Questions About Tubes and Fluid in the Ear

My daughter had tubes put in at 18 months. She'd been having an ear infection every 4-6 weeks for several months. After the tubes, no ear infection until she was 6 years old.

My daughters were getting ear infections once we started school.....after several rounds of antibiotics, I got a second opinion with Dr. Bain in Frisco. She is a wonderful pediatrician and right off told me 95% of ear infections are due to a food intolerance, we tested the girls, removed the offending foods, and have not had ANY ear infections since. It has been about 14 months since our last one. I recommend Dr. Bain if you are interested in a new pedi or Dr. Shepherd if you just want the testing.....contact me if you have questions. It has not been easy but I feel we got to the core of the issue....and we have add all the foods back into their diets except the two main ones.

K.
http://www.healthykidspediatrics.com/html/Home.htm
http://mountainhealthchiropractic.com/
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My son got his at 10 months and my daughter got hers at 12 months. They say the criteria for getting them is 4 infections in 6 months or 6 in 12 months. OR - not getting rid of the fluid (a continual ear infection). So, it sounds like your daughter meets the criteria.

I would do it.

When my sister was @1 year she was having ear infections and the pedi wanted to put tubes in. I rolled a pick-up and needed chiropractic, my aunt suggested taking my sister, her son had the same ear problems and after being adjusted was fine. We did, he was an old fashioned crack and pop, when he adjusted her neck she let out a little cry and fell back to sleep shortly after. The next visit the pedi was amazed, her ears were clear, what did you do? He wasn't pleased to hear the answer, but she never had anymore ear problems and no tubes. I have the best chiro if your interested. My son has gone for wellness checks since he was born. He has hardly ever been sick and they give us plenty of natural ways to heal! D.

I agree with Kelly K. that the ear infections could be coming from a food allergy. I don't think that tubes are a big deal but if you can find the cause of the ear infections, then why put your little one through a surgery that maybe could have been prevented. I also know a mommy that went through this and her daughters ENT doctor put her on a small daily dose of an antibiotic to help prevent the ear infections and that completely ceased them. If you haven't spoken with an ENT (ear, nose, throat doc), then I would get a referral and have some questions answered. When my son was about 6mo to 18mo, he was getting pretty regular ear infections, and so we started taking him to a chiropractor to help prevent them from even starting. They adjust kids and babies differently and more gently than adults....my son didn't even really know what this doctor was doing to him but my son was not in any discomfort. I would just do a little research first if it was me. Good luck with whatever you decide!

My son had this same problem, and he had tubes put in his ears on his first birthday and again when he was 2.5. The second set is where I saw the most improvement, because he was starting to talk, but never did I think that he couldn't hear that well. Afterwards, loud noises bothered him, and I really felt bad, because I used to get so upset with him because I would always have to repeat myself time after time and I thought he just didn't want to follow directions and then I realized he just didn't hear me half the time.

I know it's hard handing over your baby to go have this procedure, but she really does need it. Her speach should get better very rapidly afterwards. And she will feel lots better too once her ears don't hurt anymore. I hope this helps and good luck.

Check into www.earpopper.com. My son had tubes put in at 11 months. He had ear infections one after another continuously starting at 4 months. We would finish a round of antibiotics and start another infection. Once he had the tubes put in, the ear infections stopped completely. It was a good decision for him at the time, but we found something great to help after his tubes fell out (at 2 yrs. old). I wish we would have known about it first. His tubes fell out and the ear infections came back. The doctor wanted to put a second set a tubes in and remove his adnoids as well. But first, he wanted us to try this device called "The Ear Popper". It is a device that pops their ears and in turn, releases the fluid. It is easy to use and cost us $300 about three years ago. IT IS WORTH EVERY PENNY - My son did not have to have a second set of tubes put in or his adnoids removed because of this device!!!! We popped his ears everyday, and his ears cleared up. When you push the button, air flows out. You hold one nostril with your finger, and place the ear popper to the other nostril. The child takes a drink of water (we used juice too) and holds it in his/her mouth. The parent pushes the button (with air flowing into the one nostril), the child swallows the water, and the ear pops. You do this for both sides. I know it might be hard for her age, but if you can get your little one to swallow on command, it would be worth it. Even if she needs tubes now, you can always consider this for the future. It was a great investment for us. We still use it occasionally as a preventative measure. Good luck :).

I would definitely recommend the tubes. My son was only 10 months when he got his tubes (so no way that he was having any milk or food allergies because he was breastfed). He also had constant fluid that would not drain, and just kept re-infecting. Not to mention the speech delays and balance problems that constant fluid can cause. With tubes, the fluid can drain out. It was wonderful and changed our lives, so I would recommend it.