Be thankful that the ears are draining. The tubes are not plugged and the "yuck" can drain. I have done the ear infection dance for almost 10 years now. We have gone through two sets of tubes. Both times the tubes got plugged up with the gunk in the ears and would not drain and the infection got worse. We have since had to replace an eardrum and may have to do that again - because of ear infections for so many years. We recently had the adenoids removed to hopefully alleviate the pressure on the Eustachian tubes.
Now, one thing that was discovered (at least published in the Medical Journals) several years into our battle is that if the child (or whom ever is suffering from the ear infection) is given something to dry up the runny nose, that often accompanies an ear infection, it can acutally prolong the ear infection because it also thickens the fluid and gunk in the ear making it much harder to drain.
Wait a minute, I just reread your post. Does your daughter still have tubes after 4 and a half years? If so, refer to above. If not, then the pus and gunk that is causing the infection is draining. It could be weeping through the eardrum or it could be that the eardrum has burst. If the eardrum has burst, do NOT put anything in the ears. My son is still missing a large portion of his left eardrum and cannot get anything in his ears or run the infection of permanent deafness. I would suggest you make her an appointment to ensure that the tubes have not burst. Of course this is if she no longer has tunes.
Good luck to you. I hope your daughter gets well soon and with no complications.
L.