Tubes in Ears - Germantown, MD

My oldest daughter had an ear infection every month from 5mos to 18mos and was on antibiotics for it. We had tubes placed in her ears at 18mos and I swear it was night and day. She is 9 now and has had maybe 2 infections since then. They don't work as well for everyone though. I had them 3 times as a child before they worked. My youngest 2 have not had to have them as of yet but they are only 2 and 1.

My daughter had ear tubes placed in both ears when she was just about 10 months old. Her cleft palate was repaired the same day, so overall recovery took awhile. However, putting the tubes in her ears was one of the best things we have ever done for her, and we have had no problems with her ears since then; she is now 27 months old.

Best wishes.

My daughter had her adenoids removed and PE tubes placed this past summer. My daughter had recurrent ear infections, constant cold symptoms and was always on antibiotics. Her colds seemed to always progress into sinus infections. She will be 2 in January. Since having the surgery, she has not had one ear infection and has been able to work her way through the colds without needing antibiotics. Her speech is even improving rapidly. As a mom we always worry about our children. The surgery went well and is relatively easy. However (I wished someone would have warned me) be prepared for your child when he first wakes up. My baby woke up with eyes open, but no one was home. She was in a lot of pain and still very out of it. It took several doses of pain meds which put her back to sleep, then she woke up much better. Just remember a lot of cold drinks, ice cream and TLC. It really made a big difference for her and if I had to do it again I would. Good Luck.

my son went thru this at 18 months. It was difficult for the first week but boy are we glad we did it.
He was on his second set of tubes and twenty fifth ear infection. Removing his adenoids was the solution.
He has not had an ear infection in over a year now. The crying and grumpiness after the surgery lasted about a week but was well worth it.
Hope all works out for you.

Hi,
My daughter had tubes put in her ears back in May and she is two years old. She had several ear aches and that is the reason for it. She is fine. The precedure went fine. The anithesia may make him sleepy or upset but either way he will be OK. She is doing good and she has not had any ear aches since the tubes were put in. In time they will fall out. You probably will not know when that happens because they are so small. Good Luck

I completely understand. My 3 boys have had tubes placed 4 and 5 times each. One of them had his adenoids removed and the other two have issues with their palate so removing their adenoids would leave them very hypernasal. We waited to remove my sons adenoids until we had placed tubes 3 times. Just placing tubes takes about10-20 minutes and they pop back very quickly and run around and play once you get them home especially if you do not premedicate. That is a question for the anesthesiologist. Some do it automatically and do not discuss it with you. My boys were happy to go off with the dr. and lay down and smell the bubblegum scented meds in the mask. They like to premedicate for kids that have anxiety. When we did take adenoids out it makes the surgery a little longer. I think it was 30-45 min. and then they need a soft diet for a couple of days. There is more pain involved. My husband had his adenoids removed twice. They grew back. I would say these things usually go well but ask lots of questions at your pre-op apt. you are entitled to informed consent. We have dealt with other surgeries besides these and I always ask to be brought back to recovery before they wake up so that they wake up and see me first thing. That has usually worked out and most hospitals have been ok with this. Only once did my dr. have to get involved and tell them that they would bring me back immediately. They always want to make sure they are stable in recovery and remove the breathing tube before they bring you back. Esp. if they premedicate it can take a while to wake up and I would rather spend 30-45 min. watching my child sleep than staring at walls in the waiting room. I hope that this is helpful

K.,

Both of my children had tubes put in their ears. Mt daughter also had her adnoids removed. Neither of my children had any problems with either procedure. Prior to the tubes - my daughter had temporary hearing loss in one ear due to scar tissue build up from so many ear infections. The tubes corrected the problem.

A.

K.:

Hello and good morning!

My son, Nicky, had tubes in his ears at 13 months - and it was a TOTAL God-send! The surgery took all of 7 minutes and he was a NEW boy after the surgery! I believe he had his adenoids out as well - it's been so long since the surgery, but what a change!

I wish I would've done it sooner! Since having tubes in his ears (almost 6 years ago!) he has NEVER had another ear infection!

His tubes fell out on their own. Some need to be taken out others fall out on their own.

GO FOR IT! It's a fast surgery and if you have a boy who can't lie down for more than 15 minutes without screaming or is having constant ear infections - don't put off the surgery!

Take care!

My daugther had tubes put in her ears at 1 1/2 and she is now 3 1/2 and has not had an ear infection since. She was averaging about one a month before the tubes. The procedure itself was done at our local hospital and took about 30 mins. She had no bad side effects and I am really glad we had it done.

My son Jason has tubes in his ears before he turned 2. That set fell out and his ears kept giving him trouble so he had get a second set. We had two great doctors to help us if I had to recommend them to friends I always do. He hasn't had any problems recently or in the past few years. He will be 10 next week. If you need anyone else to to talk to just email me. S.

K.,
My son had his tonsils and adenoids taken out and did not need the procedure done. We found out afterwards that he was allergic to peanuts, soy and many different fruits and that was causing him to swell. Before you have the procedure, I would hightly recommend you have him tested for food allergies. My son also had many ear infections (6 within a 6 month period). Please, I highly encourage you to see an allergist before any surgery! The procedure will not help food allergies.

My daughter had tubes at age 2 amd 9 months, this past MArch. She also had her adneoids taken out. SInce MArch she has only had 2 ear infections and I rarley hear her cmplain about her ears hurting. She is a completley differnt child for the better -her attitude/etc is AWESOME and the tubes were wonderful and stilla re for her. HOwever, she ahd 6-8 infections a year from 8 months to 2 1/2 years before they did the surgery. I was leary too, but we ahd tried all other options in the course of 2 years. HOw many infections has your son had? He is still young, but hopefully it will work

My odlest is now 12 and when she was 18 months we did tubes. She's my ear girl and always has been. It got to the point when she was little she was having contant ear infections and it was starting to affect her speech. I'd take her to the doctor and they would look at me as if I was the worst mom on the planet because of how bad her ears were infected. She had built up such a high tolerance to ear pain I never knew they hurt her. What would normally knock an adult on their rear never affected her in the slightest. Once we put tubes in within a week she was speaking in complete sentences clearly! The whole time she was trying to talk she was hearing things like she was under water. It was amazing! While the tubes were in no ear infections. The first one fell out and I had no idea - the second one got stuck in ear wax trying to come out. I had to take her to a Pediatric ENT and he was amazing getting the tube out - she had no idea until it was over what he did. By now my dd had such a phobia of any doctor coming at her ears - it was really sad :0( We did ok with her for a couple of years with no ear infections and then when she was about 9 she started again. The allergist wanted to once again do tubes - I told him I wanted to see if a different course of allergy treatment would work for her first - it was much easier dealing with an 18 month old and surgery than a 9 year old and surgery. Thankfully the new treatment worked and no need for more tubes. She will get an ear infection very rarely now - she still spikes extremely high fevers very fast when she has one and she still has a high tolerance to ear pain - the fever is usually my indication. Good luck! Oh - I had tubes in my ears as a child as well - I was about 7 with mine.

Hi K.,

Lot of responses...wow. Both of my girls have tubes in their ears due to repeated ear infections (5 and 6 in one winter - urggh). They still get them occassionally, but they are much less frequent. They have to wear plugs in their ears for bath and swimming (for swimmimg they wear bands from FirstStep.com that hold them in place)and dont seem to mind. The surgery was quick and more frightning for us than for them.

At Hopkins, they have ChildLife play with the masks and stuff with the kids before the proceedures so they are not afraid of them. The HARDEST part is explaining why you can't/won't give your child anything to eat or drink in the morning when they are begging you for it. With A LOT of distractions we made it to the surgery portion of our programing and things went pretty quickly after that. My youngest came out of anesthesa like a champ, but my oldest came out like a wild child. They gave her something to "put her a little under again" while we held her and she came around more slowly the second time. Within minutes she was eating and all was good in her world again. I don't tell you these things to scare you, but to let you know that even with the little glitches, they bounce back quickly. I can tell you that my daughters much prefer the tubes to taking various types anti-biotics almost continuously and the pain of the ear infections. It will all work out. Best of luck and just be patient that day.

S.

My daughter had tubes put in at about 18 months old because of recurring ear infections. This was the best thing we could have done for her! She has only had one or two since then, and she is 8 now. I don't have any experience with the adenoids, however.

Hi K.,

My son is 2 1/2 and had his tubes put in when he was just over 1. At his last visit, his tubes have come out and he had an ear infection. His doctor is going to check him again this month and if he has another infection, he will be putting the tubes back and removing his adenoids at the same time. The tubes made such a big difference that I trust what he will do. We take Nikki to Dr. Shroyer w/ CHKD. Nikki just loves him!

I had to have tubes put in my youngest daughters ears when she was 11 months old. She had continuous ear infections beginning when she was 9 months old (her first Halloween was miserable). The day of surgery, I took her into the hospital and we sat in a large waiting area with other children who were having surgery that day. They came to get her and there were two nurses, one to take her to the OR and one to take me to the parent waiting area. I think it was about 15 minutes later they came to get me to take me to her. She did not have her adenoids taken out, but I have known parents who have had that done at the same time. They said that it did not take much longer than the 15 minutes it took them to do my daughters tubes.

It is a very scary thought that your little one will be going under anesthesia. I cried for the two days waiting for her surgery day (they rushed her surgery because of the number of infections she had and how bad they were).

After surgery, they will come to get you as soon as your baby is waking up. They will ask that you stay in the recovery room until your little one drinks a little juice. Then they will send you home. My daughter slept most of the next couple of days, only waking to eat and be changed. Afterwards, there have only been a couple of ear infections (and she is 3 now).

I wish you luck with your little ones surgery. If you have any other questions, please let me know!

Yes, and it is amazing! My son had 2 sets of tubes put in and then needed a 3rd set put in. They decided to remove the adenoids as well. It worked wonders. My son was a different child and recovered quickly. Do it now. We waited to long. The older they get, the more they no what is going on and can get scared. It has honestly changed my sons life and if you choose to do it, I hope it helps your child too.

`K.

My son had his first set of tubes at almost 3 and his second set at 4 1/2. With his second set they also took out his adenoids. Both were not too bad. With tubes & adenoids he didn't do as well waking up from. He cried for about 30 minutes, but by the time he got a popsicle he was just fine. I think it is just scary waking up and not fully knowing what just happened. He did not have this problem with his first set of tubes, but I don't think they used the same stuff to put him under. The tubes have been wonderful! My son now has not been sick at all since tubes/adenoids. Good luck with it. My son wanted to go to preschool the day after the surgery though :) One thing I didn't expect was an increase in pain day 5 w/ bad smelling breath. I called the doctor and all was normal, just thought i would give you a heads up.

My son had tubes when he was 18 months. I was worried. He was put under anesthesia. Tubes worked for several months. Fluid would drain from ears. Then, they stopped and he continued having ear infections. He is now 10, no longer has ear infections. Tubes fell out when he was about 4 or 5 years old, I think. Meanwhile, talk to your child constantly and make sure he's looking at how your mouth moves. Get him assessed through Infant and Toddlers program to make sure he's not in need of additional services. Hope this helps.

Hi I am a 49 year old mom of a 5 year old... My son has had tubes in his ears twice.... the day of the surgery he was a little groggy at first but we had not even one problem... he was back to his normal self the next day and responded so much better because he could hear better... good luck to you... it will be ok.. I know it is scary but I promise it will be cool.. the doctors will give you some ear plugs to use in the tub to keep his ears dry... we did not use them because we washed his hair the day of the surgery and just waited for about a week to wash it good again... we just damp washed it in the mean time... the tubes stayed in his ears almost a year and then fell out... I don't even know when they are so tiny you won't either... my son is doing well and is a happy healthy little boy now... he was 2 and 3 when we had the surgery's... and wow you will notice he will feel so much better....

I had my adenoids and tonsils taken out at age 5. Ive never heard of a child so young having their adenoids out and never w/ out taking out the tonsils along w/ them. I know the tonsils are to help prevent germs but I dont think the adenoids have much purpose. Mine were taken out because they were badly infected along w/ my tonsils. I didnt have any complications from the surgery, but my mom says its why I talk alot now, lol.
My brother had tubes when he was little because he had re occuring ear infections. They eventually fell out and he was fine there after. No complications. Although I hear of some children needing the tubes put back in.
There are alot of differing opinions about tubes and its one of those things you sort of have to decide for yourself.
My son also has re occuring ear infections and Ive considered tubes as well. But am torn. So I will be very interested in reading the responses that you get. Hopefully we will both learn some new or helpful information to help us decide what to do.
I do know that its important for the child to be seen by an ENT before making this decision. My childs pediatrician keeps putting this off, so its time for me to take action there. If you dont mind me asking: how often does your child get ear infections and how long do they last?

My son had ear infectons since birth as the canal was too horizontal and not slanted to drain properly. After tubes and adenoidectomy life was good at our house.

My son had his adenoids out at the same time he had his 2nd set of tubes put in. I wish I had agreed to the adenoids out the first time, since he hasn't had another ear infection since. The surgery isn't bad, it's a little scary for you to watch, but my hospital allows parents to go into the operating room and hold the child while they give him the anesthesia, I went not wanting him to have to be with strangers while awake. It was well worth it and by that night you wouldn't have know he was in the hospital earlier that day! Good luck!

My daughter had tubes put in her ears and her adnoid removed when she was 3, she's 6 now. She suffered from chronic ear infections, speech delays, and was constantly sick. It was the best decision we've made for her. The procedure went quickly and she was back to normal in three days. She had the procedure done on a Friday and was back in preschool that Monday. Since then she's has had one ear infection and the amount of "other" sicknesses has decreased dramatically. Her speech improved dramatically and her personality changed almost overnight. My only suggestion is to do a lot of research on your ENT and if possible talk to other people who had the procedure done by him/her. Our doctor was excellent and had excellent credentials, but I've heard horror stories from other people such as continued infections and having to have the procedure done again because the adenoid wasn't completely removed. If you have a great doctor by all means get the procedure done you won't regret it.

Hi K.,
I have been through this with my son twice. The first time he was 14 months old and had suffered with contsant ear infections since 9 months. He wasn't able to walk and it was affecting his hearing. I was very nervous and scared for my little baby boy to go into surgery as I am sure you are feeling right now. He did great!!! It really was no big deal and had work myself into a knot for nothing. It was a quick procedure (maybe 20 minutes if that) we were in recovery for a short time and home within a few hours. By the afternoon he was playing like a champ. Oh and was walking within a week. The doctors told me there was no evidence that his fluid filled ears had anything to do with his inability to walk but he was starting to walk at 9 months before all his infections. By age 3 the tubes had come out (this happens as the ears grow) and the problems started all over again. Withing a couple of months we were back for a second set of tubes and then his adenoids were removed because he was now having sinus issues as well. Again the surgery was quick and we were home in no time. The recovery was almost as quick and he was himself by later that day or maybe the next morning. He is 10 now and I have to say that he almost never gets sick with colds and sinus stuff and when he does it is much lighter case than the rest of us. He just had his first ear infection this past summer, the first since the age of 3. Sorry for the long winding email but I wanted to give you the whole picture. I can say most emphatically that this was the very best thing we could have ever done for our son!! Please try not to worry too much, he will do great! Let us know when it is done and how he is doing!! Wishing you all the best!

my boys both had multiple sets put in, and i think the best thing about them was that it felt better than doing nothing (the infections were terrible and i was frantic.) in retrospect i wish i'd done more homeopathic stuff. anything that involves full anesthesia is a big deal, and both had to go back several times to have them re-inserted. they both have significant scarring from the repeated procedures, and both really struggled with coming out of the anesthesia.
i think tubes are way over-proscribed.
khairete
S.

My son, who just turned 9 months old just had tubes put in and adnoids taken out on the 23rd of October. He has had 9 ear infections. I took him to a Children's hospital Ear Nose and Throat dr and he advised the surgery. The surgery itself was 30 minutes or less, although I will tell you itsthe longest 30 minutes of your life! Watching my son come out of the anesthesia was about the worst part of it all. He was so disoriented he just cried and cried. Once I got him home he slept most of the day, he didnt want to eat much until that evening and thats becuase of the sore throat. By the following day he was back to normal 100%! It amazed me. He has to have ear plugs in his ears for bathing or swimming now. Thankfully we are 3 weeks ear infection free which hasnt been the case in a long time. The procedure is VERY common. In fact when I was young I had them 6 times and my sister had them 5 times - so much that my mother created the "tube Fairy" for when they came out. I know the ENT told me my sons tubes are expected to last anywhere from 6 months to a year. If you need anymore info feel free to ask me! Good Luck with it all, you should see a huge difference after the surgery is done!

Hi K.,

Our 8-year-old son is on his 6th pair of tubes. He was born with severe hearing loss and uses hearing aids and a full-time sign language interpreter. The tubes have made a huge difference in keeping the fluid that is constantly present in his ears at an acceptable level. We can tell when the tubes are not working anymore. (That does happen. They need to be replaced periodically.) His hearing tanks, and his school work shows it. My nephew had tubes and my neighbor's daughter had them placed when she was 18 months old. I have known of people who had them all their lives, and were very thankful for them. I have yet to hear anything negative about them. I have not gone through adenoid removal with either of my children, so I can't advise you there. Be sure you are comfortable with your ENT doc and ask about all the things that are making you nervous. There's no such thing as a stupid question, especially when it comes to your children! Take care and good luck.

Janet

Hi!
My son is 24 months old, and got tubes put in in March of last year, and then his adenoids taken out in August. I think we'll need tubes again, it seems one is going to fall out soon.

I highly recommend this procedure, but it is more invasive than I thought. The tubes are a cinch, in and out in ten minutes flat and he was fine by the end of the day. One problem we faced was that his tubes were clogged for about a week, but once they cleared his ears cleared as well. The adenoids, though, were harder. It took about an hour altogether, and they gave him morphine. He was a mess when he woke up, confused and disoriented. THey had to give him something for anxiety to calm him down, and then he threw up all over me. He was so sad, it was hard.

But he's had one sinus infection since then, while he had a constant infection of one kind or another in that area from December to August.

Harder than it sounds, but worth the effort. Good luck!!

My son had this done when he was about 4 years old. The ear infections stopped and never returned. The surgery was a breeze. He actually woke up after the surgery and asked for a soft taco. I believe it is mentally harder on a parent to do it...children are resilient and bounce back so fast!!!!! My son is now 17 and has not had an ear infection since!!!!!
Blessings.

Trust me, I was extremely nervous and hesitant about getting tubes. I honestly thought that "everyone" was getting them because it was the in thing to do, and that there had to be alternatives. My aunt is an acupunturist and herboligist, and even with her help we weren't able to get my son's ear infections to go away. He must have had 3 different antibiotics wihtin one month's time, and it seemed he had an infection every other week for 4 months.

Bottom line: it's REALLY no big deal. The hardest part is watching them put your child under, but the procedure only took 15 minutes MAX and he was in my arms again. He was a little cranky and disoriented waking up, but they said that was to be expected. We had stopped giving him bottles, but at the hospital we gave him juice in one because he needed that reassurance of "sucking." We took him home no more than an hour later, and he was absolutely fine. You couldn't tell he had surgery at all.

Best of all, we had this done in May and he has been ear-infection-free since.

As my ENT said, "It bothers you (the mommy) more than it will ever bother the child."

Good luck.
D.

My son was 22 months when he had tubes put in and his adnoids out. Like you I was worried, afraid not sure if this was the right road to take. Let me tell you what a difference it made. First off, they let me stay with him until he was asleep, it was gentle and very peaceful. When he awoke, he had an IV and that was hard for him but....after a nap at home he was as good as new, even better than new. That night as we put him to bed, he usually just laid down and went to sleep but that night, it was a beautiful June evening and the window was open. He sat up in his crib and asked "What's that?" I cried, it was the leaves blowing in the wind. I realized then how much he had missed. Almost immediately his speech improved like crazy! Two years later we had the tubes removed (they hadn't fallen out on their own). He had to have another set put in several months later and again had his adnoids taken out (they had aggressively grown back). Those tubes fell out on their own. He is ten now and hasn't had ANY ear issues in years!! YAY!!! I know it is scarey but I was surprised at how quickly he recovered (like nothing had happened later that day - except now he could hear!). YAY!!
Good luck!
Wendy