to tube or not to tube? HELP w/ears.

So one of my boys went to the ENT today due to repeat ear infections and fluid in his ear. It was recommended he get tubes, well let me rephrase that, he qualifies for tubes. But it is not "neccassary" at this time, but "could" be beneficial. I am so confused at this point, i don't want to subject him to any surgery if not neccassary. He does have some hearing defecit in the right ear, but we were told he as normal range in the left, which means it shouldn't affect his speech/hearing development. So my question is, would you put your baby through the procedure if not "medically neccessary"?? And the outcome is it may help in the longrun?
The dr did say it was 50/50 at this point, if we could live w/the infections/fluid it was damaging to him right now, but may cause and issue if they persist, we are going to keep following up, so if it became crucial i would do it immediately. I just need some thoughts from people both ways, i am VERY on the fence right now!!!!

 

I don't have any personal experience with tubes, but my former professor's son was in a randomized ear tube study. They shared the results with the parents at the end of the study and he was surprised to see that the kids in the ear tube group did not show any significant differences from the kids in the group who did not get ear tubes. He did not know which group his son was in. I'm assuming the kids in the study were all borderline on needing tubes because if they really needed it, then it would be unethical to deny them tubes for the study.

I'm not sure if the study has been published yet because it takes forever for studies to go through peer review and get published, but it was at least 2 years ago.

 

The only experience I have with tubes is with my own (when I was little). I must have been older than a toddler, since I remember the surgery, but I do think it helped. I've never had any problem with my hearing but I guess I must have been getting multiple ear infections.

There is also a girl in my DDs' class at daycare who got tubes put in at about 12 months, and the teacher said she is literally a different child now -- she used to be "the fussy one" who always needed to be held and never seemed happy, and when her tubes were in, she just blossomed. Granted that is only one example, and I don't know how bad her ears were. But I've heard similar (though less dramatic) stories from others.

If it were me, I'd probably do it (although I would also like to read that study that PP mentioned). But I'd want to know more about the surgery. I know it's considered a minor surgery, but I'm not sure exactly what it entails.

Don't know if this helps any... good luck with your decision.

 

QUOTE(MJXplus2 @ Jun 27 2007, 08:08 PM) [snapback]309448[/snapback]
I don't have any personal experience with tubes, but my former professor's son was in a randomized ear tube study. They shared the results with the parents at the end of the study and he was surprised to see that the kids in the ear tube group did not show any significant differences from the kids in the group who did not get ear tubes. He did not know which group his son was in. I'm assuming the kids in the study were all borderline on needing tubes because if they really needed it, then it would be unethical to deny them tubes for the study.

I'm not sure if the study has been published yet because it takes forever for studies to go through peer review and get published, but it was at least 2 years ago.



I too had read they did a study over a few years, and the differences weren't that significant, that may be what is making me lean more towards not. i will have to research the study again, Braeden doesn't seem to dramatically bothered by the infections, he is a normally mellow child, teething seems to be getting to him more if that helps w/how he is affected by them. i have alot of reading ahead of me, and too think for something so minor!!

 

We have an appt made in August - we cancelled our first appt. I am on the fence as well and cannot give you any real advice. I don't think they make a huge difference and I think they are more of a pain than anything.

Unless he has a serious hearing problem or is headed down that path - I might wait and see if he outgrows it in a few months??

We will be canceling our 2nd appt if it is not early am - b/c I am not willing to starve my kid all day for the procedure. I am also not looking forward to shoving huge ear plugs in his ears - either....

 

My sister needed tubes but they wouldn't put them in. She ended up with 30% hearing loss in both ears and cant hear some tones at all. If it were me I'd do tubes

 

I am a speech therapist and have treated many kids who have gotten tubes. In my experience, it makes such a huge difference immediately. Of course, these children's repeat ear infections/fluid completely impacted their speech develpment. In my opinion, I'd do it.

 

My DD got tubes when she was about 4. Before then, she had many ear infections and talked very loudly especially in public situations. At one point I had her on my lap turned away from me brushing her hair and she couldn't hear what I was saying. We got the tubes soon after that, and the first thing she said to me when she woke up was "Mommy, you don't have to talk so loud." I couldn't believe the difference in her hearing. For me that was worth it. It really was a minor procedure for the benefits.

 

That would be a hard decision. One of my little ones got tubes in March (age 2), but only because he was already getting his tonsils and adenoids out. His enlarged adenoids and tonsils were giving him trouble breathing --and also probably leading to fluid on ears. The doctor was going to just do the procedure where they nick the ear to let it drain--but we got called from the operating room with a recommedation to go ahead and do tubes as the junk in his ears was so thick and would need time to drain. We weren't aware that my son had any hearing loss--his speech had been quite good--but he probably had some. The doc seemed to think so and in the couple weeks after surgery my son was much more sensitive to noise. For us it was an easy decision to have it all done at once, rather than possibly have to go back a couple months later for a second surgery.

 

What a good question (with good timing).


We are going at 5:00 am tomorrow to have tubes put in twin a's ears.

This is our 3rd child since Christmas to get tubes......I cannot believe the difference in my children that have had them put in.
When we had Twin A's hearing tested on Monday, his good ear can't hear and his "bad" ear cannot really hear anything!!!!!!

Twin B had his tubes put in a few days after Christmas and from the time that they took him from me, until the doctor was out in the waiting room talking to me was 12 minutes!!!!!!! I handed him to the nurses in the recovery room and they took him into the operating room, did the surgery and met me in the waiting room in 12 minutes.

Our 5 year old (was 4 at the time) had tubes put in the Wednesday before Easter (had his adnoids out at the same time) and to this day has to cover his ears when we flush the toliet, because it is too loud (it is a normal bathroom toliet, not really loud at all). He often asks me "what is that sound"....it could be something as simple as my watch ticking, or the ringing of the oven timer........things that he had never heard before.



as far as putting ear plugs in their ears......they turn their head willingly and leave them in....we have the type that are alreay formed and we just place them in the ears and then we put a head band (it is in the right start catalog).....total for the plugs and headband was $27.



I highly recommend tubes (my older 4 did not need them), but the younger 3 have all needed them and the 2 that have them so far, we have seen a LARGE improvement.....both in what they respond to (looking at things when they make noise, looking our way as we call them), and their speech, both sounds and words!!!!!

 

I have hearing loss because my parents refused to get tubes in my ears as a child. Repeated ear infections as a child decreased the flexiblity of my ear drums and they are forever rigid and the hearing loss is permanent. I remember the pain of ear infections as a child as well and it was not fun.

My oldest son has had tubes placed twice because he was headed down the same road as me. He had tons of ear infections that increased in frequency at 1 yr of age. He rarely if ever complained about his ears hurting, he never pulled at his ears, nothing. I on;y knew he had an infection when the fever started. That means we missed a lot of infections I'm sure, because not all infections cause fever or need antibiotics. Anyway, he had fluid they never cleared even when he did not have an infection. When we had his hearing tested his hearing was minimal in one ear and okay in another. However, they tested his eardrums and there was already damage. Also, at 15 months he was talking and seemed to hear fine. His speach was garbled,but we figured it was because he was only 15 months old. Then 2 weeks after tubes, he was talking up a storm, clearly and using many words he had never said before! I was completely amazed.

Oh and our ENT told us ear plugs are only necessary when swimming in the lake or ocean but not at all in the pool or bathtub. There have been many studies that have shown there is no need for ear plugs and not increased incedence of infection be not wearing them.

Obviously, I'm all about getting tubes when needed and don't wait! Good luck with your decision.

Kelly

 

I honestly think they have to phrase it that way. Maybe the insurance companies got all over the ENT's or something. When my dd had her first set and 2nd set, it wasn't phrased that way. The 2nd dr was the same dr that did the boys tubes, and I thought it odd when he used that same type of phrasing.

I definately did the tubes. I went with my instinct (granted, we'd already had a child have 2 sets) and had the boys done. With the exception of one ear infection, Boyd hasn't had any issues with his, they did the job. Brody on the other hand, has already has his 2nd set before he turned 3. (Brody's grew out, and Boyd's are still in there LOL)

It was explained to me that if they're still having ear infections when the weather is better (summer vs winter) then it'll just be that much worse when winter hits. Makes sense to me. So we got it done.

Good luck with your decision.

 

Though it is ALWAYS hard to make a decision which means any kind of surgery for you child, let me tell you that tubes were the BEST thing we could have done for my oldest son.

He had 9 ear infections in 12 months by the time he was 18 months old. He lived on antibiotiics. It was awful. He also was barely talking. We decided to do it. It was a simple 20 minute procedure. The worst part was waking up from the anestesia. (Joel does not wake up well. Screaming, kicking, hysterical) By the time we got home, he was running around like nothing had happened. The next day he was saying words he had never said before. He is now almost 7, and has had one ear infection since he had his tubes. They fell out when he was about 4 years old. (They lasted a long time for him!)

I have had ear infections as an adult, and they are so painful. I could not imagine living like that all the time. It is awful. I am so glad w chose to do it for Joel. For our family, it was the best choice...

 

Thank you for all of the responses, unfortunately that makes my choise so much harder to make!! :mellow:
I still find myself very torn, and am afraid if i wait i may cause delays in his developement, i.e. speech and hearing. I myself had alot of problems as a kid w/ear and throat issues, but had a pediatirician that did not want to take my tonsils even as a teenager, so at 20 i has them removed and haven't had one infection since, barely even a cold once a year. I know he can benefit from it but feel like his case isn't that extreme at this point, but w/a 13month old how really can you tell, they can't tell you when it hurts or even what they can/can't hear. Who knew such a small thing would be so hard!!! I surely don't want to cause him any unneeded pair or discomfort, but don't want to put him through a surgery either if not neccessary. I am going to speak w/ his ped today and see what she thinks based on the ENT report, hopefully that will help. I look forward to hopefully hearing more stories, good and bad it does help to know other peoples situations!
Thank you again for all the openness

PS. did i mention i am a very indecisive person by nature, so this one is killing me!!

 

We took Morgan to the ENT back in March. She had had around 10-11 ear infections (all treatable with antibiotics) but they would almost come in clusters. She would get 2-3 in a row, then none for awhile, then 2-3 again. It was such a hassle running to the pedi's every single time. She had one pretty much constantly from Jan-March of this year. We finally got into the ENT and he basically left hte decision up to us. Said it was not necessary, but we could do it if we felt more comfortable. He gave some suggestsions like waiting to see how long before she got the next one then maybe scheduling it at that point, etc.

Well, it's been over 3 months now and she's had NO ear infections!!!! I wanted to try and get her closer to 2 before doing the surgery b/c I've heard it's less likely (the closer they are to 2 and over) that they would need a second set. Well, she turned 2 last week and still no tubes and no infections. So, i'm hoping and praying she is growing out of them.

The ENT did say that he personalyl wasn't concerned b/c she doesn't seem to show any hearing loss (they didn't do an audio test though) and she's not compltely miserable during the infections (I seem to catch them right away with her, leaves no time to make her miserable - she sleeps fine and eats fine during them) and we as paretns aren't miserable b/c of them (except for all the pedi visits...lol). So, he left the decision up to us and said call for a surgery apt. at anytime we feel it's necessary. I probably won't do the surgery unless she has another cluster of infections. If it's just one here and there (which has happened a few times too), then I wo'nt be doing it.

 

QUOTE(jdandson @ Jun 27 2007, 04:02 PM) [snapback]309440[/snapback]
So one of my boys went to the ENT today due to repeat ear infections and fluid in his ear. It was recommended he get tubes, well let me rephrase that, he qualifies for tubes. But it is not "neccassary" at this time, but "could" be beneficial. I am so confused at this point, i don't want to subject him to any surgery if not neccassary. He does have some hearing defecit in the right ear, but we were told he as normal range in the left, which means it shouldn't affect his speech/hearing development. So my question is, would you put your baby through the procedure if not "medically neccessary"?? And the outcome is it may help in the longrun?
The dr did say it was 50/50 at this point, if we could live w/the infections/fluid it was damaging to him right now, but may cause and issue if they persist, we are going to keep following up, so if it became crucial i would do it immediately. I just need some thoughts from people both ways, i am VERY on the fence right now!!!!




My son had tubes when he was 18 months and one of my twin girls had twins at 1 year. I would high recommend them - the surgery is about 15 minutes and my kids benefit from it. We had no negative outcomes from the surgery - it is a very simple one. my son's hearing was low and he wasn't talking alot and my daughter would get ear infections every other week or so and nothing worked. In the long run, it will benefit your kids and keep them off of antibodics.

 

QUOTE(twinzmom2b @ Jun 28 2007, 11:27 AM) [snapback]310122[/snapback]
We took Morgan to the ENT back in March. She had had around 10-11 ear infections (all treatable with antibiotics) but they would almost come in clusters. She would get 2-3 in a row, then none for awhile, then 2-3 again. It was such a hassle running to the pedi's every single time. She had one pretty much constantly from Jan-March of this year. We finally got into the ENT and he basically left hte decision up to us. Said it was not necessary, but we could do it if we felt more comfortable. He gave some suggestsions like waiting to see how long before she got the next one then maybe scheduling it at that point, etc.

Well, it's been over 3 months now and she's had NO ear infections!!!! I wanted to try and get her closer to 2 before doing the surgery b/c I've heard it's less likely (the closer they are to 2 and over) that they would need a second set. Well, she turned 2 last week and still no tubes and no infections. So, i'm hoping and praying she is growing out of them.

The ENT did say that he personalyl wasn't concerned b/c she doesn't seem to show any hearing loss (they didn't do an audio test though) and she's not compltely miserable during the infections (I seem to catch them right away with her, leaves no time to make her miserable - she sleeps fine and eats fine during them) and we as paretns aren't miserable b/c of them (except for all the pedi visits...lol). So, he left the decision up to us and said call for a surgery apt. at anytime we feel it's necessary. I probably won't do the surgery unless she has another cluster of infections. If it's just one here and there (which has happened a few times too), then I wo'nt be doing it.




That is a carbon copy of out appt, everything your ENT said ours did also.

 

We are about to get our second set of tubes on July 10, 2007 in one of girls ears.
She had the first set at around a year old, and they are just now starting to fall out.
The surgery was not that difficult, it was about a 10 minute procudre. They came and got me from the waiting room after about ten minutes to go to recovery with her. She was a little sleepy from the anestha, but after we got her home, she was herself. After having the tubes placed it improved her hearing so much, she had fluid behind her ears prior to the surgery, and didn't do good on her hearing test prior to having tubes places. After we had her tubes placed, she was able to hear so much better, and the ENT re-tested her hearing and it was a lot better. The second set we are having placed is due to fluid build-up again due to the first set falling out.
Good luck with your decision.

 

I would get the tubes - no second thoughts - no regrets - without hesitation. My boys have had tubes in, tonsils and adenoids out.

 

We face a similar situation. After several ear infections we were referred to a specialist. Both twins showed some hearing loss and some fluid behind each ear. Even though I know the benefits of having the tubes, there are also drawbacks. So at this time we are visiting our chiropractor twice a week for adjustments, which have helped a lot. We go back to the pediatrician in July. We will reassess our situation again then. I just don't want to put my kids through a surgery without trying everything else first.

I have a story that supports the tubes. A friend's son had ear infections and slurred his speech terribly. He got tubes and now speaks much more clearly because he can hear himself finally. It has made a huge difference for him.

I also have a story that would keep you from getting the tubes. A child from a small town nearby went to get the tubes put in his ears. Something went terribly wrong during the procedure and he stopped breathing during the surgery and had other problems as well. The child ended up being mediflighted to a specialty children's hospital. The drs said that IF he did recover he would most likely be a veggie. They said he would never talk and would be unable to move his limbs. After a few days he showed remarkable improvement. He was transferred to a rehab hospital where he is learning to talk again and is moving all of his limbs. He is now expected to make a great recovery. But he will never make a FULL recovery. THERE IS STILL A BIG RISK WHEN USING ANESTHESIA!

This is why I am waiting to see if the chiropractic adjustments are helping or not. I don't want to risk my children's lives unnecessarily.

 

Our DD got tubes in 3 months ago. She had had a recurrent ear infection for about 4 months. Her speech was harder to understand and slower than her sisters. The surgery took 3 minutes. That's it. By the time they led us out one door to the waiting room, I walked to the soda machine and got a drink and went back across the room to sit by DH and the doctor came out and said they were done. We had no problems with the surgery at all. She has had 3 ear infections since that time. The tubes do not prevent infections, but they let you see it immediately and treat it with drops instead of internal meds that take longer to work. Several weeks after her surgery there was thick green ooze out of her ears and she was cranky. The ENT said she had an infection and anytime we saw that that's what it means as that's what the tubes do. Since then, she is now infection free (knock on wood).

Additionally, IMO and DH's and our families, her speech has greatly approved. The doctor said that her ears constantly had that goop and pressure in them. So, everything she heard sounded like she was underwater and that's how she was repeating it as she heard it. Now, she can hear better and speak better.

Good luck!

 

We have 10 month old twin girls, and a 3 year old. Our three year old has had 2 ear infections in her life. Our older by 4 minutes twin has had one. Our smallest twin, Jackie, had ear infections in both ears, off and on, for two months, and had a ruptured ear drum from an infection last Dec. We went ahead and had tubes done for her about two weeks ago. The stress of preparing and all for the surgery was worth it. She was so much happier and talking/babbling so much more the day after her surgery. No perm. hearing loss. We have less doctors visits (one week I was at the doctors office 6 times between the 3 kids), and the entire surgery lasted 7 minutes. Ok, I'm an engineer, and I timed it. I was so worried about having the surgery done, but after seeing the results, I think was definitely the right thing to do for us. The only caution I would have is make sure they are set up with a pediatric anestesiologist (however you spell it) since having her involved in the surgery made me much more comfortable.