Chronic Ear Infections and Adenoid Removal????!!!

Hi F. - not only did I have that as a child but my son had it done when he was close to 4 years old. My son had had one set of tubes and still continued to get ear infections. So, the ENT suggested Adenoid removal. The reason it helps is that the adenoids get inflammed and they are in the area where it closes off the eustacian tubes which causes buildup of fluid in the ears. It's been a few years and I think my son has had maybe one ear infection since. Good luck!!!

Most definitely it will. My daughter was, at the time, the youngest to ever have ear tubes at the age of 5 months because she had one ear infection after the other. At the age of 3 she had another pair of ear tubes put in as well as her adenoids taken out (they were way too big for her). She also had one more pair of ear tubes before she was all done with having ear infection issues/problems.

It will definitely help.

Good morning F.!
I'm currently a chiropractic student, saw your posting and signed up just so I could respond to it! There has been great success with children with chronic ear infections and chiropractic adjustments helping them, and in many cases preventing ear tubes. I have even witnessed first hand a little girl (she was 3 at the time) go from having an appointment scheduled to receive ear tubes to not having a single ear infection after regularly being adjusted by a chiropractor. She is now 6 years old. Here are several articles relating to chiropractic and ear infections in children: http://www.soldanofamilychiro.com/articles/Ear+infections/ I know if I were faced with this situation I would research all the pros and cons of both sides of the stories and make the best, EDUCATED decision for my child. I would also try the non-invasive procedures before ever wanting to put my child through a surgical procedure. Even if you just google chiropractic and ear infections, you will get tons of articles and research about it.

My son was almost three when they did the tubes. We went back for check ups, etc and in a year and a half my son had no furthur issues with ear infections even after one tube fell out. My ENT started talking about a second set of tubes and adnoid removal, etc. When I asked why he said it was standard protocol. I asked what in my sons recent history warranted all the surgery since adnoid glands have more to do throat and strep (they are behind your nose) why? Same answer. Not acceptable to me, so we left and he never had adenoids removed, never had a second set of tubes is 9 yo and has had ZERO infections since.
So my thought is - IF your son has had issues with throat and strep as well as ears, I can see the reason for adenoidecomy. I have also heard from friends that had this done as an adult, it is easier to heal from as a child, but if it isn't necessary - don't feel pressured into it. They are very different surgeries.
Good luck. I hope others have some good insight for you, too.

adenoid removal will help. they should consider tonsil removal as well. they usually go hand in hand. also, adenoids can grow back. tubes will help with ear drainage and less ear infections but they don't stop them completely.

This is so controversial. There's a real push to remove a lot of things (tonsils, adenoids) and stick in a lot of tubes, and "everybody's doing it". Some people are very happy with the results. Then again, it's surgery and it doesn't always work. Ear infections can recur. Friends of mine have done it, and others have used nutrition to boost the immune system - 20 years ago a friend of mine decided NOT to do this, and her daughter still hasn't had the tubes or any more ear infections, and her other two don't get their asthma anymore. I didn't have asthma, but I had chronic bronchitis and allergies, but I don't have those anymore thanks to this woman's help. So you could try something else for 6 months and see if it does the trick, and you can always go back to the surgeon later on.

How is your son's speech? Does he have any nasal sound to his speech? At all? If he does, tread carefully. Removal of the adenoids in a child with hypernasality can cause more problems with the nasality. Also, you should know for sure if there is a possibility of a submucous cleft palate. A nasal endoscopy should be done before the surgery to make sure of this.

I'm sure you are thinking why on earth I'd bring it up. Well, my son is why. If I had let the ENT remove my son's adenoids, his already compromised structure would have been made worse by taking the soft palate's "roof" away. We need that roof in order to not sound nasal when we talk. There is also a problem with deep nasopharnyx. (You should look this stuff up.)

For a child whose adenoids are large and full of infection, the ENT can reduce them, cleaning out the gunk, yet leaving the adenoids intact. You really need to talk to the doctor about this. If I had allowed the ENT to push me on this, I would have done my son's irreparable damage. We didn't know about his submucous cleft at the time, only that he had speech issues and hypernasality. I found another ENT for a second opinion, asking for some type of diagnostic testing before submitting to surgery. It was the best thing I've ever done for my son by way of advocating for him.

Your son may not have these issues. It's still good to know about it, regardless.

The ear tubes should really help. They were wonderful for my son.

Good luck in this,
Dawn

My son had three sets of ear tubes. It helped, but they kept getting pushed out. He also had to go into the hospital to get IV antibiotic to knock out an ear infection that kept coming back.

My brother had is adenoids out..... no problem.

Have you tried probiotics? There is research that it can help with ear infections. I'd try a high dose of that for a month and see if it does the trick.

Try chiropractic before any surgeries please! It's worked for about ten kids I know, getting rid of ear infections. Only one kid it didn't work on that I know tried it, and it was due to the shape of his ear. And no dairy, add probiotics. It doesn't "fix" the problem, it removes the interference causing the problem. Adenoids do serve a purpose and shouldn't be removed so casually unless absolutely necessary.

My daughter had her tonsils & adenoids removed, and tubes put in. She was about 2 or 3. She's now 10. She hasn't been sick once. No infections. Nothing. Best thing we ever did.

Before I give you my thoughts, I have a question. Is this the first time he has gotten ear infections?

I know it is scary to you, but this is going to totally change all of your lives.. He will do great.. and you will survive too.

My husband refused to allow this procedure for so long, our daughter lost a lot of her hearing in one ear.. I just put my foot down and set up the procedure.. She did great..

My husbands mom joined him in the waiting room and gave him a Valium.. It was what he needed.

http://www.pandamedicine.com/articles/chronic_ear_infecti...

Good luck,
MD

My daughter just had tubes put in and adenoids removed last month (the Friday before Christmas). She didn't have chronic ear infections, but she did have chronic fluid in her ears, causing hearing problems. She had just turned 3yo.

We researched the need to have her adenoids removed by reading medical research articles. (My husband works in medical research, so asking questions and doing our own research is standard procedure for us.) We weren't sure the adenoid removal was necessary, particularly since she wasn't getting chronic infections. This is what we found. For kiddos 3yo and older, having the adenoids removed substantially decreases the chances that she will have to have another set of tubes in the future. So, it will likely reduce the number of operations and the number of times she needs to undergo anesthesia (which seems to be the most dangerous part of the operation). Adenoids also act as reservoirs of bacteria/viruses, so if infections are the issue, it should help reduce the number of infections in the future. The benefits of adenoid removal are only apparent after the kiddo is 3yo. For kiddos younger than 3yo, it's likely they'll only suggest tubes.

I also asked my brother about his son's experience (around 6 or 7yo when he got it done), and my brother said it was a piece of cake and to have it done.

Our experience with the operation. Operation was fast. Our daughter was brought to post-op and was groggy (just waking up). Be prepared. A 3yo is going to be groggy and in a bit of pain. They will be unhappy. Our 3yo is tough, but she was crying in post-op for a while. She didn't like the IV in her hand at all, so they immediately removed that. Because of that, they couldn't give her anti-nausea meds (the anesthesia often causes nausea), so she threw up. She then took a brief nap in my lap. Post-op probably lasted 1 to 1.5 hours. After the crying, barfing, and nap, my daughter insisted on walking out of the hospital on her own and taking a ride in the elevator before leaving. At home, she laid on the couch for an hour or two. After that, she seemed mostly normal. It is a really easy recovery.

Do it. Particularly with the infection/snoring issue. This is not something nutrition or chiropractic is going to "fix."

This is exactly what we did with my younger son and it helped A LOT!!

Yes, there is recovery time to deal with, but it is well worth it to have a much more healthy child.

M

yup! agree with lola. i would also talk to him about removing tonsils as well. removal of adnoids will help with ear infections. enlarged tonsils and adnoids also causes sleep apnea so that is probably why he snores. you will see a whole world of difference! i think you should do it! good luck!

Hi F. -

My youngest daughter had an ear infection every month for almost an entire year. It was awful. She was constantly on antibiotics. Right now, she is on her 3rd set of tubes. The ENT dr finally recommended that she get her adnoids out and her tonsils removed. Since then, she has been a different child. She has not had an ear infection in over a year. It has done wonders for her!!! It was a tough decision though but I had to give it a try. Having her adnoids out was nothing. She ate popsicles and soft foods for about a week or so and then she was back to normal eating. She was 4 when she had her adnoids and tonsils removed. One more thing, her tonsils were extremely large. They were actually touching. Plus, she would constantly snore when she would be asleep. She no longer snores.
Good luck!

I know this is going to sound like a snarky answer, but it really isn't. Do you trust your ENT? Is it a pediatric ENT that you went to?

My daughter also had chronic ear infections (at 12 months) and slightly snores when she sleeps (most of the time). However, our ENT only recommended the tubes. Not sure if it was an age issue, but I do know that tubes + adenoids is a pretty common procedure/combination. When we went for the follow ups, I asked about the snoring, and they said that while her tonsils and adenoids were enlarged, they weren't worried about removing them unless she was really uncomfortable.

A year and half later, we've had no ear infections since the insertion of tubes (which have now fallen out). She's still well rested and healthy, so I'm happy with his recommendation.

Tubes are a wonderful thing. My 5 year old had two sets of them, the first set fell out and the when he had another ear infection after those, we went back for t-tubes and those stayed in from 2 - 5 1/2. He had one ear infection with a bad cold in that 3 1/2 years time. Nothing was ever mentioned to us about adnoids, so i assume his where just fine since that was never brought up.

Can you go for a second opinon on the adenoid removal - and see why they would remove only the adenoid and not the tonsils (i've heard of it the other way around.

My sister had her tonsils and adenoids out when she was six for chronic ear infections (back in the 60s). I will say, my 10 year old daughter had her tonsils and adenoids out last month (Chronic strep infections) -- at 10 it was a rough ride -- I wish we had done it when she was younger because even at 10 it was a harder recovery than the younger kids. Also, if they're going to do adenoids, they might consider tonsils as well and do them all at once -- for us, they said it was her tonsils that were the problem, but that most of the time once they have to take one out, they usually end up having to go back for the other.

My daughter had recurring ear infections and at age 3 had two ear tubes placed. They worked wonders until the past six months (she's 5.5). One tube was completely out and the other was sitting in the ear canal covered with wax and she kept getting ear infections in that ear. Another trip to the ENT and another surgery was scheduled (only 1 tube this time) and they asked if she snored (which she did occasionally). They said they would look at her adenoids and remove some of them if they are overly large. I asked why some and not all and was told that there is no way to remove ALL of the adenoids - but when they are overly large - they often get in the way and cause recurring ear and other infections in children. Turns out hers were large and they removed 'some' of them. She did come out of surgery very upset (a lot of kids do once they wake from anesthesia) and she also had a breathing tube for the adenoid removal so her tongue was hurting (had a small cut on it). Other than that - she was tired off/on for the remainder of the day but the next day she was just fine. Acting normal, eating normal, etc. This was on January 2nd 2013. She has not had any complications or issues since. The only difference I noticed from JUST a tube insertion versus tube and adenoid removal is that she was overly tired from the meds they gave her from having her adenoids out. We offered soft foods - ice cream (lots!), popcicles, yogurt, applesauce and pudding for the first two days then she was okay to eat reguarly.

If your ENT is suggesting/recommending it, I would say go for it!!