Ok- we have been thinking that the little one has acid reflux and that is what has been keeping her from sleeping. BUT we have recently, in consultation with our Ped, have realized that she has had 4 double ear infections in 5 months. She doesn't run a fever and she doesn't pull on her ears, so usually by the time we get her on something, they are white, pussing, and full of fluid.
We took her to a chiro from month 2 until just a couple weeks ago (we stopped due to financial reasons and also because it obviously wasn't preventing her ear infections OR making her sleep any better).
So my question is-- my Ped has already mentioned getting tubes. She wants us to wait until she gets one more and see how soon it occurs. 1- have tubes helped you? 2- should I see if we can just get them? we are miserable and she just keeps getting them
Just FYI- I am not reluctant to get the tubes really. I was just curious what others had experienced. My biggest problem now is should I go around out Ped straight to the ENT or wait til she suggests us to go?
My daughter was a much happier baby after getting tubes. She never had another ear infection after that.
S., does anyone in the house smoke? This could be causing her infections. I struggled with this years ago. Went from Doctor to Doctor and finally found one that gave my son a shot of penicillin (? spelling). It cleared up and never came back. I think the secret is getting the infection completely gone in the first place. I would think twice about the tubes. Haven't heard any success stories about those. Good luck.
Get the tubes and put your child out of their misery. Ear aches hurt, tubes relieve the pressure and allows the goo a way to get out. They come out after a while and may even have to be put back in at some point in the future but they often fix the issue and there are no more problems.
Absolutely! ASAP..
I waited because my husband was reluctant.. Once I realized the amount of hearing she had lost, I told him to "suck it up I had scheduled it."
Our daughter did great. My husband had to have his mom there with them.. They gave him a Valium to get through it.
Changed our lives not having to deal with the ear problems. That was when I realized I was always going to follow my mommy heart and brain and to heck with everyone else.
Acid reflux can actually cause ear infections. My daughter had both. We got her ear tubes when she was 13 months old and she has not had another ear infection since (she's 4.5 years old now). I HIGHLY recommend the ear tubes. If they can't hear properly it can effect how they learn to talk. Not to mention the pain of the ear infections. So I very much recommend them. If your daughter has acid reflux, I'd suggest treating that too - my daughter took prilosec and it made a huge difference.
YEA! My son got tubes at 13 months and they have drastically improved his quality of life. Before, he was almost constantly on antibiotics or in pain. As soon as he got the tubes, he started talking more and walking (the same weekend) -- the doctor said the fluid buildup in his ears was probably affecting his equilibrium and hearing.
The procedure itself is very simple and FAST. The worst part is waiting for it to begin, because your daughter will be hungry and you'll have to entertain her in the pre-op area. Our doctor let my husband go back during the anesthesia part (just until my son was asleep --- about 30 seconds) and it was literally only ten minutes before the doctor came out and told us the procedure was finished.
He has had maybe two ear infections since getting the tubes. But because of the tubes, the infections can be treated with antibiotic ear drops (rather than an oral antibiotic) and go away really fast. The fluid runs out too, so it's not able to build up and cause all that pain.
Good luck!
YEA! It will change your child's life...& prevent her from dealing with hearing loss. Do this for her!
100% yes!!!
My daughter got tubes at 16 months. It literally changed our life. She was like a completely new baby within less than 1 hour after the procedure. Happy, smiley, tons of talking (before then she was barely using any words, and all of a sudden she was talking a mile a minute), her balance was better, she slept better through the night, such a great change.
We do have to take her to the ENT every 6 months to check the tubes, and have had her in once with her for an infection. She is now 2 years, 2 months, and still has that same first set of tubes.
Good luck! I wish your family and your daughter well!
I vote YEA. My daughter had tubes in at 9 months...after her eardrum ruptured and several infections. She is five 1/2 now, and has had only 1 ear infection since they were put in. One tube was taken out, the other fell out about 3 years ago.
GET THEM!!!! NOW!!!!
My little girl had 6 ear infections by 9 mos old and our pediatrician kept saying she wanted to wait til she was older. When we finally got to the ENT, he said he would have put them in after 2 infections. The results have been great, not a problem since. In fact, she has just been sick this last week and i took her to the doctor yesterday where they saw that the ears were draining the infection through the tubes like they are supposed to!
I just could not risk my baby to have a hole in his eardrum (very small percentage doesn't heal, but still) and I had the gut feeling only mamas have, to not do it. So I sought 2 more opinions and found a ped who did not take tubes so light, on the contrary, he encouraged me to try with a longer theraphy of a different antibiotic for my, then, little son. He had been suffering with recurring ear infections for months, waking multiple times at night (I was delirious) and not eating as much as he should have during the day. He took the antibiotic for a long time (can't remember now how long but I am talking weeks). The doc gave something to protect his bowel too (antibiotic kills good flora) and, you know what, he got rid of ear infections for good. This is my experience, good luck with your little one!
OMG! Huge benefit for our family. My poor son started getting ear infections at 2 months and it just would NOT go away. Poor thing struggled for 6 months with contstant infection. So many antibiotics...including several shots. He was like your daughter, no fevers, didn't pull on his ears, but we learned to notice some signs. Poor baby. I hated giving him so much medicine. We got tubes when he was 8mos old and have not had a single infection since...he's now 13 months. Amazing results for us. Good luck!
BTW, just read your SWH and I THINK, not positive, you have to have a referral from the ped for insurance purposes. If you're concerned, stay in contact with your ped.
My child got tubes and that was one of the best decisions we made. He had multiple ear infections and almost immediately after getting the tubes, his rate of infections went WAY down. We were very impressed. The surgery itself was hard as a parent to see your child go through the anesthesia etc but it was worth it in the end. Make sure you research the doctors and get a specialist to do the surgery. Best wishes!
M
Most definitely! Both my kids had reoccurring ear infections, on and off oral antibiotics, not eating or sleeping well. Now they both have tubes, and while they still get the infection, it just drains out and does not cause the pain as it would if they didn't have them. If their ears are full of puss, they aren't hearing as well as the could be, that could cause speech and learning delays, all which could be avoided with a very minor 10 minute surgery? There was no question on getting them for my younger child after going through the same situation with my older child. Just curious, what concerns do you have about getting the tubes?
If she's already had 4 double ear infections in 5 months, I'd go see the pediatric ENT. Although, that depends on if your insurance requires a referral from your ped or not (our doesn't).
Our daughter got tubes when she as 18 months old. Before that, EVERY cold she got would turn into an ear infection (not severe, but enough for fluid buildup ALL the time). Since the tubes, we've been ear infection free! :)
My 2 1/2 daughter would get ear infections that just wouldn't go away even after several rounds of anti-biotics so our ped referred us to an ENT whom suggested the tubes. We were hesitant too, we even waited it out a couple of months to see if anything had changed/improved and when things didn't we decided on getting the tubes. It was the best decision and such a simple procedure. She hears better, she now talks alot more etc. She had them put in last April and hasn't had an ear infection since. Of course everyone will have their doubts about surgery and to be honest sometimes the tubes don't resolve issues for every child but I can happily say they did work for ours.
Best of luck to you, only you know what is best for your child!
Tubes were awesome for our youngest. I stressed and stressed over the "surger" but in the end it literally took less than 15 minutes. She still got a couple of ear infections but the infection drained out the tube. It was pretty gross but it released the pressure in her ear and it didn't hurt like it had before.
I have a son who just turned 2. He has had severe reflux since birth. He also had lots of ear infections. He also got lots of sinus infections, and his toncils were big. At 18 mo old he got tubes in ears, adenoids and toncils out. After surgery the ENT doctor said his toncils were infected and usually only happens with lots of infections so was good to have them removed. I am so happy I had the surgery. His reflux has got much better, and still seeing a GI docotor every 3 months, but hope to get him off meds soon. His GI doctor said she thinks part of the problem was toncils adenoids and ears not draining properly. He has been sick since surgery and before he would have ear infection with any cold, and his ears look great, not 1 ear infection since he had tubes in ears, I could not be happier, and glad he is healthier due to surgery. I would highly recommend surgery. GL
IMO tubes are a truly great thing. I'm a physician and my daughter didn't start to have trouble with ear infections until around 9 months. However she was then constantly low-grade sick for the next 5 months. Her symptoms were also subtle so we never realized what was going on. Once she got tubes she has been really healthy and never had another infection. We didn't have to take any precautions with water either (that is old-fashioned advice according to our ENT) so baths, showers, and swimming were all okay. When I look back at pictures of her during her sick time (like her 1st birthday party) she just looks so awful and sick in all of them. I have absolutely no regrets!
My son had reoccurring ear infections for about 9 months, as soon as he was done with the antibiotics he would have another infection. He had tubes in both ears when he was 13 months old. Hasn't had an ear infection since. I am glad we did it. It sure is hard to have a little one that is constantly not feeling good. I would definitely do it again!! Good luck.
First try an alternative method - go find an Asian accupuncturist, explain the issue, I am sure they can remedy this with accupuncture and chinese medicine, and avoid any tubes.
Both of my girls got tubes before the were 1 because of ear infections. My son has had 2 ear infections and he is only 5 months old, I am thinking he will need some also. The tubes helped my kids alot. They started walking soon after and started talking also. My pedi referred me to an ENT and the surgery lasted all of 10 to 15 minutes. I kept them out of school the next day to just observe. It made my life a whole lot easier. Good Luck!!
