Tubes in ears

[EweSheep]

If my daughter cries in pain as much as I do, my pain threshold would be shot! She was a real trooper having her surgery on her finger and bounced back so quickly and she could move that finger within four days without any pain.

I am getting anxious but assured that she will be fine for her surgery Friday. Not sure what to make of the whole thing but if it can stop her ear infections, or some hearing loss, all for the better. I never saw so much gunk in her ears and if she had to have it "washed" out, it was painful for her and it does not always get all the wax out of her canal. The doc said she has fluids in her ears so it has to be drained so it can come out, rather than "sitting there".

Do they put a hole in the eardrum for tubes???????///

 

[Jambruins]

I believe they do put a hole in the ear drum and insert the tube so the fluid can drain out. My 1 year old daughter got an ear infection a couple weeks after her tubes were in and a brownish colored fluid came out of her ears. We put in the drops and within a few days the drainage stopped. My daughter used to scream a lot with her ear infections but with her tubes she would pull her ear a little but it didn't seem to hurt her. The tubes have been amazing for her. The procedure only took about 15 minutes and my daughter did scream/cry for about 20-30 minutes after but she didn't seem to be in pain just disoriented. After the 20-30 minutes she was fine.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Ear infections themselves often rupture the eardrum.

 

[wateboe]

My daughter just received her fourth set of ear tubes. (She inherited a pair of oddly formed eustachian tubes from her dad, poor thing.) We are fortunate to live in the Cincinnati area, home of an ENT who is arguably the "king" of PE tube surgery. He also happens to be her doc, but just by chance. Theses tubes have been a blessing for her. With the tubes in palce she remains a healthy, happy kid. Without the tubes she suffers from almost constant ear infections and has had multiple perforated ear drums. The surgical procedure itself is very fast. If your hospital or surgical center offers a pre-surgery tour of the facility take it!

Now, your doc may disagree, but the ENT group here has no problem with their patients swimming in chlorinated water without ear plugs (this was not the case in the past) and my girlie has been doing just that for years without any problems. We do not let her submerge her ears in the bath tub. She also must wear ear plugs when she swims in a lake or other body of water that is not a chlorinated pool.

Her doc is Dr. Robin Cotton of Cincinnati Children's Hospital. You may be able to find some information on that hospital's website.

 

[wateboe]

The "hole" put into the eardrum is actually more of a tiny slit, then a grommet-shaped "tube" is inserted into the slit... imagine sliding a teeny little thread bobbin into a teeny little button hole! Before the tube is inserted the surgeon uses a tiny suction to remove any fluid (infected or otherwise) from the middle ear. After the tube is in there will likely be some drainage, but not a lot.

Our doc provides a particular type of drop to be used for a few days to fight possible infection and to help keep the tube itself open (unclogged) while the site heals. The open tube works to equalize pressure inside the middle ear, allowing fluid to drain out of the eustachian tube in a normal way. If the patient does develope a middle ear infection while the tubes are in place, pain is generally minimized or more commonly non-existent, but you may notice drainage from the external ear canal. The infection can be treated with antibiotic ear drops rather than oral antibiotics in this case.

When my daughter heard that she was getting her fourth set of tubes she was actually happy! She is seven years old, but the surgery was so easy for her in the past that she wasn't worried about it at all, just relieved that she would get a break from the infections for a while. It may well be hardest on the parents... the worry and stress of taking your child into surgery.

 

[KOTurkeyRanch]

I had them 7 years ago when i was seven. I felt her pain about the swimming but i did just fine, i just made sure i didnt dive deep or get water in my ears. Also after swimming, id dry my ears with a cotton swab.

 

[gumpsgirl]

I know I've just come into this thread and have not read all of the responses, but as a mother of 5 that has been through this 3 times now, I totally understand where you are coming from and have something to offer that will help.

I will send a PM your way and see if you want this.

As far as pain goes, there isn't usually any associated with the tubes themselves. It's the anesthesia that makes them feel awful, but after a few hours to a day, they bounce right back and you will never know she had surgery.

 

[EweSheep]

Well DD seems to be a little anxious because it would be her forth time being in ANE and third time for surgery. We thought the tonsils removal would help her not have any more sore throats and ear infections but obviously it didnt. She had ruptured her ear drums twice in her lifetime and plenty of express care wax removals, and many times of antibotics or self medicated with just Motrin for kids just to "ride it out". sometimes it helped and other times, medical help was needed. I hope this will be the last of the infections in short of getting rid of our family cat. We no longer have baby chicks in the basement this year but that did not bother her at all.

Do the tubes give "callous" or toughen pathways?

Has your children have better hearing?

I do not see any evidence of "life time" of wearing tubes in adults. Maybe around age of 8 or 9 she will be weaned from tubes.

 

[wateboe]

My daughter's hearing is much improved with the tubes in place.

As for scar tissue, yes, the placement of tubes can cause scar tissue, but I recently read that studies have shown that it does not seem to affect hearing in the future. Ruptured eardrums generally result in more scar tissue, especially as the patient ages. The eardrum heals well while the child is young and growing, but does not heal as well as we mature.

Most kids do outgrow the eustachian tube problems, in fact, most kids with tubes only get one set. The tubes are said to stay in for about a year, although my daughter's other sets fell out around six months from the date of insertion. Most come out on their own as the eardrum grows, but sometimes a tube will be persistant enough to stay in place until it must be manually removed by the doc. I actually requested a style of tube that tends to stay in place longer this time.

My daughter had her (extremely large) tonsils and adenoids removed at the time that the third set of tubes was installed. It did not solve her problem, unfortunately. In her case, I would not be surprised if she needs more tubes in the future, as there is a strong family history of similar ear problems. There are adults with ear tubes! It is somewhat common in folks with Downs Sydrome for instance, but also used in adults who have persistant fluid in their ears and chronic infections. My husband is one who would have benefitted from ear tubes long before now. At 36 he has massive scar tissue and significant hearing loss after a lifetime of middle ear problems.

If you do a search for PRESSURE EQUALIZING TUBES, PRESSURE EQUALIZATION TUBES, P.E. TUBES, or PEDIATRIC EAR TUBES, you will find somegood medical information resources on the web.

As a side note, I have a couple of friends who swear by chiropractic care to aid in eustachian tube drainage. I can't comment on it myself but if you have a good chiropractor it is worth discussing with him/her.

 

[EweSheep]

Interesting!

As for chiro treatments, all of us sure could use it but we are on Medicaid and All Kids Care insurance which they do not cover chiro because it is NOT medically necessary. If we got back pains, we have to go to the MD and get treatments which it would be either surgery or pain meds, nothing more. I have to endure scatic nerve damage ever since my dd is born six years now and all I had was PT and pain meds and more of a sedentary lifestyle. Before I had given birth, I was pretty active and didn't weigh more than I needed to.

Tomorrow is the day and hopefully she will do better!