Has anybody or your kids had to have ear tubes put in?
My daughter is almost 2 and between February and now she has had 5 ear infections... The doctor said if she gets one more he's gonna refer us to a specialist so they can put the ear tubes in... Does anyone have kids with ear tubes? My cousin has them but he's in the Air Force, so I don't get to talk to him... I'm kinda scared for her to go through it because it's surgery and they have to put her to sleep with anesthesia...I know it would be for the best and I will go through it if necessary but I just wanted to know if anyone has experience with this?
2008-07-02T11:59:25Z
It doesn't affect her speech because she has been speaking in sentences since she was 18 months. I just feel as though shes constantly in pain...
Mystical Fire Mom 832008-07-02T11:54:40Z
Favorite Answer
DONT WORRY. the procedure yes she has to go under but only for like fifteen minutes. all they do is with what looks like a ear piercing gunis put the tubes in and they put them in her ear like they are piercing her. after they drain the fluid, and she will be woken up and put into the recovery room. after she will be groggy and her head will feel like she is a newborn again but its lasts only an hr while shes still waking up. expect her to be crying and wanting u to hold her. its a one day procedure at IT HELPS.
my son in 2005 from that thanksgiving to february had 5 ear infections. we were referred to a specialist and made the apt to put the tubes in. i was scared to but the dr walked me thru it. when u get to the hospital u will be held in the peds section. then you will go down to were they will bring her to put the tubes in. you will wait there when u will see the anathesioligst (sorry cant spell that) then after the nurse will call for her to be brought in. at this time u wont be able to go in with her, but that is where u wait. and after the dr will call u in to seeher in the recovery. when my son had this he wa a little over 2yrs old too. and after when u go back to the peds room when my son did he was up and running around almost hearing perfectly clear ALREADY!! and the tubes are not permanent, unless they changed the rules or the way the tubes are put in.
Both my kids had tubes put in ~18 years ago. It gave them relief and got them off the endless cycle of antibiotics. An hour or so after the surgery the kids were 100% back to normal, like nothing happened. The tubes fall out on their own after a few months, we actually found one of them on the floor - tiny little thing.
The only other option is to keep your kids at home 24x7 so they don't get exposed to colds etc.. that cause the ear infections in the first place.
My daughter stayed at home w/her mother from 0 to 6 mos. No sickness of any kind. Mom went back to work, daughter goes to daycare, by the end of the first week she has an ear infection. They kept coming back until she got the tubes a few months later.
PS -
For DoDad, the latest craze isn't ear tubes, those have been around for along time. The craze if there is one is to medicate kids with things like Adderall. Let's just turn kids into dope addicts in elementary school. The antibiotics they give kids have more long term effects than the tubes. The Dr. put my daughter on prophylactic antibiotics (take them all the time, like a vitamin). All that does is mess up you immune system, which has long term effects. Tubes is the way to go.
My daughter is 4 and had tubes in her ears. She had ear infections from the time she was 1 till she was about 2.5 yers old. We had been to the emergency room so many times dealing with so many different doctors we finally said something about tubes. It was a procedure that only took a couple of hrs and she didn't feel a thing. Within a year one fell out and maybe six months later the doctor took the other out. She has not had an ear infection since. I also had ear tubes when I was younger. I am know 29. I can hear great and never have ear infections.
My brother had them when he was little and it really helped him a lot. He has autism and had always gotten ear infections. My mom had made a book of pictures of all the rooms in the hospital that he would go into and pictures of the doctors. This was all in order such as we would start in the car then go to the waiting room... This helped him to understand. You might want to do this with your child so that she can understand what is happening. Also my brother was fine when he had this surgery and they fell out of his ears when he didn't need them anymore. I am sure that your daughter will be fine and if you have concerns you should talk to the Doctor about them he will have the best answers that you can fine. Also make sure that you talk to your daughter so that she knows what is going on and doesn't get too scared. Plus the doctors will probably let you stay in the room until the anesthesia takes effect. Hopefully you won't even need for her to have this surgery. I hope all is well. Good luck.
My fiance has had an ear tube put in since he was 8 years old. He fell on a stick while playing football and damaged his ear, the only option was to be deaf or get the tube. He said he remembers it being very painful for a couple months and just wanting to sleep. Other than that, he is now 26, and has never had a problem and can hear just fine. I know his brother also has one, but I'm not sure why...his brother is 20 and is fine with one as well.
With her being so young she likely wont even remember it, which is a good time to do it. Just be prepared to be up at night with her and make sure the doc. gives her some sort of meds. for the pain other than over-the-counter stuff.