5 Year Old Ear Tubes

It is so nerve wracking to have your child undergo surgery, but there are ways to help your little one! My 4 year old daughter just had to have her tonsils, adnoids and ears all done at the same time, just last week! Her tonsils and adnoids were so large they were blocking her airway and causing severe sleep apnea! Alot of people told me that I should wait until the day before to explain everything to her so she wouldn't worry for weeks leading up to the surgery date... I however, recomend the complete oposite. My husband and I told our daughter a month before her surgery. We explained to her all about how the doctors would put a mask on her face and how impressed they would be when she showed them how high she could count! We showed her pictures of the operating room (so she wouldn't be frightened by the bright lights etc.) and explained how it would feel like she never fell asleep and would be awake again in no time and how her throat would be sore for awhile. We didn't tell her stuff she didn't need to know like about the procedures themselves, breathing tubes, etc. I went over with her EVERY day exactly how everything would happen and by the time it was time for her surgery, she was very well prepared! She did everything perfectly, no tears, no struggle. She handled it all so great! Another thing that really helped her was the morning of her surgery, I gave her the cross off my favorite necklace to "hide" in her sock during her surgery. I told her it was just our secret and that it would protect her during her surgery but that it had to be our secret b/c the doctors don't allow jewelery in the OR. She was so excited to have a special secret, it kept her mind off things. With just your son needing ear tubes, the procedure is very quick and virtually no recovery time or pain! You will be given instructions on getting him a set of custom earplugs made for swimming and baths. Another thing we did which I HIGHLY recommend is we took her to Build-a-bear and let her make her own special "hospital buddy". My husband and I had our voice recorded saying "we love you Morgan" in the foot of the bear. My daughter carried her bear everywhere for weeks and it helped to have a special friend in the OR with her! I don't know about other places, but my husband and her special bear were allowed to go into the OR with our daughter and count with her until she fell asleep. These are some of the things that helped us prepare our little one, unfortunately, nothing can prepare the parents lol! The idea of anethesia in our little one is completely unpreparable! It is such a hard thing to go through, but just remember, you're helping him better his quality of life! Best of luck!

Just be sure that ear tubes is what he needs! My daughter had hearing loss due to fluid buildup and the doctors ended up finding that her adnoids were HUGE and were completely covering her ear canal causing the problem. The same incisions were done in her ears as if she were getting tubes, but the tubes were inserted, drained the fluid then removed the tubes so the problem's fixed but she won't have to have tubes in for a year!

Hey There,
I don't have personal experience with this but two of my friends' children have. One just had tubes put in last week. He is 4.5 and was in and out within 1 hour. no grogginess, no side effects, no pain. I guess as soon as it was over he wanted Dunkin Donuts. His situation sounds exactly like your son's, including the hearing loss. I know his parents were worried about the procedure, but everything went so smoothly and so quickly.

Good Luck!

Check out some other options. Tubes fall out a lot, and so the surgery is often useless. There's also a risk with anesthesia especially in a child who's having his first operation and so you don't have any history to go on. It doesn't sound like there is a huge rush since the hearing loss is due to fluid - obviously it's frustrating that he can't hear but there are so many stories of the tubes not working. Many reports says it is such an overdone surgery. There is SO much you can do nutritionally, and you can add chiropractic or other alternative therapy to that if you want. I know hundreds of people whose kids don't get ear infections any more by supplementing to make up for the deficiencies in their diet. Happy to advise you more.

Hi S.,
Before you go through with surgery for you son, please please please try chiropractic. My husband is a chiropractor and has had significant success in ending childhood ear infections. Ear infections occur when the eustation tube that drains the normal ear fluid becomes compressed or kinked and the fluid no longer drains properly into the back of the throat. The middle ear chamber begins to swell because of the build up of fluid and puts pressure on the ear drum causing pain, construed as an ear infection. Chiropractic adjustments release the muscle tension that typically causes the eustation tube to kink. Once an adjustment is given the pressure gradually decreases throughout the day relieving the pain and pressure.
I suggest you look at this website for studies about Chiropractic and ear infections. www.icpa4kids.org
My son has been adjusted since the day he was born and has never had an ear infection or been on antibiotics! Ask friends and family for a referral to a Chiropractor that they see or know of.
Good luck!

Have you tried chiropractic care first? I say give it a few weeks of a few adjustmentsbper week before getting the tubes. Out of ten kids I know personally, I've only seen one that needed tubes after getting chiropractic care. Worth a try!

I don't have any experience w/ ear tubes my 3 year old is going to be having surgery for a tongue tie a very tight one not only is it causing speech issues but he is constantly getting foods stuck on the roof of his mouth because he can't lift his tongue. We go to the surgeon today for our consult and he was asking if the dr was going to fix his tie today. I haven't prepared him for the procedure yet because I don't know how far away it will be but he does know that this dr is going to look at it today and fix it at another appt. When it does get close I will tell him they will have him sleep and he will wake up w/ his tongue fixed and maybe a little sore but he is excited that he will be able to stick his tongue out! With any surgery there are risks like infections, side effects from anesthesia, etc