Too Young for Tubes?

My son was barely a year before he had them and it made a world of difference. However, if I knew what I knew now then, I would have seeked more alternative routes first. Chiropractic care can help, but I am hearing more and more about Crainalsacral therapy for this.

My oldest, now 26, had tubes in when he was in either kindergarten or first grade. It was, at that time, the right time. I wasn't aware there was an age limit or ideal age for doing it. Perhaps the earlier it's done, the less likely their speech will suffer.

I would think, however, that 7 months old is way too young to have it done, just because they're still growing and developing. Who's to know if it would solve itself?

I would definately consult the pediatrician.

my son from june 2008-feb2009 he was having an ear infection once to twice a month. they put tubes in his ears when he was just over 18 months. they made a world of difference! from feb to now he has had only ONE ear infection!! now since we had to wait so long, due to the doctor) he is behind on his speech. his speech is like a 9-12 month old. where he only says about 10-20 words where a "normal" 2.5 yr should know over 50 and put 2 words together, but he couldn't hear for so long. i know out doctor waited until he had more than 6 ear infections in 6 months before we went to the next step, i wish i pushed it maybe his speech wouldn't be so delayed. talk to your doctor and see what they say. or even get ahold of an ent they might say she does need them before a normal doctor would say yes

Give a chiropractor a try. A friend of mine tried that with her little one. Just a couple of visits and tubes were never needed.

Good Luck!

HI M.,

I personally did not have to deal with this but a friend of mine did. The tubes worked for awhile but then her son had allergies and then other health issues. So what she ended up doing was getting him on whole food/organic supplements. Once his immune system was built up, he did not have ear infections,no more tubes and today he is a healthy 14 year old.

If you would like more information, feel free to email me or call me at ###-###-####.

Happy New Year!

hello M. my youngest daughter had her done at one tear of age as you know to many ear infection can damage the hearing good luck

My son had double ear infections basically from birth till 10 months. He would get rid of them for a week, then get them back. He had double tubes put in at 10 month. Everything went fine and they had no problems getting them in. They just fell out, he is almost 2.5 years....I would highly recommend them!

I would have her seen by a crainosacral /chiropractor or DO who can check her upper neck. she is probably not draining well to have that many infections . What happens is the fluid doesn't drain completely then she is reinfected over and over. If she is on too many antibiotics she can really messed up her GI system. Antibiotics don't dry her up ether just fights the infection. A girl I know from church (9 year old ) had many ear infections as a baby/toddler and went into failure to thrive from her GI tract loosing most of the good bacteria. then her Mom had a Dr. Bowler in Ferndale work with her and she never had another infection. Dr. Kavief D.O.in West Bloomfield is great too. Good luck

my stepson got his first set around a year old, and it did wonders. he did end up with several sets as his kept falling out. Make sure you end up with a doctor that you like and that you can trust to tell you what's going on. Though my son is done with tubes, he goes about once a year the last 2 years to have his hearing tested.

My best friend's son had to get them when he was just about 7 months. Their life changed infinitely for the better after he got his tubes. I'm usually on here reccomending alternative methods to consider before traditional medicine for really little ones but this is one arena where I think it's good to consider traditional medicine as well :) Obviously, get at least 2 opinions from different doctors before moving forward with a procedure that requires anesthesia on such a little one but it's definitely something to consider.

My oldest was over two because his father fought it I believe he has a little hearing damage from the wait. The youngest was under a year I didn't hesitate to get them. We tried chrioprators and alternative medicine for the first 6 months nothing helped. He still got a few ear infections but everyones life was for the better when both boys got them in. The oldest had one ear infection in 5 years after getting his. The draw back is that their hearing becomes very sensitive after the tubes. Both my boys had a hard time with noises the we would consider normal and didn't bother them before the tubes but after if you droped a pan they would cry for example. Music in the car had to be just at the level you could just hear it or they would say to me my ears hurt. This is something no one ever told me about with the oldest 16 years ago. And even after the tubes fall out you have a few years where loud noises and music seem to bother them my youngest is 10 now and still has days where he can only tolarate certian volumnes on the telvision and radio. The plus side is they don't turn things up on the television:). Good luck follow your gut you know best you are her mother.

if you are open to Complimetnary Alternative Medicine, try Cranio Sacral Therapy!!! check it out on the internet and go to http://www.upledger.com/. Dr. John UPledger is the pioneer of this technique... it's over 25 years old, but not known very much (probably because it's so easy and you don't need to go back to the doctors all the time!)

Hi M.:

My son had tubes put in his ears when he was just under ayear old. I am sure you know from your other child that having tubes put in can be the biggest blessing, so I just wanted to ensure you that it is okay to have tubes put in when the child is under a year. Have a wonderful Year.
A.

Our son had his tubes put in just before he turned 1 and I was amazed at what good it did for him, he almost took off walking immediately, and he hasn't had an ear infection since. That was about 15 months ago. Hope this helps.

Absolutely, get the tubes now! My son had his tubes put in at 11 months b/c he had six ear infections. After he had the tubes put in, he was a happier baby and he has only one ear infection since than. (He is now two!) If you need a great ENT, Dr. John Becker up on Hall Road was excellent! Good beside mannor, quick w/ the tubes, and just a positive experience. He is worth the drive.

Good Luck!

I had to deal with the exact same issue with my son. He had 4 ear infections by the time he was 6 months old and recurring colds. Now we know we are dealing with allergies with him, but the tubes were a god send. We had them put in at 6 months. Quick and easy procedure and now no more ear infections. We saw an ENT who specializes in children. He also tested his hearing to ensure that Shane had not experienced hearing loss due to the recurring infections. I would be happy to pass along his info if you would like. He works out of Troy Beaumont. From all the research I did it is good to get them done now. The more infections they have, the chance for hearing loss, ear canal damage, etc.

The general rule that doctors will folow is "3 in a season", if they have three ear infections in one season they can get tubes. My sone had 3 before he was 6 months old and got tubes on his 6 month birthday. Don't wait or hesitate, kids speech and language and be severely delayed without being able to hear and say speech correctly when at a young age. Demand to see an ENT or just make an appointment. The docotr will understand, will still want to see her before surgery in the doctor's office before surgery too. May even put her on preventive antibiotics until surgery gets scheduled. Can't get tubes done when you have an ear infection and they come on so quickly. Good luck. The son that had them at 6 months had to have them again at 3 years. Another kid only had them at 3 years, other kid, never had to have tubes. Good Luck!

just because she gets tubes doesn't mean she will not have ear infections. if you are interested in alternative medicine try chiropratics. it has worked for my daughter and she has been adjusted since she was a few months old.

Hi,
My son is 2 years and 2 months old and we had ear tubes put into his ears when he was 1 1/2 years old. He probably had at least 8 or 9 ear infections before we went through with it. His ENT doctor basically told us that the only regrets he found with his patient's parents was that they hadn't put ear tubes in earlier. Basically, he told us they were no big deal and that we would be happy. Long story short, he did get ear tubes put in and he hasn't had one ear infection since. The only issue we had was a slight fever that same night as his surgery and they said that it probably was attributable to the anesthesia. He did recover from his fever the next day. I do remember that they did encourage that we get his tubes put in earlier (around his 1st b-day because the winter months were approaching). As much as you don't want a surgery, ear infections can affect hearing and potentially cause problems. My mother-in-law is an RSP teacher for children with learning disabilities at the elementary level, and she told me that one of the first questions they ask parents when assessing students for issues is whether these children suffered from ear infections when they were younger. That was enough for me. Hope this helps!

My daughter had hers put in about this age. We had no issues with doing it this young.

J.

My daughter got tubes at 11 months. They have been a lifesaver. The surgery only took about 10 minutes.

My son had them put in 1 week after his 6 month birthday- one fell out at 15 months and the other is still in at 20 months. It changed EVERYONE's life around here- for the better!