Ear Tubes - Lone Tree,CO

I am a big believer in ear tubes. My daughter had fluid in her ears for 3 months straight- it just would not drain, was in constant pain, was on antibiotics ( that is not fun). She seriously was walking the day after she got the tubes. She was 13 months and the fluid messed up her equilibrium. Her speech picked up quickly as well. She became a much happier child after that- she wasn't in pain. She too was in daycare, so she originally got sickness from there, but since the fluid would not drain that is what continued her to get the infections in her ear. Her tubes fell about about a month ago and we are heading into cold season and I would do it again if she starts down that path again. Some children's ears just do not develop the same as others and fluid will not drain out.

The same thing happened to my son. He had so much gunk in his ears. He could understand what we were saying enough to follow the direction, but not enough to mimic the sounds. After ear tubes, it was like night and day with his speech. He is now 5 and talks 100 times better. Plus, the added benefit of less ear infections made it so worth it. I would do it again in a heartbeat. Hope this helps.

My son had the same problem. He started having ear infections in infancy and they just kept coming. He had so much fluid build up that he could not hear and by 18 months he could not even say "mama." He did not get the tubes until he was 3 and by then he was really far behind. He started talking at 3 1/2. I recommend that you get the tubes so your little guy does not fall behind like mine did. My son is now 17 years old and quite normal.

My son had back to back double ear infections and finally at 18 months we had tubes put in. It was such a simple procedure and it cured him! He would still get them but we put drops in his ears when he got one and that was it! The tubes help the medicine go straight in.

Before he had them he called me "Puppy" or "Bobby"...3 days later I heard Mommy for the first time. He is now 4 and speaks very well!!

Before you get tubes, PLEASE consider a regular decongestent allergy med (like Claritin D). Try it for a few weeks at a minimum.

My boys both get ear infections during allergy season. Very few other symptoms (a good indicator that it's allergies is circles or "bags" under the eyes). The doctor recommended tubes. Over and over.

I looked for other alternatives and found that this is common among child allergy sufferers. As soon as the season hits, they immediately start on their meds. No infections, no pain, no problems. And no surgery needed.

I suggest this alternative to surgery, since surgery won't cure those allergies anyhow.

Our daughter sounds like your son.. She always seemed to have an ear infection.. She was an early talker. At one point the Dr mentioned tubes, but my husband was not ready, so we kept trying other medications.

Finally she had a hearing test and we realized 1 ear had lost about 70% of her hearing!!!! I told them to schedule the procedure and I would deal with my husband.

They placed the tubes in her ears and removed her adenoids.. Our daughter did great, MIL provided a Valium for my husband and so he got through it.. Our daughter's vocabulary shot up..

She was down for about a day and then she was her old self..

We had 6 ear infections within a few months and once the tubes were in we haven't had one since, well the tubes went in last July and lasted over a year. He is having his first ear infection this week.

My 2 year old grandson had ear infections that the antibiotics didn't clear up. His foster mom told the state worker that she thought he was deaf. I had told my daughter that I thought he might be deaf and I also thought he had limited vision. The foster mom took the child to an ENT who tested his hearing and he was deaf. He wasn't talking or even really making much of a sound when he needed something.

The ENTput him under to do tubes. When he got in the ear canal he found all kinds of debris that was blocking the sounds. After he spent a lot of time cleaning out the ear canals he put the tubes in and when the child woke up he could hear for the first time in a very long time, longer that he could remember for sure.

I am an advocate for tubes being put in if the doc says they need to have them. The surgery day was hard, he went in laughing and smiling and came out screaming like a banshee. They said that happened every now and then. He was calm after about 20 minutes but his breath still smelled like anesthesia. After about an hour his breath was normal and he was ready to go play and have fun. But that first hour was hard. If I had to do it all over again I know I would not even thing about it, he needed the tubes to keep him from having ear infections all the time and the tubes worked wonderfully.

I would try chiropractic first, worked for both of my kids and about ten others I know!

I don't think it would hurt anything to try the ear tubes. You won't know until you try. Both my boys have had tubes and it really helped with the ear infections. I can say once or twice while having the tubes they did get an ear infection. But over all it did cut down and made my boys a lot happier. As for cold, this will not prevent a virus from coming on. Good luck on your decision.

My daughter had so many ear infections that she developed scar tissue on her eardrums and lost part of her hearing. Tubes were the closest thing to a miracle I have ever seen. After the tubes, she never had another ear infection.

We tried various 'natural' remedies with my son from about age 2 to 8, and resisted ear tubes the couple of times they were suggested during that time, until I finally read there is a strong link between Auditory Processing Disorder (he has this), and chronic ear infections. At any rate, we finally had tubes put in at age 8, and he still has one of them in - the other fell out a month or two ago (he just turned 10 yesterday). I think he's finally grown out of the ear problems, but I wish we had done it sooner, and I wish someone had told me about the 'mental/academic/developmental' issues that can come from chronic ear infections/fluid in their ears (basically, from not being able to hear). FYI, he was also speech delayed - not quite enough to qualify for therapy - and he has done noticably better in school since the tubes were placed.

My daughter had 8 ear infections from the time she started daycare at 5 months old until she was 10 months old. We went to an ENT and he suggested tubes. As freaked out at my husband and I were about putting our baby under anestic for this procedure, we decided that this was the best option for her. At 11 months old we did the procedure. The tubes came out on their own about 18 months later. During that time she did not have any ear infections. She is now 7 and has only had 2 ear infections during that time in the last 6 years. In addition she just got less colds. It seemed like she came down with everything we came across but that reduced drastically once the tubes were in place. Everytime she got an ear infection it affected her sleep which affected everything from her health to her behavior. She was much happier and healthier after we did the tubes.

We did it early enough with her that her speech was just starting to develop so we did not have any issues there. But I do feel that it could have been a big obsticle for if we would have waited another year. The speech concern was the reason we decided to do the surgery at 11 months rather than waiting to see what happened the following season.

I'm convienced that it was the best choice we could have made and I would absolutely do it again.

One thing to keep in mind - you need to make sure to keep the water out of his ears while the tubes are in. We bought the "ear bandit" which is basically a waterproof head band. You put the ear plugs in then use the head band to make sure they do not fall out. It worked really well for us so you may want to look into that or something like it. I was not comfortuable just putting the ear plugs in without having something to make sure they stayed in turn bath time and other water play. We spent alot of times out on the lake during the summer and our daughter was also in swim lessons from 15 months on so even with the tubes in her ears... she could still have fun in the water.

Good luck with your decision. If the ENT feels it is the best option for your son then it probably is. Especially if his speeh is delayed. Don't beat yourself up about it. And the younger you do it the easier it will be for him to get better.

L.

Having tubes put in Nicky's ears made him a totally different baby!!! He was 4 weeks premature with pneumonia and sooo many problems - he was a TOTALLY fussy baby - would lay down to sleep and within 15 minutes he was screaming and crying his head off - upright for about 1 minute and he was fine.....ear infections..etc...

Got tubes put in his ears when he was 13 months old and he was just like his brother a TOTALLY happy baby - oh my God - the difference was NIGHT and day - from that day forward he slept the night through and only cries when he's truly hurt....

Made a difference in him talking as well and it was the best thing we EVER did for him!!

I have had 2 kids who have had tubes. the first his speech literally went up 200 words within a week. My second kid has had tubes but he has much more ear issues than his brother. He still isn't talking like he should and he is 3 1/2. My oldest got no ear infections after his tubes my youngest did. and he is resistant to the antibiotics. My oldest rarely had colds. my youngest has never had a cold yet. So before you delay cause of my second kid and what problems he has had remember he is the minority. MY oldest is how the majority of the kids with tubes works.

Well I don't think tubes stop ear infections. They didn't for my son they just drained the fluid out so he wasn't in pain when his ears got infected. My son had 80% hearing loss when they put tubes in his ears at 6 months old. So I don't know if it helped with speech since he couldn't really talk. He did respond better. My son only stopped getting ear infections when he stopped going to daycare at 13months.We had take him out or he would have gotten worse .Hehad tubes in at 6 months. Does your ENT suggest tubes? My sons wouldn't do anything that wasnt medically needed. I don't think tubes will stop the colds either(but I am not an expert either) the germs of daycare are causing your sons viruses. I say if the doc recomends tubes do it. It will relieve pressure for your son and the surgery takes like 15 minutes or less. Not a big deal at all.

Get them - get them - get them! My kids both suffer from allergies and had chronic ear infections. They will sleep better, feel better and speak better. You will not be putting them on all kinds of medicine and antibiotics : ) The tubes were one of the best decisions I made as a parent. Also, they do put them "under". But it's not a full anesthetic. I walked back with them. Then walked into the waiting room - went to the restroom. Got a cup of coffee, and just as I sat down, the dr was out - it was done!!! You will not be sorry : )

Just noticed you are in Lone Tree. Both of my kids went to SkyRidge! Great place. Let me know if you want more info on the Dr etc.