Advice on Ear Plugs for 20 Month Old or Continue with Antibiotics?

When my daughter was younger she had clear fluid in her ear that was causing hearing loss. Because it was clear, that meant it was not infected and therefore antibiotics would not take it away. (However the presence of clear fluid makes it more susceptible to becoming infected.) Her ENT said that they watch it for 3 months and if it does not go away then they recommend tubes to help it drain. We went ahead and got the tubes done and it was remarkable how much better her hearing was!! There was really no recovery time either. Once the anesthetic wore off she was back to her old self again. We did have to use ear plugs for bathing and swimming but she got used to them quickly.

does he take milk? this sounds similiar to something i went through. my step son was going to have tubes, but i think his problem cleared after we swithched to soy. he did seem to grow out of it, thnakfully. because too much soy can lower testosterone and he is back to milk with no problems

do you mean ear tubes? If so, by all means do what the specialist suggests!! The tubes are inserted under anesthesia and it takes like 5 minutes. (I mean your son will be in there for half an hour because it takes time to get him under anesthesia, wake him up, etc.) This is a common, easy procedure (for the dr! not for you!) and it will give him the relief he needs for the infection to heal. Without the tubes, he may suffer hearing loss. It is common to have recurrent ear infections in toddlers because the tubes that connect the ear to the back of the throat are straight instead of angled like an adults...so bacteria gets in there easier. Ask the dr. to show you a picture if you are confused.

I am a mother of a 2 year old boy as well. He has had multiple ear infections and is currently on antibiotics for yet another ear infection. I suggest that you at least try the ear plugs. What will it hurt? I have a distant family memeber who lost his hearing due to ear infections as a child and yes, it did impeed his speech. It is better to try it now instead of waiting and him go completely deaf.

From: A. F.

Hi Tracy,

funny enough, I saw a thing on the news the other day about acupuncture for treating ear infections... I don't remember what channel it was on, but it was local news, and the parents appeared to be very pleased with the results.
The other advise you got about getting rid of the bottles is true, the child of a good friend of mine almost lost his hearing due to ear infections, he had speech delays and all...and the first thing the doctor said was to cut the bottles. My daughter has had shots to get rid of another type of infection, and it was quite effective. She had 2 rounds. I guess the number of shots really depends on the extent of the infection.
But honestly, I would really look into the acupuncture (BTW, they did not use needles on the kids, just tapping on the pressure points) being that it is natural and seems less invasive then needles...
Good luck!

I try to go the natural way when it comes to ear infections. I you go to www.earthclinic.com
there are a variety of natural ways. One of them is Peroxide in the ears. You pour enough to fill the ear(you'll see it bubbling in the ear) If you can keep him still for 10 min. Then turn him over on a towel it will drain out it self. If your son is in pain it will take it away. I give it to my daughter a couple of weeks ago. She was complaining about a sore ear. I gave it to her right away and she was fine with in minutes. I gave it to her 2 more times just to be sure. She accutually fell a sleep while I did it. Just read the information on earthclinic.com. It wouldn't add to any more of the ear infection. It might even help clear it up.

Good Luck
C. :)

I have a few suggestions...

This will only help with making sure no other fluids are backing up in his ears...make sure he no longer tilts his head back to take a drink of anything, stop all bottles and sippy cups that he has to tilt his head back to get a drink from, stick to straws and straw sippy cups.

Also when bathing him put a little cotton in his ears to catch any water that may flow in. He will hate it at first but by the 2nd or third bath it won’t be an issue. Worst case cup your hand around his ear when rinsing him to block the water.

I don’t know if you have tried the antibiotic shots... when my son was 10 months old we tried it as a last ditch effort. He got 1 shot and honestly the next day he was no longer pulling on his ears and the crying stopped. Now I know a couple of other moms that have tried the shot rout and also had perfect luck, although one mom had to take her daughter in for 3 days straight to get the shots. My son only got one so I have to guess there are different shots out there.

That was my sons last ear infection, but personally I feel it was also a combination of stopping the head tilt to drink as well he was off the bottle 1 week before he was 11 months old, and like I said he has never had another ear infection again and he is now 18 months old. Some kids just have small ear canals and the smallest amount of trapped liquid can lead to an infection

Just a few things I tried...

T., I went through the same thing with my son. They put him on every antibiotic they could to get rid of the infection. Right after the infection finally went away a nurse told me that most eat infections go away on their own. I wish I would have known before my son lost all his hearing in one ear. Now when he gets them(he's 5 now)I just leave them alone, as long as it's not bothering him. Tylanol is the only thing I give him now. So my suggestion is if he's not in any real pain, let his body fight the infection the way it was designed to. My prayers are with you.

do you mean Ear plugs or Tubes? My child had Tubes inplanted into her ear's on her first birthday due to cronic ear infections. She too had slight hearing loss and also had difficulty learning to walk/talk because of the fluid in her ear she was unable to balance herself. After agonizing over the decision Good News the operation was a breeze and a great success (expect I had difficulty watching her come off the anesthesia, she got sick) Didn't like the fact that she was drugged. She was walking within hours (even before the anesthesia wore off) talking in no time and the hear loss was reversed. If its tubes your Doctor is suggesting do it.

Hi, my son now has tubes in his ears and it has made a great difference. He is 6 and has had them for 6 mths. Kindergarten was a struggle for him as we did not realize the hearing loss caused by the fluid build up. After the plugs he is doing much better academically but is still behind. I wish I would have addressed the problem when he was younger but he never had ear infections but constantly had a cold and sore throats. Best of luck. The surgery is really quick. S.

How many ear infections has your son had? If the fluid is not green & the ear is not red/inflamed, do not do antibiotics, as you will create a resistance to antibiotics. How many ear infections has your son had? Usually, tubes in the ears are a last resort & they don't typically even think of it until 8 or more ear infections in a short time. My son has had 9 infections in the past 6 months & we are going to see the ENT next week to test his hearing & see if he is a good candidate for tubes. It's a pretty common proceedure, but still not something to be taken lightly, as it is surgery.

My son had the same problem (he's now 24yrs) & has perfect hearing. They put tubes in his ears, that corrected the problem & his hearing returned to normal.

Dear T.,
I'm not a doctor but I can tell you if your child keeps getting ear infections & you keep giving him anti-biotics w/continual rebouts, you are going to ruin his immune system. I had a fabulous pediatrician in Miami & I have never given my 16 yr. old son antibiotics for anything. I have always used herbs, diet & organic essential oils with great success. I would suggest from my experiences w/ear infections that you take your son off all dairy & wheat until he recovers. Also I would buy some good probiotics to introduce good flora into his system so he can fight this infection. You can diffuse the essential oil of eucalyptus in his room each night before bed. There is congestion in the canal & that can also cause pain. If your doctor wants to keep giving him antibiotics & makes no other suggestions to stop this cycle I would look for a new doctor. There are many articles about the overuse of these antibiotics. You should be able to find a doctor more open-minded & perhaps self taught in natural healing. I hope you will try something new. I am hearing impaired & after many years of trying to find out why I have come to the conclusion my loss is from immunizations. God has given us so many natural things for helping the body to heal itself. I wish you success. Joy & Blessings, G.

HI, you might want to be sure that your child isn't using cow's milk, which is a common trigger for mucus and ear infections. Mother's milk is ideal and goat's milk would be a 2nd better alternative. Probiotics are good to give when antibiotics have been used, to help rebuild the healthy digestive flora that antibiotics destroy (Garden of Life makes a nice children's probiotic product). You would benefit from looking up natural remedies for your child's situation rather than merely continuing misguided, ineffective treatments supplied by the allopathic physician who only gave antibiotics.

Something to consider and discuss with your doctor...

I had tubes in my ears when I was around 8. My mom used to pour peroxide in my ears to help clean out the drainage, but ultimately they went with the tubes. I do remember a huge improvement in my hearing at the time.

Fast forward...I am now 42 and each year at my yearly physical my doctor comments on the scar tissue in my right ear caused by the tubes. I do notice the difficulty in hearing again, but am in denial about getting a hearing aid!

Another reader mentioned accupunture treatments. I have had accupuncture treatements for another issue and loved them. Not scary at all. Personally, I would try some more natural methods first, if possible. Just something to consider.

One of my neices had the plugs which was to drain the fluid....this entailed surgery. She eventually had a tonsilectomy. Does your doctor want to perform surgery to install the plugs? You have to consider that this requires heavy narcotics to knock him out...
Have you been to an ear, nose, throat doctor? There is the natural "ear candling" method; and also have him tested for allergies. I can recommend an herbal doctor you can call on the phone. He's a Medical Intuitive who will tell you what is the root cause of the build up. I had it myself as a child and discovered the wool blankets and feather pillows were making me so sick.
Also, antibiotics will destroy anyones' immune system. Necessary to take a Pro-Biotic to ensure the "good enzymes" remain healthy.
Your sons' speech will improve with time. It hurts to have ear infections and it will affect the speech; but once the issue is cleared, he'll be talking up a storm!

Hi T.,

If you google the pics of ear tubes on the web, it'll scare you to death. There is never any reason to puncture an eardrum. Antibiotics really only work if the immune system is strong and they are not used often. There are ways to build the immune system and I can go through them quickly.

1. Detox your house. Get the synthetic chemicals away from him so that his own body can fight off the infection. Synthetic chemicals do damage to, not only the immune system but, the neurological, respiratory, and even the digestive system. They are absorbed thru the lungs, the stomach as well as the skin.

2.Find a chiropractor that understands the immune system. I usually recommend one that has a specialty in upper cervical. My daughter had numerous ear infections until I began chiropractic with her.

3. Give him an absorbable multivitamin. Flintstones, etc are trash so dodge those. They do more harm than good! I can recommend one if you'd like.

4. Try to eat good food, specifically organic if you can. Processed food is food that has been laden with chemicals so it will last longer.

All of these things will help everyone in your family but you will really see results quickly with a sick child. Let me know if you'd like more information. I'd love to help.

Regards,

M.
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