Kids with tubes in ears?

[crusinmama06]

NOW I am worried. My youngest has to get tubes in her ears BEFORE we leave for the cruise in ONE week. The doc wants to do it on Tuesday because he said he is worried about her being on the plane with fluid in her ears. :(

 

Anyone here have a child with tubes? How fast is the recovery time? The doc assures me she will be FINE. But I am not so sure. :confused:

[rebeccalouise]

If the doctor feels that she will be ready to fly and go on a cruise- I am sure that she will be fine. Barring some unforeseen complication. I bet she will feel so much better after the procedure.

I feel for you though. Bad timing. That's how things go with kids. It's always something.

But I doubt the doctor would permit her to go if he didn't think the procedure was fairly simple.

[emrmom]

Nothing to worry about at all. My girls have both had them and it's treated as an outpatient procedure. The first couple of hours are a little hinky, but that's only because of the anesthesia.

My older daughter had her tubes for several years before they fell out. My youngest one got hers put in last spring. She's already lost one.

They never notice them and all it really does is keep an opening in the ear canal so the fluid doesn't build up. If you've had trouble with constant ear infections, the only thing you'll notice is it doesn't happen anymore!

 

Have fun and don't worry!

Cindy

[sas80]

I ended up with a permanent hole in my ear drum and hearing loss from having tubes when I was a kid.

 

Fast forward and I fell water skiing when I was 20 and I could not shake the water out of my ear.

 

The ENT doc said "of course you have water in your ear, you have a hole in your ear drum!" (13 year later!)

 

They decided to repair the hole by doing surgery. Cutting away my scalp and folding it back to get at my ear drum. Once they got into my head they realized that my ear drum was nothing more than a bunch of scar tissue, so they tried to rebuild it using cartilage taken from my ear.

 

My hearing didn't improve and they assured me that a second surgery could fix it.

 

My hearing was never the same after the tubes and was not "fixed" by the surgery.

 

Consider chiropractic intervention. I only wish my mom knew about chiropractors.

 

My kids will never have tubes in their ears, ever.

[emrmom]

Uh ... geeze ... not sure how THAT's gonna help the OP! She didn't ask for whether or not she should get this done ...

 

Though ear tubes have their share of controversy (just like the routine use of antibiotics for kids with chronic ear infections), it is a fairly easy and quick procedure and the vast majority of children who have it done have had little or no lasting problems. Like all medical procedures, it's best to follow your doctor's advice (and your own common sense).

 

But your daughter will have no trouble flying a week after the procedure. Just double-check with the doctor on whether or not she needs ear plugs when she's swimming. With my oldest daughter, the doctor said don't worry about it. With my youngest, a different doctor strongly recommended expensive custom made ear-plugs -- which promptly were forgotten at DisneyWorld! So we make do now with those silicon gel ones you can get at swim supply stores.

 

Don't worry. All four of my sisters (and several of their children) have had tubes in their ears multiple times with no problems and no loss of hearing.

 

Cindy

[CabinForFour]

Both of our kids needed tubes for chronic ear infections (three months straight on antibiotics with no effect on the infection and a complete rupture of DS's eardrum). Both procedures were super fast, and the kids were acting perfectly normally within about two hours after the procedure. It was one of the best health decisions we ever made for our kids! I think you're pretty fortunate that the doctors will be able to do it before you fly, as the pressure changes for children with "normal" ears is difficult because they don't really know how to equalize the pressure themselves. I can't imagine how uncomfortable the pressure changes involved in air flight would be for a little one with infected ears. Both kids' tubes came out within a couple of years after they were inserted, and they both have perfectly normal hearing. Good luck to you, and enjoy your cruise!

[rebeccalouise]

My God- daughter was slow to speak clearly and when she did start to talk always seemed to be yelling. Thank God her mother put tubes in her ears. She was practically deaf prior to that. She is a beautiful 19 year old now, with no hearing or speech deficits.

[Lowie]

my son also had tubes put in and the procedure was extremely quick and easy. the hardest part for him was not being able to eat before we went in, i suggest asking for a super early morning appointment.

 

he was fine, like nothing happened within about an hour. and it made a dramatic difference in his quality of life!

 

he was one of the few unfortunates who had a tube fall back into his ear, the other side fell out at some point and we never noticed. he had to go back to surgery to remove the one that fell inwards, and again, he was fine, as if nothing happened within one hour. in fact, that day we also had his frenulum cut (he was tongue tied) and he didn't notice that either!

 

{{{hugs}}} to your dd!

[mc'smom]

NOW I am worried. My youngest has to get tubes in her ears BEFORE we leave for the cruise in ONE week. The doc wants to do it on Tuesday because he said he is worried about her being on the plane with fluid in her ears. :(

 

Anyone here have a child with tubes? How fast is the recovery time? The doc assures me she will be FINE. But I am not so sure. :confused:

 

My daughter flew 3 days after having tubes inserted, your child will be fine....

Her first set of tubes lasted 19 months and her second set lasted 11 months and she has not needed them in over 9 months....

My doctor suggested Doc Pro plugs for swimming in public places, they are a plastic ear plug and are fairly cheap $ 10 a pair and are re-usable .... They saved her from and bacterial infections and she was able to swim underwater just days after getting her tubes...

[ute_fan]

I agree that your daughter should be fine traveling with the tubes in her ears. It will probaby make flying lots more comfortable for her, and the kids are usually "back to normal" within a couple of hours of surgery.

 

Do be aware, however, the complications can occur after this, or any surgery. My DD had tubes put in and her adenoids out when she was 21 months old. Her complications were caused by the adenoids -- not the tubes -- but if we hadn't had a good anesthesiologist, we would have lost her. She was clinically dead for about 45 seconds after the surgery and ended up in intensive care overnight instead of bringing her home. She's now 21 years old, with no hearing problems or long-lasting affects from her medical adventure, but it sure was scary at the time.

 

Not meant as a "scare" post at all, but too many times people don't consider the risks that go along with these minor, outpatient surgeries.

 

Good luck with your daughter!

[tux22]

Michele, depending on the age of your daughter they can also put tubes in using a local. My older son is one of the unlucky ones who has had to have multiple tubes put in. Most kids ae not like that so don't worry. Twice they did it when he was awake, and he was fine right away. It shouldn't be a problem.

 

Good luck.

 

Barbara

[sandy toes]

Michele, You have offered me a lot of good advise. I hope to return the favor now. I work in a Pedi ER. The proceedure is very common, quickly done and with ease in return to normal functioning post procedure, in most cases. In medicine, many, many things change over the years and this is one of them. The size of the tube, the material used in manufacturing, and even the training technique itself is a bit different than 15 yrs ago. If your doctor feels your DD will do fine, then she most likely will. You doctor knows her and I am sure is well qualified. FYI: the poster that offered the Doc Pro Plug Pedi-sized suggestion is correct. They will make it safe for her to be in the water, get splashed and shower or dunk her head without concern 72 hrs post surg. I personally would not suggest their use any sooner than that. Relax, Hug your little one, take some of these posts with a grain of salt and enjoy your cruise.

[TRIBE1959]

I have had ear surgery and my ear drum completely removed so I can't get water in my ear. Ear dr just had me get the soft earplugs construction workers use. they are soft and pliable and create a watertight seal. Worked great did DRF and swam with Dolphins not a drop got through.

[mommyof4girls]

IMHO I think ear tubes are one of medicine's greatest inventions. 3 of my DDs have had them (2 had them twice) and they had great improvements in health b/c of them. I have some hearing loss b/c they did not do these when I was a kid (I would have been fine had I had them). None of my daughters had any pain/problem after their surgeries. In fact they were running around playing w/in the hour. I remember when my first DD got them I was so scared when they took her away for the surgery. I went to the bathroom, sat down, opened a book then they called me back! It only took 10 minutes I swear! Good luck to your DD and hope all goes well like it did w/us!

[sas80]

IMHO I think ear tubes are one of medicine's greatest inventions. 3 of my DDs have had them (2 had them twice) and they had great improvements in health b/c of them. I have some hearing loss b/c they did not do these when I was a kid (I would have been fine had I had them). None of my daughters had any pain/problem after their surgeries. In fact they were running around playing w/in the hour. I remember when my first DD got them I was so scared when they took her away for the surgery. I went to the bathroom, sat down, opened a book then they called me back! It only took 10 minutes I swear! Good luck to your DD and hope all goes well like it did w/us!

 

With procedures like these it always occurs to me - if these types of procedures are so neccisary then how come most of the adults in the world are not deaf? They didnt have this procedure when my parents were kids, but my parents had ear infections and managed to survive with regular hearing, an above average intellect and non impared speech.....

 

So why all of a sudden is this such a neccisary thing to have happen to all these kids?

 

And the fact that it happens to a majority of these kids on a repeated basis.... That makes me think that maybe this isnt a real solution after all...

 

My neighbors pediatrician said that her daughter had so much water behind her ear drums that she had to get tubes in her ears immedaitely or risk having her daughter become speech impared.

 

Thankfully they took the kid to a pediatric ENT who told them that she had zero water behind her ears and did not need the procedure.

 

Throughout time there have always been kids with ear infections. They have always survived with no ill effect. Why do we need to cut into their ear drums, much less do it on a repeated basis???

 

This is all rhetoircal. (and probably FULL of misspellings!)

[CabinForFour]

NOW I am worried. My youngest has to get tubes in her ears BEFORE we leave for the cruise in ONE week. The doc wants to do it on Tuesday because he said he is worried about her being on the plane with fluid in her ears. :(

 

Anyone here have a child with tubes? How fast is the recovery time? The doc assures me she will be FINE. But I am not so sure. :confused:

 

 

Cruisinmama06: Hope all went well today. Please let us know how your little guy did getting his tubes today! :)

[crusinmama06]

UPDATE!

 

Thanks for all of your responses. My daughter had the surgery yesterday...it was REALLY quick...she was gone for 15 minutes and in recovery. She woke up a litte cranky but within 25 minutes she was running around the children's ward at the hospital and complaining she was hungry. :D

 

A little background for those of you who *may* be questioning why it was necessary. My daughter had her first febrile seizure onboard Disney Magic at 8 months old. It was caused by a virus she caught onboard and a double ear infection. She seized for 40 minutes, had to be intebated and then medically evacuated off of the ship after spending 2 days in the ship's hospital.

 

At 15 months old we were on our way to Hershey Park...she seized on the turnpike. We had to be rescued by an ambulance and taken to Hershey Medical Center 2 hours from our home. Once again...ear infections caused this.

 

She has had FOUR seizures, all caused by ear infections. When she gets ear infections her temps hover between 104 and 106 degrees, sometimes as long as 5 days. :eek:

 

EVERYTIME she gets ear infections we have to start rotating doses of Motrin and Tylenol every 4 hours until the fever breaks.

 

We also carry hypodermic needles and a bottle of diazepam in case she seizes and we are away from medical care.

 

Her seizes are called "Complex" because they are not the usual harmless fever seizures that some kids get.

 

The constant fluid in her ears has caused moderate hearing loss and a speech delay which she needs to go to weekly speech therapy for.

 

She isn't even 3 years old yet and she has been in the hospital numerous times. :(

 

So in my book, the tubes are literally life saving. And I have no doubt that we made the right decision. And until you have a seriously ill child, you don't know what it's really like. And thank God most of you will never have to experience that.

[mommyof4girls]

With procedures like these it always occurs to me - if these types of procedures are so neccisary then how come most of the adults in the world are not deaf? They didnt have this procedure when my parents were kids, but my parents had ear infections and managed to survive with regular hearing, an above average intellect and non impared speech..... I do suffer from hearing loss b/c of my ear drums bursting due to fluid that would have drained if I had tubes. I also have a lot of scar tissue from this and still suffer from ear infections at the ripe old age of 38!;)

 

So why all of a sudden is this such a neccisary thing to have happen to all these kids? One of my DDs was born with a cleft palate that effects the shape and function of her Eustachian tubes (the tubes that help your ears drain fluid into your throat) so it was a necessity for her in her situation.

And the fact that it happens to a majority of these kids on a repeated basis.... That makes me think that maybe this isnt a real solution after all... My other DD failed her first hearing test at age 4 b/c of fluid in her ear (imagine hearing everything like you are under-water) that would not drain and was not an infection. She got tubes, the gross orange fluid drained and she passed her hearing test with flying colors. Now at age 6 her tubes fell out like they are supposed to. I noticed that she was always saying "what" to everything people said to her. I took her in for a hearing test and she failed it. She got tubes 6 weeks ago for the second time and she just had a follow up hearing test that she passed last week. My point is that "some" children/adults have Eustachian tubes that do not function as well as they should and may benefit from the tubes.

 

My neighbors pediatrician said that her daughter had so much water behind her ear drums that she had to get tubes in her ears immedaitely or risk having her daughter become speech impared. My DD that failed her hearing test did have speech problems that have been corrected by her now having the ability to hear how words are formed (instead of hearing them sound like they are under-water) b/c of the tubes.

 

Thankfully they took the kid to a pediatric ENT who told them that she had zero water behind her ears and did not need the procedure. We have always gone to an ENTs and gotten second opinions as well.

 

Throughout time there have always been kids with ear infections. They have always survived with no ill effect. Why do we need to cut into their ear drums, much less do it on a repeated basis??? I hope you understand why for some they will need to be repeated. I don't want my DDs to suffer from the inner ear pain (flying is unbearable) and hearing loss that I have b/c my issue was just written of to be "just an ear infection" or "she doesn't listen to anything I say". It may fluid w/o an infection and they may not "hear" correctly.

 

This is all rhetoircal. (and probably FULL of misspellings!)

Thanks for reading our experiences. :o

[mommyof4girls]

Glad things went well and I hope her health improves as a result!

[sas80]

To the OP-

 

I wish for your daughter to "grow out of" the ear infections.

 

Consider chiropractic care to help the eustachian tubes and sinus drain well. Getting adjusted always makes my sinus drain!

 

Have a great time on your cruise.

[mommyof4girls]

Are you getting excited for the upcoming cruise?

 

Please post your review ASAP after you get back. I look forward to reading about it.

[shancan911]

Michele,

Thanks for the update, as many of us were thinking about you yesterday. My son had tubes placed along with a tonsilectomy and adnoidectomy just a short bit before his 3rd birthday. It's a tough decision to allow people to sedate and "invade" one of your closest treasures. I feel for you, and I know you must feel a tremendous weight lifted, as we did after surgery. Our DS will be 6 this June, and since his procedures, we have had no hospitalizations or complications. One of the tubes completely fell out when he was 4, and the second one is dislodged, and will be removed this summer at his annual exam. She just needs to "scoop" it out with a tool in the office. The tubes afforded us 2 years of healthy winters and a happy son. Please go enjoy your cruise, I eagerly anticipate your photos and review upon your return. We'll miss you on the boards:D

[crusinmama06]

Thanks everyone! YES I will defeinatly be posting a review as soon as we get back. :D

 

We all all just so excited we are gonna burst. :)

[sandy toes]

Michele, I am SO very pleased that all went extremely well for you. Have a great cruise holiday and know that we are anxiously awaiting your posting and pics. ENJOY!!!!

[CabinForFour]

Thanks everyone! YES I will defeinatly be posting a review as soon as we get back. :D

 

We all all just so excited we are gonna burst. :)

 

So glad your precious little girl did so well. Hopefully, the tubes will do the trick, as you certainly have had far too many frightful situations from those ear infections! Hope you enjoy your upcoming cruise!