We saw the ENT specialist about our 2.5yr old son regarding his hearing, his pressure test came up as not hearing but not deaf.

The doctor we saw had a chat with us and basically said he was borderline case for grommets and that it is out decision about what to do ! this is not what we expected him to say, he said it may clear being the summer so that could help etc, its like hes offering us a bag of sweets what we wanted was yes he needs them or no he doesn’t.

We don’t really want to put him through an operation no matter how minor it is, there are also cons to having grommets no swimming water in ear etc.

My niece and nephew both had glue ear that went on its own and they saw an osteopath for years !

How and is it worth getting a second opinion ?

I feel for you and your son. 🙁 I have experience of this, feel free to contact me, email in profile.

Grommets are seen as being relatively little use nowadays and not often put in – certainly not as common as it was years ago.

Do some research on the net and find out more about it.

http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Glue-ear/Pages/Introduction.aspx

http://publications.nice.org.uk/surgical-management-of-otitis-media-with-effusion-in-children-cg60

They generally grow out of it as the Eustachian tube is horizontal in a child and as an Adult sits at a 45° angle, thus allowing more drainage of any mucous or fluid build up in the middle ear. If he does have the op then get a set of swimplugs made for him.

I had it as a child, Get it done sooner rather than later, missed lots of stuff I wish I hadn’t. Didn’t hurt, was a bit scared from memory. it fell out one day. Never really noticed it.

cinnamon_girl ygm

Reply sent. 🙂

Grommets are seen as being relatively little use nowadays and not often put in – certainly not as common as it was years ago.
Do some research on the net and find out more about it.

I suggest you do! In our PCT anyway they seem a very common solution – our Izzi had the op in Nov last year, her friend shortly after. Izzi has had no issues and her hearing/language is vastly improved.

OP – feel free to mail me too if you have any questions.

Mikey – they all fall out (as children) they are designed to.

And TJ – the reason consultants are still keen on giving young children grommets is that without correct hearing their language skills don’t develop quickly enough and it can hold them up in their formative years.

OP – I would give the (very straight-forward) op serious consideration – if your little boy hasn’t heard properly for 2.5 years he could be quite far behind other children of the same age in his overall language skills.

MF – once again you are wrong. I suggest you read the links. Actually gain a little knowledge of the medicine involved – I have posted the NICE criteria. a good place to start

Grommets used to be the first round treatment and used all the time – it was found that for many children the risk outweighed the benefits hence the criteria for insertion of grommets we altered greatly based on the evidence.

Far less are done now that were years ago.

If the OPs child is on the borderline for meeting the criteria its right that the parents have some input into the decision as the risks and benefits of the OP are very balanced

i had grommets and adenoids out when i was about 6 or 7 maybe. seem to remember spending a lot of time locked in a sound proof room with big headphones on pressing a button when it beeped. this would have been in about 1977. i am not sure what the deal is these days, but i don’t remember the op being traumatic in any way. (general ana.) i do remember the grommets falling out by themselves later on.

Once again? Like all the other times you were actually wrong? Jeez.

When diagnosed in children (like our child was, then monitored for several months), grommets appear to be the preferred solution.

I fully accept that glue ear *can* clear up naturally but when it doesn’t then the op is recommended. And at 2.5 yrs old (assuming the lack of hearing has been monitored over months already) then the preferred option is to ensure the child starts to hear properly so they can start to learn language and communication skills.

As I have already said, the HUGE difference the operation has made to our girl’s overall development has been massive. But I guess that means nothing against the supreme power of your copy and paste abilities does it?

It seems to differ depending on Consultant and PCT, I have parents coming to me to make swimplugs for their child before they have the op, its often successful and childs hearing returns to normal, sometime though there are more chronic cases and they even fit hearing aids temporarily if an ongoing problem.

Yes MF

Your usual assumption that your experience is the only one that counts and a unwillingness to bother reading what anyone else posts.

all i said – as is perfectly true -is that grommets are much less used now than years ago.

I tried to explain to the OP why the docs took this course that they have and tried to give them some advice as to where to go for information.

You simply state your experience as if its the same for everyone.

But I guess that means nothing against the supreme power of your copy and paste abilities does it?

No – it means nothing against the massed evidnec gathered by the medical profession over decades which is why far less grommets are put in now

Yeah – our daughter’s friend had grommets quickly followed by hearing aids but they expect them to be permanent 🙁

Perhaps I do, but better based on personal experience than sweeping assumptions based on what I can find on the internet.

quickly followed by hearing aids but they expect them to be permanent

Not for children with Glue Ear as they grow out of it as its the conductive element of their hearing mechanism thats effected, i.e eadrum and middle ear, also the use of hearings can block the ear if the earmould is not vented correctly to allow drainage.

In her case (from what I understand) is that the grommets were no use as she also had underlying hearing problems that are, quite obviously, hard to detect in 2 yr old children.

mastiles_fanylion – Member

Perhaps I do, but better based on personal experience than sweeping assumptions based on what I can find on the internet.

You mean the position arrived at by decades of medical research. Did you f3even bother to read the link to NICE?

Both of my kids have had grommets, it is quite common here in Denmark. The eldest had them once and that was that. The second has had several set ( I’ve lost count how many, maybe 5) and it is noticeable how much it improves their hearing. I would advise that you get them put in if it is causing pain and effecting language development, but I’m not a doctor, just a parent who hopes he is doing the right thing for his own kids

They generally grow out of it as the Eustachian tube is horizontal in a child and as an Adult sits at a 45° angle, thus allowing more drainage of any mucous or fluid build up in the middle ear. If he does have the op then get a set of swimplugs made for him.

Both my tubes are blocked and have been since childhood, had years of misery as a child with cronic ear infections hearing loss et etc. Got the usual old wives remedies from gp’s for how to clear the tubes. About 10 yrs ago I saw a ENT consultant who was great she had a plan how to “sort me out” fast forward 3-6 operations later my lugs are the best they have ever been.

I’ve had several grommets fitted over the years but they are short term and fall out quite quickly, now I have T tubes inserted they last a bit longer 4 years ish.

What ever you decide to do make sure you get regular check ups to make sure your daughter is not having any issues. I suffered to long as a child IMHO.

Good luck

B

We have had t tubes fitted to the youngest now as the other grommets have fallen out. By all means get a second opinion, but I think they’re a good idea based on our experience

Our youngest had bilateral grommets fitted twice. Cured the glue ear by allowing drainage. Not nice to see her go through it but well worth it.

(I have no idea why two people want to turn this thread into a fight)

TJ – yes I did. The issue with that article is that it covers children of all ages, not specifically the very young, where it is more important to diagnose and act promptly (as their guidelines recommend, >3 months with diagnosed hearing issues). And the OP has a young child.

Anyway, back to trying to answer the OP (now that I am on my keyboard rather than my phone)…

We have (as most of you are aware) twins. When they were around 12 months they were both diagnosed with glue ear and were referred to the ENT consultant who monitored them (as per the guidelines) over several months (OP – has your child been through this part of the process yet?)

Over the course of the observations, Evie’s language skills were developing quite well (although behind some other children of her age) whereas Izzi’s were not. After 6 months (IIRC) we were told that Evie’s hearing was dull in one ear but not the other, Izzi’s was dull in both. The consultant told us that we had the option to have grommets fitted to both children but, as her communication skills were developing well, it wasn’t strictly necessary for Evie.

He did say that Izzi’s hearing *may* clear up by itself but as she was already behind in her communication skills he felt it better that we had the operation done.

So, as I have already said, we did this and the operation was really very simple – in the hospital in the morning, she was first to be operated on (the doctor tends to do the ops on a ‘youngest first’ basis apparently) and she was up and about very quickly. We just had to stay in the hospital for a few hours until she passed water then she was discharged.

6 months on and she is developing well although she *is* still some way behind her sister, but she would be massively further behind if she hadn’t had the op. (For example, most people can now understand Evie’s language but only my wife and I can understand Izzi as we had adapted to her ‘words’.

So my advice to the OP would be (assuming you have already been through the period of observations and you feel your child is behind other children of his age in communication skills) would be to get the operation booked in as it may be 12 weeks before a date is set anyway and at this stage of development that can be crucial. Of course if his hearing seems to be improving then you can always cancel it.

Ohh and I can understand your worry at such a young child needing an operation (our family has a history of allergic reactions to a particular anesthetic – my mum ended up on life support once due to this) so I was particularly paranoid but at the end of the day, your child’s communication development is very important.

MF

Why did you say I was wrong then when I said grommets are much less used than they used to be and provided links to the criteria?

If the OPs child is on the cusp point where the risks and benefits are in balance then it is right they are given information to base a decision on which is what I tried to do.

Tick. Our son is 2yrs old and still not speaking (well he says ‘oh no’, bye bye and no alot). He has a re-occurring ear infection and sees the ENT roughly every 3 months. I’ll have a read of the links etc.

The one thing he is very active. Jesus I caught him jumping off the sofa last night to perform a perfect ass-landing onto a cushion 😆

TJ – I didn’t say you were wrong in saying they are used less, I took issue with your claim they are of little use – in my opinion you misled the OP by suggesting that there was probably little use in having the op done, but if the child has met the criteria (which I am assuming he has) then the operation remains a viable solution. The reason (I assume) they are used less isn’t because they don’t work, but simply because consultants now monitor the child for longer to see if they naturally grow out of the condition but if they don’t it is the preferred operation to be recommended.

And as the OP had already spoken to the consultant and no doubt read the leaflets they hand out, having more medical advice thrown at him is probably of little use – but I have experienced the situation first hand and have already had to make the same decisions he is having to make now so I felt I had something to give to the thread that contradicted your advice.