Fluid in Ears and Hearing Loss

Once my son had his tubes in (easy peasy process) his hearing was back to good! In fact that day we say a major improvement.
When my son came home it was like nothing happened the morning of his procedure and it was the BEST thing we have ever done for him period dot end of story!
I have been told but not experienced it personally that it can cause perm. damage if not dealt with properly and soon enough.

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My infant grandson was found to be deaf in both ears so badly that he did not respond to the bass drum being playing/banged by his head. The ENT went in to put tubes in to drain fluid and found debris in the inner ear canals from ear infections that the antibiotics had not reached. He spent time cleaning out the canals and when my grandson woke up he could hear. He continues to hear and have much progress due to having the tubes in his ears and seeing the ENT regularly to check for setbacks.

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ear flushed by dr today - check
restart antibiotics, again - check
walk down the hallway w/out bouncing off the walls - check!

1st I tried Debrox at home, as recommended by the dr, to treat my popping/cracking ears. That was 2 1/2 weeks ago.
Then I couldn't take the pain/hearing loss any longer so the dr gave me antibiotics (oral & ear drops) for the fluid & redness. 2day is Day #6 for the drugs & they're not working....so the dr flushed the wax out. I can hear (for the most part), but still have redness & fluid. Another round of antibiotics, another 5 days of drops.

I hate it! It's a constant pulsating, a constant white noise.....& it really hurts at times. I do have allergies & take Zyrtec daily. I also use an inhaler & nasal spray seasonally. & here's the kicker: I do not have a runny nose, I do not feel sinus pressure.....as long as I take the Zyrtec. The dr swears that in another 2-3 weeks....all symptoms will be healed. I hope!

When my son was 3, he began battling allergies. We used Claritin, switched to Zyrtec. He also used Nasonex.....& for his eyes - Patanol. He still battled ear infections & strep.....until his tonsils & adenoids were removed at age 4. Shortly after that, he had another round of strep & we left the daycare. Within 2 weeks, he was off all meds.....according to the allergist, he was allergic to mold which was rampant in the daycare. !!

As for your son: see the ENT. It's your best bet. You don't want permanent hearing loss. You don't want your child in pain....it's killing me!

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Believe when I tell you. I did not want to get them. BUT, it was the best thing I ever did. I did not realize my son even had hearing loss until after the surgery. He started to behave better and he would say things are too loud now. The doctor said I did not notice because his loss came later after he learned my sounds. For amount four months and he is older then most of kids who get the tubes. I have a different son now. Much better.

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The ENT will likely conduct two types of hearing tests (3, depending on age and speech abilities). An exam and consult will be done. Usually, they suggest a course of strong antibiotics and ear drops to see it the fluid clears up on its own. On follow up, a second hearing exam will probably be done to check for improvement/loss. If it improves on its own, that will probably be the end of it, but there may be allergy meds as preventative care. If not, they may place tubes. Little one goes in, breathes in some "flavored" gas, and 20 minutes later, they can hear. He may be overly sensitive to sound for awhile if his hearing loss is significant and has been around for awhile.

My personal advice...Keep an eye out over the years for "glue ear" if he has bad allergies. In case you couldn't tell above, we've been there done that. My youngest son has severe allergies and we are on our second set. He gets regular hearing tests because he has yet to get an infection, but because of his allergies his ears don't drain properly. The fluid that stays in there gets absorbed and the remaining gooey stuff stays in the ear tube. That causes decreased pressure in the ear canal and keeps his eardrum from moving.

Just keep an eye on him. He'll feel better in no time at all! :)

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Tubes were seriously the best thing to ever happen to my daughter. Got them at 16 months and she is like a different little girl. We went through the process with her ped, chiropractor, and then ENT, so it wasn't a decision we went into lightly. The big thing for me was the hearing loss. She was at about 40% loss in her right ear, and that broke my heart. Since teh tubes she has been re-tested and had almost perfect hearing.

Good luck with whatever decision you make!

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Now is a bad time for your son to have hearing loss - it can cause lots of speech problems. (Your son is 3 years old, right?)

One other test they do is a tympanogram to check for the pressure in the ear. Make sure your ENT does that as well.

Tubes are great because they help drain that fluid and keep it drained so that he can hear and not lose ground with his speech. The tube surgery is pretty easy.

You should ask your ENT the other questions - moms here don't know how often an ENT recommends tubes - the ENT does. Keep using the Nasonex or Flonase.

Good luck!
D.

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My youngest son had this same issues when he was a little more than two years old. The ENT that we went to wanted to put tubes in his ears. I was scared about speech delays. But after some research we decided not to have surgery and get really pro active with his health issues. Fluid in the ears takes a long time to resolve in young children. Sometimes a couple of months. The tubes are not yet fully developed and it's hard for the drain when they are so small. I used Zrytec and a NeliMed nasal irrigation bottle (Not a pot) every day for several months. Flushed his sinuses out at least three times a day. He hated for a few days and then got very used to of it. And no fluid in the ear does not cause permanent hearing issues. Infections can if left untreated but most of the time there is not an infection at all just fluid in the ear. Tubes have helped alot of children but they are not always the answer and can be a hassle if the come out and you have to go back in to replace them. I just feel that surgery should be the last resort, it's the most invasive of treatments and I think most of the time not necessary. I also would suggest that you find a good pedi chiropractor. There is a maneuver that they do (I did it on my own son at home) where you tug the ear lobe and it helps for the fluid to drain out. My son got better within 3 weeks with allergy issues and within 3 months he was fine and fluid was gone and hearing was back. After that I never had to treat him again. He is now almost 5 and has no problems with his ears or his speech. Wish you to best in finding your treatment for your son. Best advice I can give you is to get on the internet and see what has worked and not worked for another folks in your same situation.
Best Regards,
C.

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My daughter had the same thing when she was about 5. She had a 40% hearing loss in both ears when the ENT checked her. He put tubes in (not a bad procedure if YOU can stay calm and matter-of-fact about it) and she was immediately able to hear perfectly. The tubes stayed in for about 18 months or so. All in all, it wasn't bad. Do get to the ENT ASAP and they'll explain everything. The hearing loss is most likely very temporary and the tubes will fix it.

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Me and my daughter went through this last Spring. She got tubes in her ears in May '10 and is taking Singulair daily. It amazed me how much more she talked after getting this done. Cut down on sinus and ear infections too. I recommend it.

As for me, the ENT specialist would not drain my ears. I have lost 50% of my hearing in my left ear and he wouldn't set me up with a hearing-aid due to my age (40). I still have fluid in both ears and some days I can't hear certain voice tones.

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My husband is an extreme case buuuuuuuuuuuut..... He had frequent fluid in his ears too & antibiotics weren't clearing it up. It finally ended up blowing both of is ear drums (after tubes). They did a reconstructive surgery on his hears. It took hold in his right ear. He can hear about 80% in it. The tissue did not take to his left ear drum though so he has very minimal hearing in that ear. They have tried 3 times on that ear & it's never held. I would certainly see an ENT ASAP. Good luck.

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Luckily my kids don't have ear problems (we get strep all the time) but I had fluid on my ears in march and it was plain miserable even after my ear drum busted. I couldn't hear squat for upwards of 3 wks and my ear popped constantly. It was awful. I feel so bad for your baby. The clinic doc said there was nothing I could do and it would heal itself. I can hear now but it nearly been 3 months and it still pops constantly.

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I have been through it all with my youngest. He is probably a worse case scenerio so don't panic from what I say. My oldest was easy he was tubes in the ear simple fix. Now my youngest is the worst case scenerio like I said.He had multiple ear infections which caused fluid. so he refered us to an ent who did tubes.He still couldn't hear. Like he was totally unresponsive to anyone but his dad and didn't respond to his dad very often. He wouldn't respond to us clapping behind him or banging stuff.

Now he does have hearing loss. at this time we don't know if it is permant or temporary. Which ear it is in we aren't sure of yet. We did do a hearing test he wouldn't cooperate with so we are going to have to do an abr. Which is they sedate them and do an hearing test to see how the brain responds to noises. They recommend tubes after 5 infections in one year. My oldest the surgery was fine but he acted drunk for about 3 hours cause of the sedation they gave him. My youngest was in and out sooner but there is a 19 yr age gap between them. My youngest sons sedation wore off quicker. He was total hell when they brought him out. He was fighting and I almost dropped him 3 times trying to keep him from raring back on me. Like I said he is a worse case scenerio.

Now I went to a diffrent pediatrician cause we moved. We had to go through 3 rounds of back to back antibiotics to get his infection after the tubes cleared up. the third round was a double antibiotic. We finally got his infections down and found out there was a ball of wax blocking his tube. We got some of that cleaned out not all of it cause he was fighting so bad. He could hear after that but not to the degree a normal child will. He has an ent appt in a couple of weeks.we are going to do the abr then, see about replacing his tubes with a new set and have his adnoids and tonsils removed. He is going to get an allergy test then.

I have been told chiropractors are good on ear problems but I didn't see any change in my ds. I was told to prop him on several pillows this does seem to help. I have cut out his milk until we get to the ent and find out where to go from there. I have him on a nightly allergy medication which I believe helps him more than anything else. So for my son it is to early to tell if the hearing loss is permanant or temporary. I won't know that until we do the abr. I also have my son on a decongestant. which is one thing my oldest sons doctor did with him.

from my experience I would highly suggest the allergy meds your doctor perscribed and the nasal sprays. I would also suggest propping him at night. I would reduce his milk until you can ask the ent if he wants him completely off of it.

Just for a side note I talked to one girl on the internet her son was hard of hearing and also non responsive to noise. come to find out he had fluid on his ears from when he was born. some of the amniotic fluid got in his ear canal and blocked it. They thought he was going to be profoundly deaf in both ears till the ent figured out what the cause was. He was normal within 2 weeks of having it removed. so do not panic. There are still alot of options that you may not even know about. There is other possible surgeries if necessary to restore his hearing.

Go to the ent but also go to the chiropractor. Just cause it didn't help my kid doesnt mean it won't help your kid. A lot of mothers had good results from it. Like I said my son is one of the worst case scenerios. There is one other mother on here who has had more problems with her daughters ears than I have had with my son but her daughter is older. We are the worst possible outcomes. Most are healed by the tube surgery alone like my oldest was.