I'm guessing with the amount of infections your daughter has had in such a short period of time, your dr's are anxious to get this under control. For my boys, their ear issues did not resolve until they had their tonsils removed unfortunately; but everyone is different. I had the same issues as a child, so it's my genes...I wish you the best of the best! :)

Are you kidding me?!?!

How much food elimination have you tried? First all dairy and soy should be out. Try a great formula, www.neocate.com first or if you are breastfeeding, change your diet.

How about probiotics? This baby hasn't had a chance in you know where with all of the meds killing her system. I am sorry if sounding a bit harsh here but what is wrong with doctors.

How about vaccines? Has she been getting them all along? My money goes on yes and she shouldn't have received a single one when she was sick or on antibiotics.

Do some research - this is so young. You need to take some control here and I know it is scary with your little baby being so sick. I get it because I was there and I was a stay at home mom. It all came down to the vaccines for my kids. Maybe you could look into a home based business so you can stay home with her and subject her to day care. We do what we have to do but this is important to change something(s) in her life.

All sent with a hug.

I would wait until this cold and flu season is over and then see if you still need it. My oldest son entered daycare when he was four months old and it was November...the beginning of cold and flu season. He had CONSTANT ear infections all winter. We were one away from our doctor saying we needed to seriously consider it. That was March. We went on vacation the end of March and he never got another one after that until about a year ago. He's four now. Honestly, I think the anatomy of his ears changed and because the cold season came to a close, he got sick less.

Just my thoughts for you...

-M

My daughter is 9.5 months old and was told she needs the surgery. As much as I am scared I am def going to give it a try. She has had about 4 ear infections and 2 ruptured eardrums in the last 3 months. Mind you, each ear infection lasts about 1.5 weeks and then the eardrum ruptures. Whichever ear has the ear infection she cannot hear from that ear for a long time.
I have no idea about the chiropractic stuff because I have not done it. All I know is my daughter has been sensitive/allergic to milk since she was born and has not had an ounce of dairy in the last 6 months of her life, therefore I doubt it has anything to do with that.

Goodluck!

we waited until my son was 3 yrs old (his ear infections started when he was 4 months) and i really regret waiting so long - he went from 6-7 ear infections/year to zero. I think that it has had long-term impact on his ability to accurately discriminate between sounds. If you have three MDs telling you to do it now, do it.