Ear Tubes :( - New Braunfels,TX

My son had ear tubes and so did my grandson, and it was the best things that has been done for either of them. No more infections and ear infections, and constant trips to the Dr.'s office. The recovery time was nothing, had to keep him out of the pool for awhile but that could be put off with other things to do. As a grown man my son now can dive deep water, sky dive etc with out problems, grand son is able to go go go. With they had, had this when I was younger for me, still having problems as a adult. Go girl.

It was the greatest thing we ever did! We did it at 18 months (after 6 infections in 6 months - about 10 total). He was very "grumpy" coming out of the anesthesia. He cried a lot, BUT he is now 7 and we have only had one or two ear infections since that time!!! The tubes came out on their own when he was 3 and 4.

Good luck!

My daughter got tubes when she was about 20 months old. I was so nervous. I sat there and cried while she went back, and she was done in no time. I didn't even have time to conpose myself and the doctor was out there telling me she was done. It was literally just a few minutes. When they come out of anastesia it's kind of hard because they are (atleast my daughter was) histerical from it. Then she slept it off and it was like nothing happened. She hasn't had an ear infection since and she is going to be 4 this month. She still has one tube and the other fell out a couple months ago. It's been great not having to worry about ear infections. Any time she would have normally got an infection, her ear would just drain. I would put some drops in, and didn't have to worry. I know it's scary, but in my opinion well worth it!

You are doing the right thing. Our son just had his 5th set of ear tubes put in on Monday. He got his first set @ 2 yrs. old.

There will be times, when he will get ear infections. They won't be as frequent, as before.

The procedure takes about 10 minutes. The recovery time is AMAZING!! In a few hours, he will be back to his normal self. It will look like, he didn't have surgery at all!!!

Good Luck.

I am about to take my 2.5 year old to get tubes put in in 10 minutes! I felt the same way. However, the pediatrician, the ENT, and mulitiple mom friends have all told me that they don't know anyone that has regretted getting the tubes. It's nice to get even more reassurance here, though. My ENT says she'll be fine by noon today. You are doing the right thing.

I had tubes put in my little guys ears and it was great! He was not walking and a few days after the procedure he was walking. My ENT gave us ear drops for any infection after the procedure and I think I used a couple of drops for a few days and no more problems anymore.

I agree with most everyone else that ear tubes are nothing to worry about - just do it! Your child could get permanent hearing loss if you don't do it and then have speech delays.

Be sure to ask for the different type of ear tube that stays in longer. After my son's tube fell out twice, the ENT told us he could try a different kind of tube that doesn't fall out as easily (we wondered why he didn't start with this kind in the first place). We've now had the same tube in his ear for over a year.

You're little guy will be fine through the procedure - I think its harder on the parents than the kids, as usual.

Good luck!

It totally helped. My son had the first set put in when he was about 9 months old (after 8 ear infections in a row). I was so worried. I cried as they took him from me. Then my husband and i were just getting situated in the waiting room and they came and got us and said they were done. I couldn't believe how fast it was. My son was groggy waking up of course but he didn't have another ear infection. Like clockwork a year later they fell out and he started having ear infections again so we put the second set in and had his adenoids removed. This is a much rougher surgery requiring general anesthesia. But he did fine with that one also. Good luck.

We have to get them June 1 in our 13 month old son. Thanks for posting this question.

We just had them put in because my son has a cleft palate and because of that, his ears don't drain. We are super-lucky that we haven't had infections yet, but they said that his hearing could be affected so we really needed to do it. He's 2, and we're doing all this late because we adopted him only 4 months ago.

The surgery is a piece of cake. (I may not be the best one to talk to--after giving my little one to the doctor for the 2-hour cleft palate surgery, I had no problem handing him over for tubes!)

In the waiting room I called my husband to tell him he was in (real quick) then ate a small cup of applesauce, and as soon as I sat down they said he was done. Couldn't have been easier. He cried when coming out of the anesthesia, but I don't know if it was related to the anesthesia (could have been) or just because he woke up with a nurse instead of me, because he calmed down pretty quickly once I had him in my lap.

Good luck. Everything will be just fine!

Our daughter was 2 at the end of March - she had her second round of tubes last Monday.

The anticipation is the scariest part. Sure, he'll cry when they take him into surgery, and you'll hear him cry when they bring him back. Our daughter had to be at the surgery center (for round 2 - round 1 was at 10.5 months) at 7am, and we were home before 9am.

She slept until around 12:30pm, and we were at the park playing around 5pm with her brother and a friend. She was a little cranky the second day, but who knows what that was the result of.

We know several people who've had to have a few different rounds. In our case, it was because the tube in her right ear had fallen out (as it should have), and the one in her left ear was in the canal thus not draining appropriately.

In her case, it did help until about January when she began having the issues again. Some kids are just prone to them, and she's one of them.

In my opinion, you're definitely doing the right thing - not acting to remove the fluid can have many more dire consequences in the long run.

Good luck!

My son had tubes put in his ears a year ago. He was 10 montsh old at the time. It was the best decision I could have made for him. Prior to the tubes, he had about 7 ear infections over a 4 month time span. He has always been a happy child, even with the ear infections. The day he got the tubes, he still had one of the worst ear infections the ENT told me that he had seen in a while. The relief he must have felt from the tubes must have been immense. My happy child (I thought was happy) was so much happier even within a couple of hours after the surgery. He played all day as if nothing happened to him. His ears drained pus for about 4 days after that.

Since the tubes, he has had 3 ear infections, but only in one ear. Every time, I used the perscription drops they give you to put in the ears, and the infection was cleared up within 24 hours. It is easy to see if the ear is infected, because pus starts draining from the ears.

Since the tubes, his speech has increased by leaps and bounds because he can hear rather than everything being muffled from the fluid in the ears.

I have never regreted have the tubes placed in his ears. I am told with my son, he probably will need a new set when these fall out, and I am very ok with that.

My son got tubes at 18 months. He is a boobie-fed baby (still at 22 months) and my greatest concern was nursing him the night before. The doctor said up to 4 hours before his surgery (8:15am) he could nurse and as soon as he was "fairly with it" afterward.

He was only given gas to knock him out, the procedure took maybe 15 minutes and he was already waking up. He thrashed and cried for about 15 minutes from the anesthesia, then nursed blissfully for about 25 minutes (got to love the boobie). We headed home with ear drops, he fell asleep in the car ride home (40 minutes) and we were home by 11:30 am. He played the rest of the day as if NOTHING had happened that morning.

He has not had one ear infection since (and he had 9 in 18 months!)

Best of luck! It was really quick and he seemed pain-free!

I spent from age 1 until 16 years old dealing with ear infections, and tubes... 7 sets! then to top it all off, at 16 my right eardrum blew out while I was walking in the mall...turned out all the scar tissue from all the surgeries made my eardrum weakened... had to have tympanoplasty to repair the damage.
Talk to your doctor, one or two sets might do him good, but be weary about repeating the procedure to often or too many times.
Another thing you should look into is a sinus pot. Alot of times my ear infections started as sinus problems, these pots are great for keeping germs and infections from the sinuses, also make sure to get really good ear plugs for the summer and bathtime, the wax kind at the store suck and hurt when you push them in.
There are alot of things you need to be aware of...but don't let me scare you, I am merely warning you about some of the worse case scenarios...
I am now 34, with no ear problems whatsoever, and lived through it all with minimum overall damage.
GOOD LUCK

I wish we had ear tubes put in sooner, no more ear infections and her speech improved practically overnight.

My 3 year old had ear tubes in and an adenoidectomy, she was a little fussy first couple of days after surgery, and fine after that. From what I hear from other moms ear tubes are even easier recovery-wise.

Fourteen years ago, my youngest son had tubes. I was very worried. I heard all kinds of horror stories about tubes.
(Kind of like with child birth---why does everyone like to tell the BAD stories???)

We had no problems! My son started sleeping again....I started sleeping again, we got him off those antibiotics that were upsetting his belly....he could hear well again. (He had 40 % temp. hearing loss in one ear at the worst time.)

There was some oozing of all the gook for a few days post-op. The crib sheets were messy, but that's about it. But that pent up goo has to go somewhere.
We were careful with baths and swimming. One tube fell out about a year later and one tube fell out 18 months later. It left a little hole in the eardrum for a couple months, but then it closed up fine. No regrets.

You are definetly doing the right thing! My son has had 2 sets of tubes! Each surgery went just fine and it's only like a 15 minute surgery! They told me that my son would be quite fussy and groggy afterwards so I was prepared for that. But NOPE, quite the opposite! He was so happy! He pointed to his ears a few times and grinned! That's when I knew it was the right thing! He has never had another ear infection! But, they do say that one or 2 more infections can be expected. He also started talking about 2 or 3 days later. We were very worried about that b/c he hadn't been saying anything. All of the sudden...it just started. Actual words! The Dr. told us that it probably sounded like we were underwater to him when we talked. It was the best thing we could have done for him. We hate to have to have surgery, but it's so worth it!

Good timing! My 21 month old has tubes put in his ears this morning. We were at the surgery center at 7:45 and by 9:45 he was in the car and on the way home. A very easy experience and the doctor has assured us that his ears will start feeling better immediately without all the fluid behind them. He has had 10 ear infections in the last 12 months so it will be a relief to be done with it. My husband says he sleeping soundly right now but all went well.

our son had tubes at ten months. the one ear was so bad that we had to get another in that ear a month later. the surgery went fast. but i was scared. i left him back there all by himself and poof ten or fifteen mins later he was done and they said i could go see him. so we went back and he was super groggy and crying. i think because he had not eaten and was all druggy and sleepy. if i remeber correctly he has had a couple of ear infections but nothing like they were. he is now 2yrs 5 months and both tubes recently worked them selves out. he hasnt had any ear infections. putting plugs in his ears is annoying. if they fall out and water gets on his head i freak ( its rare that it happens but i always take his drops on out of town trips) over all i am pleased. i wasnt right at first because he was still having ear infections. i think he just needed to get rid of those awful infections first. God bless your little boy.

Try ear candling first! It won't and it might help so that you won't have to do surgery. Also cut out dairy and white flour. You will see a difference. Get him some probiotics from someone like NSP. Antibiotics bring down your immune system and most of the time you never fully recover unless you replenish and feed your friendly flora. Add some strong antioxidants to his supplementation, like Thai-Go from NSP or the Sunshine Heros Probiotic Power and Whole Foods Antioxidants. These things work great for my kids!
www.mynsp.com/januarysherbs You can find it all through my website.

my little girl had them put in about 2 years ago and she was 2 when we had put them in and they just fell out a few months back and it help so much. it when from every other month getting a ear infection and after getting the surgery she has maybe two in the last year. even people have told us she talks alot better. they have the ear plugs for children at walmart and they are orange. she didnt like that part at first, but her big sister put them in too and that help her not be scared of them. its a fast surgery,but as a mother i was scared and maybe had a tear or two when i had to hand her over to the nurse, but it is fine and he will feel alot better after you get the surgery.

I wish I had listened to my husband and had her tubes put in earlier. She was miserable with ear infections her first year, and they told me she'd have permanant hearing loss if I didnt let them do tubes.

The surgery lasted about 15 minutes, and the only real side effect immediately was that she was tired that day. She was fine the next day and it's been over 2 years and no new infections.

My son got ear tubes at 13 months. It was a fairly quick simple process. One of us (I sent my husband) was allowed to go back into the OR with him while they did the anesthesia, until he was asleep. Then, it literally took about 10 minutes until the doctor came out and told us it was done. Another 10 minutes or so until we had our son back. He was fussy from the anesthesia (and probably from waking up in a room full of strangers), but by the time we got him in the car he was fine. 20 minute car ride home, then he ate a full lunch and was totally normal (playing, etc.). The hardest part really was keeping him occupied in the pre-op room... we played with all the medical equipment but it is probably a good idea to bring some good stuff to keep your guy busy! Since the tubes he has not had an ear infection. He also started walking and really learning to say words almost immediately after the tubes were put in. The ENT suggested that the fluid in his ears was making it difficult for him to balance (learning to walk) and hear. Overall a very positive experience for us. Good luck!

I agree with everyone else thus far... my little guy had tubes in at 18 months (this past January) and it's like a whole different child now. His hearing is back at 100% (listening is a different story!!). His vocabulary has improved, his balance, his temperament, etc.

We weren't allowed to go back with him when they put him under, which kind of annoyed me, but just like everyone said. We sat down, barely had time to drink the small cup of coffee when the doctor came out and said all went well. They brought us our little man who was groggy, but not fussy. He sat in my lap with his head on my chest for about 5-10 minutes and then we went home. I agree the drops 3X a day was the hardest part!

After 6 months of straight ear infections - he's had only one this spring. Of course, I did panic when I saw green goo oozing out of his ears - but it was easily treated. And after seeing that - I thought, no wonder he was waking up in the middle of the night howling if all that goo was trapped behind his ear drum! As my grandpa likes to say - better out than in!

It's definitely scary to know that they have to put your little man under, but for us, it was definitely a life saver. Life changing for everyone.

My daughter was 10 months old and on her 9 infection in 5.5 months. It was the best thing we could have done for her. Like a previous poster, we also tried a chiropractor and even he ended up telling us to go with the tubes. She has had one minor infection that was treated with drops and 9 months later they are both still in place. I was so worried about her and she was fine by the time they brought her back to us... about 10 minutes after they took her!
I do recommend the special ear plugs for the tub. Our doc got her set up at the post op visit.
Good luck!! It will be harder for you than it will for him!!

My now-3-year-old has had tubes put in twice. We first had them inserted when she was just over a year old, and she had no infections for 6 months. Then when one tube fell out about 6 months later, she developed an ear infection the day it fell out and then was on 3 rounds of antibiotics in the 2 months afterwards, so we had that tube replaced (she was about 21 months old). She just went to her 3-year well-check, and one tube is non-functioning and the other is still in place, but she hasn't had an ear infection since the last tubal surgery. Her recovery was very easy both times, and I've never regretted having the surgery done. Good luck, though, as I do remember the fears that accompanied the procedure.

Hi B..
My nephew had tube put in after almost non stop ear infections. He did great with all of it. The recovery was good and the tubes have been very successful. I know my sister is careful about making sure he has ear plugs in the tub or pool and she is careful about having him out in cold/bad weather. He has done very well, and I am sure your little one will come out happy and healthy too.
God bless and try not to worry too much!
Christi

My son was 2 when he had to have tubes it scared me to death but I knew he couldn't keep having the ear infections.
I got to be in the room when they put him too sleep, I was there when he woke up, it didn't take that long from what I can remember. My son is now 9 and has never ever had a ear infection since he got the tubes.
The tubes fell out on their own don't remember how old he was but they come out on their own as they get older. It helped my son too hear alot better as well.. Before he would always say HUH? Like he didn't know what I was saying but he learned more and heard things better once we got the tubes..
Hope this helps. Good Luck to you!
P.S. I now have a 2 year old girl who may need tubes too but I would do it for her as well cause it helped my son so much!!

.

Both my children had them, daughter about age 3, son at 11 1/2 months--he babbled immediately after, first word a few weeks later--it helped him immensely. Second time, didn't even have time for coffee in children's hospital cafeteria before they called me that child was out of surgery. Recovery--seems was maybe an hour. Absolutely no problems with either child.

My daughter is on her second set. The first when she was a year old and the second just a few months ago right before she turned three.

The first time...completely hysterical and inconsolable coming out from the anesthesia. They had told me that she might be a little "upset"...talk about understatement of the year. I believe it was my preview to what would become the terrible twos...lol. She also had a lot of fluid at the time of her surgery and an active infection...so she had A LOT of drainage and blood when they brought her out. I wasn't prepared for that at all on top of the hysterics. I had taken her alone to the center (no family in the area) and was a bit of the mess by the end of it all. Recovery was a long than usual nap that day and she had several weeks of drainage.

Second time around we used a different surgical center. They were MUCH better organized. Got the post-op prescription the day before, they gave post-op instructions beforehand, much better explanation of what was going on. She was a little disoriented and dizzy from the anesthesia...and she barfed a couple of time. Didn't even take a longer nap. She is a little olde than your guy, so I explained what was going to happen and she actually took the nurses hand and walked back to the surgical suite all by herself! Never have felt so much like an extra appendage as I sat boohooing in the waiting room!

I'll tell you that the first time around I resisted the surgery. I tried chiropractic, different diets, natural remedies, herbs, eye of newt and tongue of bat (lol)...but still it was nothing but back to back infections for 6 months. One month I only managed to work 2 weeks...she was either puking from the ear infection or having explosive diarrhea from the antibiotics. I would rather endure the 19 hours of unmedicated labor than live that month again.

She was a different child after her tubes. Speech developed at an amazing rate, her behavior improved, physical agility and balance were better. I couldn't believe the change. Her left tube lasted about 16 months and the right one about 18 months...and then the infections started again. It was a no-brainer to have them replaced. This time a larger diameter tube was used...hopefully to help them last long enough for her to grow out of them.

We eliminated dairy from our kids' diets and the ear infections mostly stopped. My 4 year old just had one but it was gone within a few days and we didn't use any antibiotics or tylenol. We saw a Naturopath a few months back and she has changed how we eat and the kids are doing so much better.

My son got tubes when he was 2 after several months of constant ear infections. He was upset, disoriented and crying when he woke up ( effects of the anesthesia) but was fine after a nap. He has never had another ear infection and barely even a cold. It was definitely the right decision for us! Praying that it works out for you and your little one.

My son, 4 just recently got tubes. ofcoarse being a mom i was freaked, but the operation honestly was only 10 minutes. I called friends & family to let them know he just went in & to pass the time. no longer did I sit down & they called me back to recovery. Austin was up & ran to me, like nothing ever happened. It was just recent, but he has had no complaints. I know I made the right decision. Good luck Mom!!!

YES you are doing the right thing. It went very well for both my kids (now 2 and 3.5). The procedure is rather simple, no cutting or surgery, they just put them out as they wouldn't sit still. The amount of anesthetic is very low. I went into the room with both my kids until they were under. I then remember with my first going to the restroom and getting a cup of coffee in the waiting room. Within 5 minutes of sitting down, the Dr. came out and said all went well. Tylenol was more than enough after the surgery, and the hardest part was putting in ear drops for 3days, 3x per day. The best part is that they WORK, no more pain, fever, fluid and antiobiotics.... it really is the best thing to do!