Angela_96

For once I have to say I am relieved by a doctor saying "your son is going to have to have surgery".
We have danced around with the tubes in Carsons ears for 3 years now with an ENT doctor that always said lets wait 6 months and see. Well I decided after speech therapy is needed and the pedicatric doctor said his ears need checked, he has chronic fluid in his ears to finally get a second opinion.

They re did his hearing test, etc and it was worse. He is just below normal on his hearing ablities and can be corrected with tubes. Which all the screaming in the world the poor thing couldn't hear me when he was getting in trouble. I know now i don't have a rotten kid, he just can't hear me! They said his hearing will return to normal the day of the surgery. Also with just a little speech therapy he will be talking and hearing normally!
This is the same child who had reflux, and other health problems as a baby. So because of his history and the fact he had problems being put to sleep they are going to make it a big to do and keep him at the main Childrens hospital instead of their "surgery center". He had 3 procedures when he was a baby 2 of them he should have came home that day and they had to admit him for monitoring for 24 hours one time and 2 weeks the next. I warned the doctor and they are going to avoid the methods or "meds" they used before of putting him to sleep.He also has 2 weeks to really research Carsons 20000 page chart.

Im just glad that my child is going to get this over with, and his hearing will improve!

Also they have some special type of ear plugs they can make just to fit his ear or generic one sized fits all stuff at the office. I wo n't be able to keep him out of water this summer, do any of you all have any experience between the two? THeir is a 50$ price difference, something tells me you get what you pay for with those.

Shawnie

2 of my girls had that...and I did get the "make to fit" ones as my galz are water hoggs too...I wanted what I knew would fit them perfectly as the others slip too much for my liking....the worst of surgery, the the anesthesia for my kids..to this day as adults it effects them... ....be prepared because for years after, he will need caution for swimmers ear if he has already had issues....the ear is just sensitive ....after every time my girls swam, I put 3 drops of warm alcohol in their ears at nite time...then let it drain out after 15 mins and then lay with 20 min of a heating pad....its a pain, but well worth it as swimmers ear is miserable with kids...goodluck !

Fishies-for-me

My son is now 18...in the 1st year of his life he must of been on antibiotics 10 times for ear infections...he did not speak much and when he did he sounded like a deaf child learning to talk. I got tubes in his ears when he was 1 1/2 years old. It took maybe 15 mins...a very simple surgery( I know your case is different with his sensitivities) . My son started to talk much better immediately. He did get infections once every year or 2 after that but they were not painful and I had drops I put in and it would clear up in a day or so. The tubes fell out themselves ( as they were designed to do ) and his ears healed over but were not quite ready to go tubeless so when he was 5 we had tubes reinserted into his ears. They lasted a long time and finally fell out when he was 10 or so. He now talks very well ( to well sometimes...he never shuts up...lol) and has no problems with his speech( he also had to have speech therapy done by me at home with coaching from his school) He has not has an ear infection in so long I can't remember. I would not hesitate to recommend ear tubes if needed . Good luck to you and your family.

Back then I was to get silicone ear plugs that were putty like and you mushed them in your fingers for a few mins to soften and then pressed them into the ear....his ears were so small it hurt to put them in and the dr told me to not worry to much over it as it was hard to get water in the ears and the drops would take care of it if he did.( they were prescription antibiotic drops).... ( this was more for showering and bathing not swimming) So I never used the ear plugs on him for bathing and showering.