What Are the Pros and Cons for Hearing Tubes

Hi!
As a former kindergarten teacher(7 years) and now SAHM I want to reassure you that many children at this age have some sort of speech difficulty. You are already doing the right thing and having him in speech class. I would just make sure his services continue right away when he starts kindergarten. I never had problems with children making fun of the children with speech problems and I always had at least 2 or 3 in my class attend speech. Sometimes the kids understood each other better than I did! So, unless it is totally medically neccessary I would hold off on the tubes unless the doctor reccommends it! The earlier you work on correcting a speech problem the faster it becomes better!
Good Luck!
L.

You might take your son to a pediatric ENT instead of the general pediatrician. I found out my son, at age 3, had enlarged tonsils and adenoids that were blocking his estacean tubes. This was causing a 35-40% hearing loss in both ears. Plus there was wax buildup that the pediatrician did not even notice. After surgery to remove tonsils and adenoids plus tubes in his ears to drain the fluid, he walked around with his hands over his ears for six weeks before he got used to normal noise levels. His speech improved dramatically about six months after surgery. Now he talks too much :-)

L. H
Mom to two nutshells who drive me nutcakes

You can't just "decide" to have tubes put in, they aren't a fix all. Take your son to an ENT (Otolaryngologist) and have a hearing test done and an actual exam by the doctor. Does he have a history of ear infections? Does he seem to ignore you when you talk quietly to him? Does he insist that the sound be really loud when he watches TV? These are all questions that you will be asked, watch him so that you will know the answers.
Imagine your ear as a room where your ear drum sits, it reacts to sound like a drum (hence the name ear drum) sending sound waves across 3 bones, the last that is connected to a nerve. What happens when you fill the area around that with fluid? What happens when the area becomes so full of fluid it pushes against the eardrum? THAT is what an ear infection is. Pretty soon the eardrum can't take it any more and it bursts. This scars the eardrum, sometimes so badly it doesn't work properly and has to be replaced. Sometimes there is so much damage that the bones erode and hearing stops all together.
An ENT can pierce the eardrum with a tube that is hollow, it allows the fluid to pass THROUGH the drum, releiving pressure and protecting the fragile inner ear and eardrum. BUT it does leave scarring on the eardrum (which falls out eventually) and you have to be careful not to get water in the ears. Tubes are NOT something to consider lightly. Talk to your ENT and get your son tested. If he has a problem have it corrected, if he doesn't just LOVE on him and let time help solve it.
Once again, our children are not perfect, they walk funny, talk funny, their hair is kinky or straight, they are fat and short. If the speech therapist thinks he is ok and the ENT thinks he is ok then let him be OK! My daughter says Ephelant at 4. It is cute and sweet and I know that before long some kid probably WILL tease her and she will stop and I will miss it when she doesn't say it any more.
Relax, it will be ok.

M.,

I am a strong believer in hearing tubes. I had them as a child and I know a lot of children who've had the procedure done. It's not an invasive procedure and they're not painful. The tubes are inserted surgically and they are not visible. The results can be seen instantly! I had a really hard time hearing as a child and I woke up and was able to hear perfectly. I would talk to an ENT doctor and see what they say, but I'm pretty sure that you would see a great improvement.

Hi M.,

I briefly looked into this for my daughter who had a bad time with ear infections and seemed to be a bit behind on her speech development. It didn't take me long to decide that I'd only get them if it were completely medically necessary. And it turned out it wasn't necessary. You don't say whether or not your son has a problem with ear infections but it's my understanding that's the primary reason tubes are inserted, not necessarily for hearing or speech. I think improvement in that area is a result of decreased infections. There are lots of kids who have had tubes and everything worked out fine but there are risks. This is surgery (outpatient and usually done in the office) and they are cutting into your child's eardrum. I have to agree with the previous poster and urge you to continue with his speech therapy and anything else that you can do that's not as invasive as surgery. www.drgreene.org is a wonderful pediatric website that I frequently visit. Here's some info he provided on ear tubes http://www.drgreene.org/body.cfm?id=21&action=detail&... Good luck!!!

The tubes are wonderful. I'm not sure how I ended up with 2 kids that were slow to talk and pronunciate correctly, but the kids had the tubes put in and their hearing/speech is wonderful.
My daughter is 4 and I think she had them inserted early last year...March maybe? My son who is 2 had them inserted at the middle of last year. You can't see the tubes unles you look into their ears with medical equipt. The surgery is very quick 10-15 min tops. I too would not want my kids to made fun of...the tubes are great.
My daughter who is 4 even gets speech through the district 1 hour per week. YOu may want to get your child tested through the district...he may be able to receive speech.
Good Luck
Great Dr. to go to is Dr. Kelanic close to the Fox Valley Mall. He is an ear nose and throat Dr.