Question About Ear Tubes

They still get ear infections with tubes, but not as many. When the drainage is as you describe, take them in - sounds like an infection.

yellow and foul smelling probably means infection!
Please follow up w/ you pediatrician or ENT ASAP

That drainage means the tubes are working. THat gunk is what was building up in his ears and causing the infections and the pain. Just keep it cleaned up - it is normal. Also the drainage is a sign of an ear infection, but it should clear up on it's own. Without the pain.

Take him back to doctor, this does not sound normal.Ask doctor what he can do for this problem.

My son had tubes put in back in November. About two months ago this fluid started draining so i called the ENT and the nurse called in an ear drop persription for two weeks. After the two weeks the fluid was worst, yellowish slimmy gue and it made his ear stink. I could not stand it anymore so i called back to the ENT and they had him come in so that they could look at it. They said that his ear had puss pockets in it and that was puss draining, nothing to do with the ear tubes. No clue how or why, his dad took him for me so i did not get all the details. Well they had to go in and clean his ear out with this machine and then vacum it out, sounds gross and he was updet but it was instantly better. They gave us a stronger ear drop to use for two weeks and when he went back for his check up everything was fine. I highly recommend you taking him in since your story is simular to ours. Good Luck!!

My son had tubes out into his ears about the same time. They gave me instructions that if there was any type of drainage, then to apply the ear antibiotics that were perscribed when he was done with his procedure. If there is a four mell, then I would contact the ENT that did the tubes and see what adivse they can give you. He may have an infection and needs to be looked into.

M. G.

It just means that the tubes are doing their job. Keeping them clean so as they don't clog is important. If they do get clog it may mean more surgery.

There has been more allergens in the air (ie more reason for upper nasal fluids which is were most of ear fluid comes from.) than normal in this past year. That could be the reason that your younger son does not mirror your older son. Also different people have different results.

The foul smell indicates possible infection which is another reason to keep the ears clean. As long as the infection is flowing out then it should help in keeping your son healthy.

This is coming from the experience with my son (now is 24)who had to have tubes placed twice and to this day must be diligent in keeping his ears clean to prevent infection. Hopefully your son will grow out of it.

Best of luck to you. Remember that if you are uncomfortable with your sons problem the best answers should come from his ENT, his primary can guess at the answers but the ENT should know.

Both my daughters have had ear tubes and when they drain it means they have an ear infection. The tubes allow for the fluid to drain instead of staying blocked in the ear. The dr should perscribe some antibiotic ear drops that will clear it up in a few days

When I had my son's tubes put in I was told that if there was a lot of drainage it was because he had an infection and to use the drops I was given.

My son has tubes. When there is drainage that you are talking about we were told to use the ear drops the doc gave us after surgery. If the drainage does not go away or get better within a few days then he needs to go in.
T.
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I would get the doctor to check the tubes. A foul smelling drainage is usually an indication of infection and needs to be corrected.

he has an ear infection take him to the dr that put in the tubes they will give you ear drops to put in.

I believe that means the tubes are doing there job. But I would check with your ENT. My daughter had ruptured ear drums a few times early in life and would have that yellowish drainage. After she had the tubes put in the drainage would still occur and I was told that because there is a hole in the eardrum that the fluid, instead of building up and rupturing the drum, was able to flow through the tubes.

Confirm with your pediatrician or ENT but I think drainage after the tubes means they're working.

My son had tubes in his ears at 10 months and he too had the drainage. The drainage is a good thing. It is the infection draining out. Ask your ENT about drops you can put in his ears to draw it out and dry it up. If the drops don't work, he may need a separate oral antibiotic as well.

My understanding is you may possibly need to use the rest of the medicine they gave you when he had them put in or just call the doctor to ask. It should not be foul smelling unless there is some sort of bacteria or somthing growing in there.

Good luck and do not put off calling -the calls are free, but if it is an infection, it could cause hearing problems.

My husband is an ENT physician, and I know drainage is good that is the purpose of the tubes. I don't think it should smell. There may be a lingering infection or fungus. I suggest you call the Doc.'s office and make a follow-up with the ENT physican who put them in. You never want to have a lingering infection in the ears. You don't want to risk a hearing loss or scarring in the ear canal.

M. - My 16 month old son got tubes in April. We also had problems with his ears draining but it didn't have the foul smell. Our ENT informed us if the drainage had a smell that it was an ear infection. The only difference is that the "infection" is able to drain out of the ear. I would suggest that you contact your ENT and they can prescribe you little guy some topical antibotic drops. It worked wonders for us.

I hope this helps.

Sincerely,
T.

sorry, no advice just reading
C. J

My son is 15 months and also has tubes. I have not had experience with constant drainage or any foul smells. When he has ear infections the drainage is usually yellow/grenish but clears up within 2 days of the ear antibiotics. I would call the pedi or ENT to double check.

Good luck!
J.

Yes, I have had a daughter who had tubes and it did the same thing...either he has a ear infection or the tubes are trying to come out...I would visit my dr and get some drops!

My ENT told me that if I saw drainage that meant the tubes were working. we never saw any drainage and she has had three ear infections since the time we had the tubes put in. Maybe there just working.

Hi! Sounds like your kiddo has a major ear infection. They can still get them with tubes, and you will need to take him to the doctor. Some kids don't have success immediately with tubes, so you have to monitor very closely. Good luck!
M.

Hi. I have personal experience with this. I was born with a congenital ear problem and have had numerous surgeries. I've had tubes, ear bone replacements, etc... My main problem is that my eustachian tube does not drain properly and therefore the fluid remains in my ears which causes a skin growth caused cholesteatoma. One of the symptoms is the foul smelling yellow/brownish fluid that drains from the ears. Of course there are many other reasons but you may want to ask your ENT about cholesteatoma. Please feel free to e-mail me if you have any other questions about it, if necessary. I hope your son's ears clear up soon.

the doctor whpo inserted the tubes needs to know about this and will probably want to see it. I hiughly suggest contacting him/her adn letting them know. It may as simple as providing some ear drops to clear it up, or something more complicated...let the ENT make the decision...

Good Luck!!!

hi there. my son had ear tubes and about 1 year from the time he had them, he got a bad cold that resulted in drainage from one of his ears. it was exactly as you described, so i took him to the doc. with him what happened was he had so much fluid build up during his previous cold that the fluid pushed out the tubes and that was what i was seeing. i would take him to the doc to get his ears looked at. another thing to think about, is that is what the job of tubes is, to drain fluid that would otherwise give him an ear infection.

That is the infection draining out. Your dr. should have given you a prescription for antibiotic ear drops. you just place A couple of drops in each ear several times a day and continue doing this until 3 days after the drainage has stopped. I would call the Dr. to get it if you haven't already.

Well, I dont know if I can be much help, but i had the EXACT thing happen. One doctor told me that they were draining and doing their job. He said that if he didnt have the tubes he would be having a bad ear infection...but that the tubes were allowing all that stuff to drain out. I went to the specialist for his check up and he told me that if they were draining then he had an infection. He said to use the drops that I received when I got them done and they should clear it up. My little guy had ear infections solid even after he got the tubes (according to the "if draining they are infected" theory) if that is correct. Not sure if I'm much help, but when I used the drops they did stop draining. GOOD LUCK!

it's great that he got tubes, b/c that's an infection draining out of them...can you imagine all that gunk sitting inside of them? you may want to call your dr. to see if he needs to be put on an antibiotic for the infection.

Hi M. if i rember right its been 20 trs since my son had them but is that not the real reason they are there to stop the build up of fliuds that cause the ear infection,,,but to be positive call your DR he can answer better than any of us its his job
L.

I am not sure if someone else has already given you this suggestion, but it almost sounds like his ears got water inside of them, which happens often with ear tubes. As a result, the ear will drain as you described and can sometimes cause infection or just drainage. However, the odor may be of more concern (nothing that can't be fix). Have you called his doctor about this? Hang in there, I had 3 boys with ear tubes and I do know when their ears got water in them, this sometimes happened. The ears start to drain to prevent infection. Ear tubes make a difference in preventing infection, but can be a hassle at times. Blessings!