Tubes in the Ears - Phoenix, AZ

I would get a second oppion even after you go to the E.N.T. My son had many ear infections up until he was about 20 months my E.N.T told me to wait and see if he grows out of it. Sometimes the tubes in the ears are not fully developed and get infections easier than other kids. We waited and his tubes got bigger so no tubes were needed and he has ben infection free for almost a year. I would highly recomend my E.N.T he is the best he took out my tonsils over 11 years ago, my brothers tonsils about 13 yrs ago and my little brothers last year. He is absolutly great and worth the drive. His name is Dr Jeffery Taffett with Biltmore Ear nose and throat. The number is ###-###-####. M.

Ask the pediatrician for any concern you may have. Maybe tubes are not the only answer and he can still go to his swimming classes. I heard they are safe to wear in the water.

My daughter who is 2 1/2 had them when she was 15 months old. I was scared too and couldn't imagine them taking her away from me. But they are so good that they took her, my husband and i went to the restroom, we came out, and the nurse was already there to say "she's done, you can come see her now" and it was amazing, prior to her tubes, she had an ear infection once or twice a month, afterwards she didn't have one for over a year. and she was so much happier. I know it's scary, but just think of outcome and i promise it is such a fast procedure.

Good Luck!

Hi T.,
I've worked in a hospital for 13 years, and did time in the O.R. also. My Niece had to have tubes put in her ears as well when she was a baby. As she got older, I don't remember what age, they end up falling out (this is normal), and she's doing great. And she did great with them in her ears. You just have to be careful and not get your childs ears too wet on the inside. Surgery, especially for parents/children can be terrifying. This type of surgery is a very common procedure and is done very often. You're not over reacting. You're just being a mommy and not wanting your child to bare this procedure. It will be fine. He will be fine, and you will be fine. :-) I won't sugar coat it because if it were my son, I'd probably ball my eyes out. Even knowing and being familiar with hospitals. You feel your childs discomforts and pains and you want to take their place every time. My niece did great with her surgery. She's 16 now and the tubes have been long gone and she has had no more problems with her ears ever since the tubes were put in. Try to remember to stay calm for your little 'monster'. He will sense the uneasiness in you, and the tension and you don't want him to be afraid. Best wishes to you and your wee one. :-) G.

T.,

Has your son had the Rocephin (sp?) shots? My son also had chronic ear infections and they were starting to talk about tubes. They decided to try the Rocephin first, though, and it worked for my son (they gave me some percentages that indicated it works for most kids). You should discuss it with his doctor before you go down the tubes road.

B.

Hi T.,

I can completely understand your concerns. 2 out of our 3 children had to get tubes in. My son at 9 months and my daughter at 14 months. It was the best thing we could have done for them. My son started getting ear infections at 3 months. As soon as the antibiotic was out of his system, it would come right back. He was miserable and he wasn't eating or sleeping good and it was overall not a good thing. As soon as the tubes were put in, he was a much happier baby. My daughter went through her first year without a single ear infection, but shortly after she turned a year she got RSV and the ear infections started with her. Again, it was the best thing we could have done for her. Both surgeries went by so fast, they were calling us back to the recovery room in no time. When they were waking up from the anesthesia they were a little cranky (which the doctor explained to us that they would be), but other than that, we had a great experience both times. If you do decide to get tubes I would highly recommend Dr. Jerald Altman, Desert Ear, Nose and Throat, P.C., ###-###-####. He did both procedures and is great with kids!

I wish you all the best as you make this decision. L.

T.,
Chronic untreated ear infections can lead to deafness, from mild to complete. So, even thought it sounds really scary to have surgery for your son, you may want to keep an open mind when you talk to the specialist. After tubes are inserted, the doctor will decide whether your child should swim or not. If so, they usually require ear plugs. The ENT specialist should be able to answer all of your questions, don't be afraid to keep asking until you get them all answered. Good luck. I'm sure you will make the right decision for your family.

When my brother was little, he had to get tubes in his ears too. He wasn't aloud to put his head in water, and swimming was out of the question. It was a very simple surgery, though, and in the end it was the best thing for him. No more ear infections, his hearing improved and it actually got rid of his speech impediment cleared up. My niece had to get them too, about two months ago, and she was about 20 months old. The surgery it self has become even simpler then it was for my brother. As I remember, the didn't even put her out. (actully, I just talked to my sister, and they did put my niece out, but it was only because they didn't want her to move while they were working with her ears... didn't want to do any damage!) And they told my sister that she doesn't even have to worry about the "no water in the ears" because it's okay now as long as they aren't in the water for really long periods of time. I understand why you are worried, but as it turns out, it's really the best and simplest solution! Good luck! hope this helps!

My son had it done and it was surprisingly quick with little pain. He had his tubes, tonsils, and adnoids out at the same time and it only took an hour and he didn't need pain meds after a day or so. It is really weird how resilliant kids are, the Dr told me the same surgeries for an adult would have someone in bed for weeks.

It can really impair their speech and cause a lot of problems if not done. Because my son always had ear infections when he started to talk it sounded a little like a deaf person.

T. When I worked in the outpatient recovery room of a hospital there were sooooo many children everyday getting tubes in thier ears. When the doctor told be my one year old needed tubes, I said no way. Doctors just put tubes in kids ears left and right to not deal with the infections.

Believe me I wish I would have done it right away. My daughter had to have speech therapy because the infections were impairing her hearing. She could not understand the correct pronuncations of words. The surgery was a piece of cake and my daughter did not suffer with infections again.

Good Luck
C.

Tubes are not so bad, they've done it lots of times, as far as swimming you can go to the pharmacy area of your store ( I get them at Walmart) and get the swimming ear plugs they're kinda sticky and you cover the area of their ear where their ear hole is and then it's completely sealed off. They're great! And you get a whole pack in a neat carrying case and they're not a bad price either. Good luck.

Tubes in the ears are not the only option for ear infections. There is quite a bit of research proves that chiropractic care is the only proven effective treatment for childhood ear infections. This is research with triple blind standards conducted in Australia. If you do not want to have tubes I suggest you try every other option possible for your child prior to proceeding. Let me know if you need more information.

J.

My son had his tubes put in last Oct. It really is not a big deal and he has not had one infection since. It is a very quick and simple procedure. I think we were at the out patient surgery center for maybe 1 1/2 hours total. As far as swimming my son loves the water too and he will not keep plugs in his ears. If your son will not keep ear plugs in then he can not get his head under the water. Hope this helps ya out. Good luck!

I wish I had something better than a story - advice on alternatives, for example - but all I can tell you is that I had a string of miserable ear infections as a small child. I was sick all the time, and I finally had tubes put in...three times. Not sure why so many ins and outs, but that was all the way back in the early 80's. I've heard the procedure is much more sophisticated and is certainly routine now. I wouldn't spend too much energy worrying about an operation that is done so frequently and successfully. Sweetie, you'll need all that energy later on, when your precious little monster develops a vocabulary and tells you off in public, brings home a substandard report card and you know he can do better, or when he keeps you up half the night because he's hours past curfew. All the best to both of you!

~ R.

I don't know too much about the tubes surgery but my ex step son's had tubes in their ears and water is a NO NO!

HI T.! I have been through the same thing. It is a very scary time, I totally understand what you are going through. My son started having ear infections at 6 months and toward the end it was so bad that he was on antibotics all the time. He never got off them until after the surgery. When we took him to the ENT he had to get a hearing test first. When we found out that his hearing had been affected by the nurmous ear infections the decision was easy.
The surgery was so quick. It took less then twenty minutes from the time they took him from me until he was back in my arms. The hardest part was when he woke up he was very disorinted, he screamed, and wriggled around. This is a normal reaction to the anestia (sp?). He was in recovery for about 10 min then I got to take him home. He slept quite a bit that day but was up and moving around like normal the next day. He had no pain at all.
He had his surgery in febuary of this year and has only had minor colds since then. His vocabulary has improved 110% since the surgery also. He is so happy. As far as the swimming lessons go you should put them off until about 6 weeks after the surgery just to ensure healing time. After that you can get ear puddy for his ears. The tubes will fall out in about 6-12 months.
I feel that this surgery has given him his life back. He is not sick all the time like he was before. He is happy and runs around like a normal little boy again. I would recomnd this to anyone. It is so helpful for them. His hearing has improved also. Hence the vocabulary part.
I hope this helps you. I know if I had had someone tell this stuff when AJ was going through it I would have been so much more comfortable with it. If you have any questions please don't hestate to ask.

Hope your little one does better!

M.

T.,

I don't know if you would consider alternative/integrative therapies, but I am a chiropractor and have seen children with re-current ear infections benefit from chiropractic care. Sometimes joint dysfunction (aka subluxation) can cause slight swelling and/or inflammation in the structures of the neck. This can cause restricted fluid flow in the eustacian tube (the path allowing fluid from the ear to drain into the throat). Fluid build up can cause uncomfortable pressure (like your ears need to pop) and can also be a good place for bacteria and viruses to settle in and cause and actual ear infection.

Keep in mind that most ear infections are viral and will not respond to antibiotics. Your child gets better simply becuase the virus has run it natural course of 5-7 days. If your child does have an actual bacterial infection he may benefit from antibiotic therapy and controlling the bacterial infection may prevent more serious complications.

Here are some links to articles about chiropractic care and ear infections.

http://www.healthychild.com/chiropractic-ear-infections.htm

http://parenting.ivillage.com/baby/bhealth/0,,40l3,00.html

http://www.chiropracticresearch.org/NEWSearinfect&chi...

There is also more info at www.ICPA4kids.com. This is the chiropractic pediatric group that I recieved my post doctorate education from and they have some resources on their website that you might be interested in.

Also, with regard to swimming lessons. You should talk to the EENT to confirm, as this is their specialty and not mine, but until he gets tubes he can swim without ear plugs. Once he gets tubes he will need to keep water out of his ears, as the tubes will creat an hole in the TM (ear drum)with a direct passage into the middle ear. If he has otitis externa (inflammation of the external ear canal, aka swimmers ear) then swimming would not be a good idea.

Take care.

D. N Williams,DC
Scottsdale,AZ

All I can say is once the tubes were in, my son turned into a happy boy after 8 long months of misery. My son was on so many antibiotics that to me, getting the tubes to get him completely off the meds was worth it all. Antibiotics should be saved for a real illness and not the technicality of the ears not being able to drain properly. Having said that, the minor surgery took only 7 minutes and by the following day -- my son was a completely different 22 month-old boy. He want from being subdued, cranky and sensitive to being totally happy, energetic and more alert (as he could finally hear better)! I can't say more about it. So many people are against it but I didn't want to let his infection get further into his middle ear (at the cost of deafness) PLUS hurry up and get him off the antibiotics.

My son was constantly sick when he was a toddler! ear infections, strep, you name it. He had the tubes put in AND his adnoids and tonsils removed. He has been sick maybe 3 times in the past 3 plus years since the surgery... The ENT also fit him for ear plugs since we too are always in the pool. He still asks to wear them, even tho they do not fit.

I have only one thing negative to say about the surgery, only ONE of my son's tubes came out on their own and we were just recently told that he will have to get it removed by the ENT... but I dont think that is common.

As a Speech-Language Pathologist, I recommend tubes. Numerous ear infections can contribute to speech delays.

Your child should be fitted for ear plugs to wear when bathing and swimming. At least, that's what my niece had when she had tubes.

Don't worry!

K.

Don't be afraid...Both of my daughters have had tubes. They are wonderful, and so helpful for the child. My girls stopped having the constant ear infections, we are all so happy since the tubes! It's a short minor surgery and the result is FANTASTIC!!!! Both of my girls enjoy the water with no issues!

I have a niece that turns 3 in June and my brother had to take her in about 6 months ago for the same thing because she kept getting ear infections and they also took out her tonsils and adnoids because she was just sick all the time. It was rough for my brother but he is so glad that he did it. My niece is now healthy for the longest that she has ever been healthy without getting sick. I know it is hard when you have to take your baby in for surgery, I had to take my daughter in for a major operation when she was just 1. You just have to remember that if the dr's want to do surgery there is usually a good reason. You just have to remember how much better it will be for you when your child is no longer sick all the time with ear infections. Hope this helps! Good luck with everything.
S.