Multiple Ear Infections & Getting Tubes Put In

Tubes...so far so good....
My oldest twin got tubes a week ago today and so far everything has been good! My husband had concerns that he wasn't able to hear well because he rarely responded to his name. He has had several ear infections this year and persistent fluid in his middle ear making it difficult for him to hear. We realized this after taking him for a hearing test-the clinician indicated she felt that he was hearing some conversation but not high and low tones. We were referred to a ENT in St. Charles and scheduled surgery shortly thereafter.

The surgery was quick and he didn't seem to have any discomfort afterward. He was up and playing in the afternoon after his a.m. surgery. Since then we have seen a drastic change in how he behaves!! He is laughing more and more actively involved in play. Honestly, he seems like a happier boy!

If there are any questions I can answer having recently gone through this procedure, please let me know.

Best of luck with whatever you choose to do.

Both of my boys have tubes; the oldest got them in 2 weeks before his 1st birtday, and the youngest got them in at 6 months. With the exception of 1 ear infection in the youngest since the tubes went in, we've not had any other issues. Our experience with the ENT is that typically they will not take out the adenoids and tonsils unless they've scoped the child and confirm that they are indeed enlarged, and you can confirm that they are experiencing some sleep apnea. I recommend the stainless steel tubes if you have a choice, they do not require you to put in ear plugs when near water.

The tube procedure itself is very easy; it takes all of 10 minutes or less, and the hardest part in the whole process is the 15 - 30 minutes after they are coming out of the anesthesia; as you know, it's a very weird feeling as you are 'coming to'. Since children don't understand this, they tend to cry quite a bit. Our oldest cried very hard for about 15 minutes; we then dressed him as the nurse recommended, and by the time we got him out to the car, he was fine. Our youngest slept it off, whimpered a bit, and was back to himself by the afternoon. It's not bad at all, though scary for the mom and dad beforehand, but the kids do really well with it and the docs have it down to a very short, precise procedure. Well worth it! I think it was approximately $1500 - $2000 to have it done, though for us insurance covered all of it.

my daughter who is 23months old just had tubes put in two weeks ago and like any mom i was so worried about the surgery. but it literally took less than 10minutes. and by the time she got home she was up and running around again. let me tell you this is the best decision i ever made. from the time she was a few months old she was getting ear infections almost every month and was completely miserable. the ent said she had so much fluid in both her ears that the pressure against her ear drums was making her uncomfortable and was causing her hearing problems. now she is so happy and you can tell she is no longer in pain.
my insurance covered all but 300.00 of the procedure but if you are concerned about what the insurance will cover you can call them and they will let you know. i know my daughter's procedure cost aprox. 5000. with everything.

My daughter had 12 ear infections in 2 years and we went through the surgery already. She had tubes put in and the tonsils and adnoids removed and she is doing great. Her hearing has improved and she hasn't had an ear infection since. I was so scared too but if the ear infections persist it could start to affect your child's hearing. I always thought my daughter was just ignoring me because she was 2. But really she wasn't hearing me the majority of the time. I hope this helps you and your son. I know how much my daughter suffered from the ear aches and i wouldn't wish that on anyone. Good luck.

My son had tubes put in at about a 1 1/2 years old. Greatest thing we every did. Not sure about the cost because we had insurance that cover out patient surgery 100%. The nurses just laughed at my little guy (who is now 17 yo and 6'2" tall) because the surgery only takes a very short while but our son was up running around out at the nurses station within the hour. Checking out what all the ladies were doing. Never had another ear infection. Tubes fell out around 4 yo.
He did not have his tonsils and adenoids out. It was never addressed but I would have said no anyway. I don't believe you should take something out that is perfectly healthy. if you feel he will have allergy problems address that now and get a jump on it.

Good Luck,
S.

If you have medical insurance, you should be fine.

2 of my 3 had the ear tubes and they were a GOD SEND! The pain of the ear infections alone, is enough to get them to avoid future problems. THe actual procedure is about 5 minutes. Literally, from when they took my daughter to us walking to the waiting room and getting a cup of coffee from the coffee station in the waiting room, we sat about 5 minutes and they told us she was done and moved to recovery. She did need 2 sets of tubes and then longer tubes when she turned 7, but she has other medical issues. My little boy had his tonsils andenoids and tubes all done at once. He needed this and I suggest to do it all at once. The tonsils are a bit rough and their breath will be Awful!!!! Getting the tylenol down is a bit rough, but there are suppositories that work. OR give lots of ice chips to numb the throat and then the squirt of tylenol.

My thoughts....they are worth every dime to keep the kids off those nasty antibiotics.....just be sure you have a reputible ENT. and DEFINATELY get it all done at once!

Dear F.,
First here is some education on tubes. Once your child gets tubes he WILL need more sets of them. The reason is because the body sees them as foreign objects and works hard to push them out. That is why you see and hear about kids needed tubes put in 3, 5 even more than 6 times and each time they put tubes in they have to make a new hole. They don't put them back in the old one because of the scar tissue. Also it has been shown through research that children with multiple sets of tubes can and more than likely will have hearing loss due to all the scar tissue from the tubes. It maybe an easy procedure but it is not in the best interest of the child. You need to find out why your child is getting the ear infection to begin with, if it is an infection at all. Fluid can build up because of poor drainage or from your child drinking at night while lying flat on their back. It can also be from allergies and have nothing to infections. Before getting tubes done, you should have your child tested for food, chemical and environmental allergies. It is a very simple blood draw. After finding that out all you need to do is eliminate the allergens and the ear inflammation goes away and stops coming back. It also helps taking your child to a pediatric chiropractor who can check their spine for areas that are restricted and thus weaking the immune system. A few regular maintenance adjustments to their spine goes a real long way. You can go to icpa4kids.com to find a pediatric chiropractor near you. I am one located in Villa Park. If you need help finding one closer just let me know. If you want more info about helping your child a natural way without putting holes in his ear drum let me know.

Susie

My son had tubes put in 3 days before he turned 1. He's 3 now and had one ear infection since the tubes. And that one went away with just some drops, no anti-biotics. Before that, it was at least 4 or 5. We were ALWAYS at the doctor for him.

Procedure was quick and he had his 1st bday party two days after and was fine. We noticed a change in his hearing almost immediately, truthfully.

He just had his 3 yr appointment and one tube was gone and the other was on its way out. Still, no infections.

Good luck.

Oh, not sure on the cost as our insurance paid for it.

T.

My oldest had constant issues with fluid in the ears! He had two sets of tubes and had his adenoids removed. If you go to a good pediatric ENT they will accurately check for tonsils and adenoids being a factor in your son's repeat infections. I personally would jump at the opportunity for tubes...it is such a basic procedure that if the only thing being done, they just use gas and don't use anesthesia! The whole thing takes 20 minutes away from you, and only 5 minutes for the actual tube insertion! The child is then back to normal within about half an hour after the procedure. We actually had my son's tubes done around your son's age...we had them done at Loyola with Dr. Hotaling and spent the day at the zoo! :) Know that the tubes are much harder on you than him!!!

My son just had it done on both ears and the whole procedure was less than 10 minutes. He was fine after 20 minutes. You would never know the difference. I only wish I had done it earlier and saved him from all of those ear infections. I just got the bill and it totalled $3750 for both ears. We are lucky that our insurance covered it all but $100.

My son had numerous sets of tubes put in. The first one being at the young age of 6 months. After the third set, the ENT talked about putting in permanent T-tubes and taking the tonsils and anoids out. My ENT wouldn't do that invaisive surgery until after my son was 2. He was only 14 months at time #3. Fortunately for us, he didn't need the last surgery. The surgery is quick and virtually pain free- nothing Tylenol can't fix! I would highly reccomend the surgery. The worse thing you can do is opt out. Your son ruptures his ear drum = scar tissue build up = loss of hearing. Trust your ENT on their reccomendations. I absolutely love Dr.Dankle from Aurora Hospital. He's great with the little ones, and very infromatinve with us too. He doesn't just treat the problem, but educates you too. Good luck!