Ear infections/tubes in the ears

Sarah - posted on 11/06/2012

OMG Tubes are amazing. My son was 9 months and 14 ear infections in before he got his tubes. He was diagnosed with asthma, and severe allergies. He even had to get antibiotic injections at one point to get him over being sick. Since his tubes were placed he has had no ear infections at all, no allergies and asthma symptoms are completely gone. Tubes are a life saver. Also its not a huge surgery, it took 10 minutes for them to be placed for my son. He recovered just fine.

Paula - posted on 11/01/2012

Have you tried Chiropractic care for your child? It is def worth trying before surgery (tubes).



http://www.empowernetwork.com/dreamerchr...

Amanda - posted on 10/31/2012

my son got tubes in his ears and it was the best thing we ever did for him... he hasn't had an ear infection since he got them in almost 3 years ago... he still gets colds and stuff, but never an ear infection!

Mirian - posted on 10/30/2012

my son had his tubes put in in february of this year and he wasnt two yet but because of the constant ear infections, he had to have them because the constant fluid was applying too much pressure on his ear drums would could have resulted in him being deaf if not treated when it was, and on top of that he had an adenoidectomy as well. so far so good with the tubes but he still gets infections but not nearly as much as before and this time the infections are more allergy related so as long as medicate him when i first notice him tugging at his ears, it can be resolved early.

Tina - posted on 06/17/2012

Please find a pediatric chiropractor. Mine (regular chiro that works on kids) has done wonders for my two older kids. They both avoided tubes in their ears. (I didn't like possible complications, putting them under, or the possibility that they fell out and had to be put back in.) So I talked to my chiro. They do softer, less invasive adjustments than on people. Mine did massage, rubbed their pressure points on the face (i do it at home now) and used a tapping method on their neck to help move the spine into alignment so it doesn't pinch the tube and cause it to not drain (why they get infections in the first place) The minute they get a cold, we head to the Dr. for an adjustment and follow up a few days and a week later. When I didn't get them there, they got infections. :) It cost me the same amount of copays as going to the dr, for the antibiotics, and post visits, but it was less taxing on their bodies. Good luck!

Michelle - posted on 06/16/2012

I have had the ear infections from having tubes put in my ears as a child and had nothing but problems. The doctors left the tubes in my ears too long and one of them embedded a hole in the back of my ear. So, now, as an adult , I still have the ear infections here and there. I remember as a child,my ears bled and bled and hurt. I cried and cried because of what the tubes did to my ears. I now take a medicine call phytocillin and/ or silver colidal. I put the silver in my ear. A drop or two and the infection goes away. The phytocillin, I use to help get rid of the infection. And it works for me. I give it to my kids too, if they would have an infection as well. You can get this medicine at any herbal store. Or go online at IHERB.COM.

Ashley - posted on 06/11/2012

My son was 1 when he got his tubes. He had an ear infection for 6 months off and on with lots of late night trips to the E.R and a lot of antibiotics. He started to have reactions to the antibiotics so they said it was time for tubes. I remember feeling so sad for him having to be put to sleep, I think that was the hardest part for me. After he woke up from surgery he was really grumpy and cried for about an hour. After he took a nap he was in a lot better mood. The tubes have helped him so much, I'm so glad we decided to get them. He is now 3 and they are still in. He hasn't had any infections or any draining. He is so much happier, and so am I, seeing him in that pain broke my heart. I would do it again if needed to my other kids, if the circumstances called for it. I wish you all luck and I hope it goes as well as it has for my son.

Charley - posted on 04/26/2012

@ dima its very normal same thing happened with us we had to do iv fluids in the er also give it another week should be back to their self

Charley - posted on 04/26/2012

my son had ear infections from oct 2011 to jan 2012 he was on so many antibiotics that they didnt work anymore he had to go to the doc once a week for a antibiotic shot after pleading with them they finially sent us to a ent whom put tubes in both ears and removed his adnoids it was the worst experince ever him being put to sleep and me seeing him all groggy in recovery was heart breaking recovery was also bad for us he was have night terrors which is a dide affect from being put under he wouldnt eat or drink cuz his thoat was sore from them removing his adnoids and a breathing tube being inserted this all happened in jan of 2012 after two weeks he was running around being his normal self again it is now april 2012 and we havent had a problem until now im thinking we have a ear infection cuz his ears a draining and he is crying saying they hurt

Dima - posted on 03/25/2012

We just had our sons ear tubes, he needed them very much because he had almost complete hearing loss. He has been recovering for the past couple of days, but he has a low grade fever and is not eating nor drinking enough. We had to take him to the emergency room for some IV fluids. Is is normal that the appetite goes down after the surgery? Is it normal that they have low grade fever for a while?

Bergerbytes - posted on 01/11/2012

I am going through the exact same thing right now with my 15 month old boy. 5 rounds of antibiotics and an ear infection for 14 of the past 17 weeks! We have a referral for an ENT doc in the works right now and are pretty sure it will be tubes! His Daddy had tubes 6 times as a baby to a teen, I am hoping tubes will make my lil' man feel better....

Nicole - posted on 12/28/2011

I went through the a very similar experience with my daughter, not only has she been free of ear infections she hasn't been sick all the time. I wrote this article to help parents going through similar struggles... http://coley925.hubpages.com/hub/Natural...

KRYSTL - posted on 10/18/2011

all the responses on here are very very helpful. I wanted to say thank you to all of your responses. I weighed out each option, and in 2 days I have decided to get the ear tubes. I just need ot know why fluid built up in her ears.

Alison - posted on 04/24/2010

Sometimes kids will grow out of ear infections. My son had his first at 1month old. He had them almost monthly for 6 months. But they have now stopped. As I child I had the same problems and would be on antibiotics from September through to may. The trouble lies when the infection is gone but the fluid remains behind the ear drum and gets thick. This is called glue ear and drastically reduces hearing. I almost failed my grade 5 year because I couldn't hear the teacher. That is what I would be concerned about now. Your baby could get behind in speach if he is not able to hear properly. Ear tubes were the best thing that ever happened to me. I only needed them once and the surgery is relatively simple and quite quick. Most often it is an in and out procedure that doesn't need an overnight stay in hospital. DO IT!!! My parents and I both wish that our doctors had offered this procedure sooner, it would have saved me years of pain and atibiotic use.

Rachael - posted on 04/20/2010

I was actually one of those kids that got hearing loss as a result of so many ear infections. My mother had tubes put in my ears (and adnoids removed) and my hearing is now purfect and haven't had another ear infection. I was abou 9 then & I am now a 27 year old mom who has a son with ear infections.

Carrie - posted on 04/20/2010

we had the same problem. 2 months straight of ear infections and chest colds. we tried antibiotics and steroid shots, pulled my son out of daycare. his doctor suggested tubes and at first i was totally against it. but at our pre-op appointment the doctor told me he used waterproof tubes. so no more earplugs in the bathtub like kids with tubes have always had to do. the procedure took 30 minutes (which they also took out my son's adenoids. tubes only took about 3 minutes.) waking him up was horrible. he was miserable and screamed this horrible scream because he didnt understand that drugged feeling and didnt like it. but recovery has been fine. two hours after surgery he was like a different child. he was happy and laughing and running and playing like nothing had happened. since, he has run a low-grade fever a few times but nothing serious. just make sure to research the doctor you use and ask lots of questions. shoot for the waterproof tubes. good luck!

Lindsey - posted on 04/19/2010

Yes actually I think having the t tubes in their ears really do help. My son had ear infections since he was about 6 Months old just up until a month and a half ago. And hes already 18 Months. They completely stoped. He hasnt had one ear infection since he got the t tubes in his ears. and theres nothing bad about getting them put in. My son was in the room for 15 mins. theres not cutting or anything just placing them in their ears. They usually fall out in a couple months. It can take up to a year to fall out. The doctors told me that they usually out grow the ear infections.

Jayde - posted on 04/17/2010

Sounds the same as my little girl.Weve been over the hospital since christmas as she had temps,went floppy kept being sick and refuses to eat meals.Im still in a catch 22 situation as every time she gets better she gets unwell again.Its not fare to see her at such a young age suffering in pain.Ive been back and forth to the docs and they seem to fob me off.Were due to go away in 2weeks im hoping shes not unwell for her first hoilday aboard.If shes not any better in the next few days im going back and want to get a second opinion.No one has mentioned tubes in ears.

Seonead - posted on 04/16/2010

so i have a great update from my first post! my daughter had her tubes put in 1 week ago and is doing amazing so far. she is not cranky/moody/clingy that she used to be. when she had the tubes put in though the dr. said it too longer than usual because of the amount of fluid in her ears kept pushing out the tubes so it took him 3 tries to get the tubes to stay in. the dr also removed her adenoids, and again all is going well! the only problem we are having is keeping her head above water in the tub! she is my little fish. thanks for all of you help

Lisa - posted on 04/15/2010

I have had the BEST LUCK with only ONE EAR INFECTION with my 19 month old daughter - I believe it had a lot to do with our BI MONTHLY visit to a wonderful CHIROPRACTOR - a GREAT alternative to western opinions - we have been going since she was 2 months old, it seems to have worked great!!!!!!
We live in the south part of Denver Colo . check out DR KABLE'S web site very informative! Look up www.kablechiropractice.com then - go to "how it works" check out a video on a child adjustment - we almost made it into the video!!!!
Blessings
Lisa

Megan - posted on 04/15/2010

My son had chronic sinusitits, resp issues and all kinds of head colds, turns out he had a simple DAIRY allergy. Took ALL Dairy out of his diet and the sinusitits cleared up within 2 days... it was amazing, we also found out he has wheat allergy's too now, but its amazing how food allergies can muck your body up... they wanted to keep my son on antibiotics until I took him to a natural doc, she suggested the dairy allergy stuff, I laughed but wanted to try it because I didn't want to put my kid thru surgery and what do you know, it worked--- no one in our family has food allergies but him, but oh well they say he's likely to grow out of it! GOOD LUCK!! Message me if you need to!

MIMI - posted on 04/14/2010

well i hate that i am so qualified on this!!!! my son who is also your daughters age got an ear infection at three months. i didnt even know. he was such a good baby no fevers nothing. what happen is his ear drum ruptured. thats how i knew. even then my son did not cry, fuss nothing.well my doctor gave him antibiotics. which it should have cleared it. it didnt. needless to say his ears were rupturing every other day. this was all with in 2 weeks if that. by then he was have drainage that was alost greenish booger looking like. well ent decided to put pe tubes. my other son had them when he turned 13mos. but at 4mos was young, but idid. it wasnt working. he has just had his 5th set recently. but he had his forth by the time he was7 mos. i would not choose other wise. he lost some hearing. but if we would have not taken care of it at all the i could have been a total loss. but worse is if the infection goes to the mastoid bone. then they will need to go in and clean out the bone if not the child can get menengitis or worse brain damage from the infection being so close. i say go for it. your child will benefit. just be aware that speech may be effected if they have any hearing loss. and you will want her to get into therapy as soon as possible. my son does speech therapy hes been going for 3mos now. he goes 3 days a week.

Kristin2 - posted on 04/14/2010

I think my son has delayed talking because of it. We had our tubes put in in December but he has not had near the problems he had. He's only had an ear infection once since the surgery and I used the antibiotic drops they give you after surgery to clear up it up without a doctor seeing him. He now copies the exact sounds we say. He never complained of pain after the surgery and actually was acting quite normal that afternoon. I did a skype session with my mom and she couldn't believe that he had just had surgery. I think it's harder on us as parents than it is on the kids. The surgery is a 5 minutes surgery at most. The additional time you wait is when they are coming out of anesthesia. We also had a hearing test done before and after the tubes. The hearing test was perfect after the tubes. We knew my son had a milk allergy so it had nothing to do with milk because he didn't touch milk products. We also didn't have the option of going to a chiropractor because we are in Japan.

Julie - posted on 04/14/2010

we have had the same problems since my son was born (he's 18 months now). at 8 months they put tubes in his ears, which helped, but we still get infections. i know this will sound crazy, but i've been taking him to the chiropractor for about 3 months and we haven't had a single ear infection (even with two head colds in that time)! the doctor adjusts his neck and his ears to ensure the ear canal is positioned correctly, and i swear it's working! and my son has no problems with the adjustments. in fact, he knows what's coming and starts pulling on his ears just like the doctor does..lol. so, have an open mind and give it a try, it's working for us!

Rachel - posted on 04/13/2010

My son went 2 mos with an ear infection that wouldnt clear up. the ent told us the same thing, putting the tubes in would help with the infection that wouldn't go away, and reduce the occurence of new ones by about 80%. last week he had a sinus infection and spiked a fever of 104, and for the first time there was no fluid in his ears along with the sinus infection. also, the ent told us at the time that he should be talking more, and his vocabulary would increase alot in the weeks following the tubes, and now hes talking up a storm. I'd highly recommend ear tubes.

Tammy - posted on 04/13/2010

my son is 18 months and has had tubes in his ears since he was 8 months old. he had ear infections non-stop even tho his pedi dr kept "not seeing any problem" we switched drs and his new pedi dr referred him right away to an ENT who considered it high priority semi-emergency surgery. the ear infections have slowed consideriably but still come and go and he also has hearing tests every so often. he just had tonsills and adenoids out 7 weeks ago so we are still on the mend since that was his 3rd surgery since May but all in all i highly recommend tubes my daughter always had ear infections she had about 15 within the first year of life they would jump from ear to ear never fully going away and nothing is worse than a baby with ear pain/infections so i would say get the tubes the first few hours after surgery are tough till the anesthia wears off but after that its a big difference that is deffinately worth it for the better.

Karen - posted on 04/13/2010

My 19 month old daughter was going through the same thing the doctor told us that she would need tubes put in and I asked our family E.N.T. and she said that it woul help her from getting ear infections cuz it would help drain her ear and the tubes would fall out as she got older... they don;t want her to keep taking to muc anibiotics becuase it could hurt her insides....your daughter will be fine if they have to put the tubes in...

Bethany - posted on 04/13/2010

I would take her to a chiropractor. Seriously!! I used to work in a chiropractic office and I can't tell you how many children we saw with ear infection problems, allergies, etc. and after a few treatments, they were sooooo much better!! All of them avoided ear tubes and had WAY less infections. :)

Gloria - posted on 04/12/2010

my older son darrell have ear tubs in both of his ears. he was gettin ear infection since he was a baby. the e.n.t. say they will go away on their own they work very good.

Tracy - posted on 04/12/2010

my son had constant ear infections for the first 13 months of his life. we decided to put tubes in because he was loosing his hearing and stopped talking. ever since the tubes were put in he's been amazing. his balance is better and he's even starting walking he is now 19 months old. hope everything goes well if you do decide to put tubes in

Ashley - posted on 04/12/2010

my sister got tubes about 20 years ago and she did have some hearing loss... but my 18 mo got tubes in when she was a year old and they have worked WONDERS!!! i was a little nervous bc of my sisters experience but they have come a long way since then, the whole procedure took like 10-15 min. and she didnt have any issues at all til 6 months later and it was draining the fluid like it was supposed to. i took her to the doc about it and they did give her antibotics for the small infection, but she was acting normal was not in any pain and the doc said that if she didnt have the tubes then all that coming out would still be in her ear and she would be in so much pain from the pressure. so even if you get tubes and she still has small ear infections the tubes could ease her time with them, make them easier to handle with possiblly no pain at all. we have also had her hearing before and 6 months after checked and she is perfect, no hearing loss!

Melissa - posted on 04/12/2010

Like a lot of other moms have said, the best thing you can do for your child is chiropractic. It is extremely safe and effective at strenghening the immune system. Tubes are not a guarantee, and many times the body pushes them out of the ear drum and results in scarring and pain. Most times, 1-2 adjustments at the chiropractor are enough to stop the cycle of ear infections completely. Antibiotics have side effects and weaken the immune system, causing a child to become even more prone to infections. Like anything, it may not completely help your daughter, but you should feel good about making a safe choice like chiropractic before resorting to surgery. Chances are she'll love going, too!

Luzette - posted on 04/12/2010

My Bernard had tubes put in at 8 months, My first thought was that he was still so little, but after much debate and advice we went throug with the procedure, with no regrets. In your case if the doctor see no other option, I would recomend it...

Tercia - posted on 04/12/2010

My daughter is 19 months old, we had tubes/grommets put in when she was 13 months old due to all the ear infections she was getting. They worked wonderfully until a couple of weeks ago - our ENT prefers to have routine hearing tests done after inserting the tubes because there is a chance that the procedure can cause deafness (so can repeated ear infections) - so our audiologist discovered that she's not hearing so well and that the right tube has fallen out of it's place in the ear drum. What I'm saying is - they're great beacuse she hasn't had any more ear infections BUT they do have their own problems too. If I'd known that a chiroprator could sort out the problem, I would have tried that option first.

Laura - posted on 04/11/2010

My son is 19 months old and has had 3 sets of tubes in his ears. He was born with a cleft pallet and because of that has had ear infections all his life. I would deffinately put tubes in because that is better than haveing him on antibiotics all the time. The body gets immuned to the antibiotics so then when they need them for something else they don't work.

April - posted on 04/09/2010

My daughter got her ear tubes at 9 months. She started at 6 months with ear infections. She has so many ear infections in such a short period of time, stopped , a ruptured ear drum ( she stopped babbling after that happened) and was showing problems with her hearing (failed 4 tests in 3 months) that we had them put in. They have been great, but they are not perfect. We still get ear infections, but they are not as bad and not as frequent. Since August we have had 2 nasty ear infections and 2 mild ones. My daughter does not show signs untill they are extremely bad, which stinks. Even with getting some ear infections she passed her first hearing test a month ago since she was born. I can only think that the tubes are what helped with that, otherwise we would be running into other problems. Her vocab and babbling is great and there are no long term affects from all that has happened.

Sunrise - posted on 04/09/2010

I'm going to back up the chiropractic advice, it's amazing what can happen when the body is out of alingment. Think about it, your LO was crammed inside of you for 9 months and since and been carted around in not-so-comfortable or ergonomic baby seats, etc. I would definately exhaust all my option before going the route of surgery.

Beth - posted on 04/09/2010

Knock on wood, we haven't seen too many ear infections with the quads, but my first son had a terrible time with his ears. We got his first set of tubes put in at 8 mos old. It was a long road with 3 sets os tube and his addenoids removed between 8-28 mos. Thankfully, we seem to have turned a corner and he has not had a single infection in over a year. During these early mos they learn so much through hearing that it will delay some development if she is unable to hear because of fluid built up in her ears. I hope she improves quickly!

Ashley - posted on 04/09/2010

My son went through six months of continuous ear infections before I told the doctors that I wanted tubes. Since the tubes he has been back to his happy self and no infections. I recomment them.

Nadine - posted on 04/09/2010

Definitely get the tubes! My son (18 months now) suffered from ear infection after another since he was 4 months. When we had the tubes done (December 2009), he has not had any since! I highly recommend the tubes. Antibiotics don't work after a while because they develop immunities against them, and more importantly you don't want to keep giving so much medicine when their immune systems are young. Trust me - do the tubes!

Cynthia - posted on 04/06/2010

my son got his first ear infection in the summer last year when he was 9 months and now he is 18 months and had 5 ear infections with this last one was a double one the the doctor said that if he gets 1 or 2 more they will put tubs in. and the antibitic alway give him the runs and the doctor wont give him nothing else for it. but my bother has had tubs in when he was younger and they works good.

Jan - posted on 04/06/2010

I have also heard about the milk allergy and ear infections. My little boy has had one ear infection and we put olive oil with a little tea tree oil in it in his ear three times a day and within two days it cleared up and hasn't returned. My friends little boy had 6 ear infections in a row each treated with antibiotics and each returned within 2 weeks. She tried the tea tree oil and has been one year without any ear infections.

Melissa - posted on 04/06/2010

My daughter started with ear infections when she was 13 months old and then again at 15 months old. She had nonstop ear infections from 15 months to 18 months old and 7 rounds of different antibiotics and still nothing worked. We took her to the ENT and she got tubes put in at 18 months and has been ear infection free ever since. Her hearing has also improved a lot as well. Best decision ever made!

Beth - posted on 04/06/2010

When my son was lil he was always having ear infections and the meds didnt help. so he had ear tubes put in when he was about 18 months. Hes almost 5 now and has never had an ear infection since then. My youngest daughter just had ear tubes put in in Feb.. When the doctor told me that she was gonna have to have ear tubes i was more then willing to have it done. Shes was 16 months old when she had them done and her talkin improved within weeks of having the tubes put in. she hasnt had an infection since then. The only thing you have to really worry about is gettting water in their ears. i would recommend ear tubes to anyone. they did wonders for both my son and daughter!!!

Sharnel - posted on 04/06/2010

I am so glad that you brought up this topic! I'm taking my son to an ENT this week regarding tubes! I am really nervous about it, and I appreciate the insight of the other moms who sought the Chiropractic alternative. Does any one who used a Chiropractor for their child have any recommendations for one in the Portland area? Thank you so much!

Stacy - posted on 04/06/2010

I had the same thing with my son and we were one more infection away from tubes and I took him to a chiropractor on the advice of a friend and we have not had one ear infection since, many colds but no ear infections. They do a quick adjusment takes like 5 minutes, cost me 40.00 cause my health care didn't cover it, but I swear it worked! Look into it if you can, we were in the same boat he had had 4 ear infections in a 2 and a half month span, and we have been infection free for over a year now!

Tiffiny - posted on 04/06/2010

my son had the same issue... ear infections all the time he finally got tubes in his ears and it helped him hear alot better he was saying helicocer before the tubes and soon after the tubes he was saying helicopter the fluid in his ears was sooo bad he wasn't hearing everything correctly so people thought he just had a speach problem but it was fixed in no time, no more ear infections since that happened when he was 2 and now he is five they fall out on their own usually within 2 yrs.

Emmerentia - posted on 04/05/2010

My baby had tubes put in his ears when he was only 8 months old. This was after he had suffer ear infections every three weeks. After the tubes were put in he was a totally different boy. The ear infections stopped and when ever he had a cold you could see the fluids draining from his ears.

Chatty - posted on 04/05/2010

I had tubes in MY ears when I was a kid and I have to tell you it was the best decision my parents ever made! I would rather have 10 more children with zero pain meds then have another ear infection! It's horrible and when children are younger they can't really explain how crappy it makes them feel so I'm their voice! LOL! I had the tubes in when I was 5 and haven't had any problems since! Good luck with whatever decision you make!

Amber - posted on 04/05/2010

Hi! My daughter had 5 ear infections from September to December.. Finally the doctor sent her to the ENT and he decided to do tubes. Since she has had the tubes she hasn't had one ear infection and she had no problem what so ever with the tubes. It is a very simple and quick procedure she wasn't away from us for more than 5 minutes. It's scary for us mom's at first to let them have surgery but in my opinion it was worth it for her to get some relief.