Conference moira::parenting_v3

    Tubes are becomeing the tonsels of yesterday.  Everyone has to get
    them.
    
    You should always get a second opinion before any surgery.
    
    If you go through with the proceedure, you may find getting custom ear
    plugs nice.  It'll help you in the times when the ears could get wet
    [baths,hair washes], although may not be as big a requirement as when
    the child is older.
    
    Proceedures like this are commonplace when you consider they do open
    heart surgery before the birth of a child.  However, any anesthesia is
    not 100% safe, therefore your caution is justified.
    
    ed
    

    Hi,
    
    Our son Richard had tubes put in about a month ago.  It was the best
    thing we could have done!
    
    Richard was a premie, and we have always been concerned about
    anesthesia, (this was his 3rd operation in his 1st year) but it
    really worked out well.  They will give the child just enough to 
    put them out.  
    
    Richard was awake about 45 minutes later, and was almost fully alert
    15 minutes later....  By 11:00am we were home and he was happily
    playing in his toy box.
    
    Within a couple of days, we noticed big changes in his behavior.  He
    was always good about closing "pop-up" toys, but could never get them
    to latch down.  Now, he can apparently hear the click of it latching.
    He presses the top down until the click.  He has also become much more
    interested in toys that make different noises.  We really believe that
    the fluid in his ears was really hindering him. 
    
    We also got another side benefit...  Richard has always been a loud
    breather, which gets even louder during physical activity.  Well, the
    anesthesia that they used is also a bronchial dilator (like asthma
    medicine) (yes, we knew this ahead of time).  Ever since, his breathing
    has been much quieter..  
    
    So, you have a right to be concerned, but as the previous noter states, 
    it is a very simple procedure to do.  As long as you get a pediatric
    anesthesiologist, it should work out great.
    
    BTW - Richard had his done at Elliot Hosp in Manchester, NH.  I can get
    the Drs names if you would like....
    
    P.S. - We have found that the pre-formed plugs are much more
    convienent...  But we still carry the wax plugs just in case we lose
    them.
    
    cheers,
    jeff
    

    I was very scared when my daughter had to "go under" when she was 7
    months old for a cast application for hip dysplasia. I was terrified
    just imagining things that we were told were "remote". But believe me
    the pediatric anaesthesiologists (SP?) are careful when they deal with
    little ones. The only thing that I could not handle the first time was
    my baby crying in the recovery room - they may cry while coming out of
    the effects of anaesthesia since they don't like the feeling ( at least
    that's what I think).  But I was fine and she was fine. She recovered
    in a hour or so. The anaesthesia given is not much so recovery is
    quick. Remember to follow the guidelines regarding feeding schedule the
    night before surgery - the pedi. anes..gists will give you the
    guidelines - my daughter could not have anything about 8 hours before
    she went "under".
    
    Hang in there. 
    
    Shaila

	Katie had tubes put in in May. (She was 1 week past her first birthday.)

	1) Do get a second opinion.  Not only is it a good thing to have in 
general, but if your insurance is John Hancock, having the 2nd opinion (which 
John Hancock pays for, by the way) means they will pay 100% of "Reasonable and 
Customary" charges.  Without it, they only pay 80%.

	2) In Katie's case she had been battling ear infections for almost 7
months and had not been off antibiotics for more than a day or two that whole
time.  (My family has a history of ear problems.  In fact, my mother has low 
frequency hearing loss becuase of recurring infections.  My Father has high 
frequency hearing loss sever enough that he has had 3 operations and has been
fitted for hearing aids to correct damage also caused by recurring infections.
So we take it seriously!)  Since she's had her tubes, we have not had a single
problem!  And as another noter said, we noticed a difference in her hearing and
speech develpoment almost immediatly.

	3) The surgery is indeed very short.  The actual surgery took 6min.  
They kept her in the recovery room for about 10-15 mins before they brought 
her out.  They warned us that she would be cranky, upset and disoriented and 
most likely crying. (An hysterical baby was brought out while the doctor was 
talking to us and he said, "most of them are like that when they come out.")  
Ha!  They had not yet met the amazing Katie, most mellow kid in the world.
She woke up, saw her plug (pacifier) popped it in her mouth, pulled it out, 
sat up and smiled at the nurses.  Never did cry at all.  we practically had to 
fight off the nurses to get here home.  :-)  She was thirsty and hungry (hadn't 
had anything to eat since midnight) and had a good nap that morning. When she 
woke up, she was indeed back to normal.     

	We're VERY pleased with the results of the surgery!

Tracey

I had a friend whose daughter was scheduled to have tubes in her ears.

During his visit to the chiropracter, they were discussing his family and
he happened to mention this.  The chiro. said that he has cured many ear
problems with chiro. and acupuncture.  He said just let him try to fix the
problem and if it didn't work, he wouldn't charge.

Anyways, it worked!  It cured her ear infections.  Now anytime she gets a
cold or starts to get what might be an ear infection, they take her for an
"adjustment" - and they never had to have tubes....


Don't know if this is an option, but it might be worth checking...

Kristen

    Erica had tubes put in her ears in Feb. after months of ear infections. 
    She was 14 mo old and although she had been walking since 11 mo. she
    fell down a lot.  The procedure took roughly 1 hour between taking her
    to OR, the procedure and recovery.  The nurses where we went brought
    her to me the minute she woke up and yes she was crankey from the 
    anesthesia but she slowly came out of it.  Like one of the other noters
    stated they wake up thirsty, if you have this done you might want to
    bring a bottle of juice.  When we got home you would never have known
    anything went on, she was running and playing and NOT FALLING DOWN!!
    She has not had a problem since, no ear infections..not even a cold!
    
    I realize that every child is different but I would really stand by
    this procedure.   If you are really against it I know of other parents
    which opted to have their children on antibiotics on a regular basis
    for a period of time (ie; teaspoon a day) and have sworn by this.
    
    As far as questons to ask:
    
    -Ask about the procedure
    -Ask about the anesthesia
    -Ask to see the tubes, you will be amazed at how small they really are
    -Ask approximately how long they stay in for, they are suppose to fall
     out by themselves but sometimes they need to be taken out by the doctor
     which if I remember correctly (and I may be wrong) it is the procedure
     reversed so the child would go though the op. again
    -What happens if you accidently get water in the ears
    -What is the follow up procedure (We go to him every 4 mo.)
    
    Hope this helps, these are just some of the questions I remember
    asking.
    
    Darlene
    

Kathryne is on her second set of tubes.  If child #2 has as severe
problems as she did I would get tubes in a minute.  There is nothing
quite like having a baby suffer through repeated ear infections,
then yeast infections brought on by the antibiotics and allergic
reactions to antibiotics.  Her first set of tubes lasted 8
months.  The second have been for 7 so far.  We also had her
adnoids removed during the second operation.

It might be very worthwhile to check out the chiropractic option.

    Alex (now 3 years old) had his tubes put in January 1990 and his
    adnoids out.  We went for the second opionion (sp) also.  Besides
    the tubes being put in, Doctor also said he had to clean out all
    the 'gluey' stuff from Alex's ear, since his adnoid was so enlarged
    his nose/eyes/ears were not draining properely.
    
    We meet the anesthesalogist (sp?) prior to the operation (7:30 am) and
    talked to him for 30-45 minutes on exactly, to the detail, on what
    was going to happen to our bundle of energy.  Alex was under 40 minutes
    because of the adnoids and within 15 minutes after the operation he
    was in our hands.  Alex did vomit quite a bit after he woke up, that
    is the only reaction he had to the anesthesia - but, I also get
    sick after anesthesia also.
    
    Alex's hearing had improved two-fold.  He could hear birds, rain
    falling on the roof, cat's meowing, he was a different kid.
    
    Only drawback - he had 3 more ear infections after the tubes, and
    we found out he was and still is highly allergic to all milk products!
    Wish we would have gone for allergy tests prior to an operation!
    
    I'm still glad we had it done, but it sure put more grey hairs on
    the mom and dad that day!!!

    I had about the same experience as .4 - the tubes were a god-send and
    my daughter has practically not been sick - certainly not on
    antibiotics - since...
    
    I would also strongly recommend exploring the chiropractor - even an
    osteopath (spelling) - I saw one recently for myself and we also
    discussed my daughter's health (won't go into detail why) - she says
    she has had superb results - she's an
    osteopath/physiotherapist/acupuncture "all-in-1"..! - in curing
    reoccurring ear infections
    
    If I had known her at the right time, I certainly would have tried 
    before choosing surgery.  It just seems alot more gentle - and 
    certainly easier to cope with - here in Geneva they do not have 
    ear-plugs for kids (she was 2) so I - and she - had to cope the 
    "hard way".
    
    Good luck - Diana

    Malinda,
    
    My daughter (8 months) just had the tubes put in her ears 3 weeks ago. 
    So I can sympathize with your feelings about the anesthesia.  I was a
    nervous wreck.  But like everyone else in this note says, I worried for
    nothing.
    
    I took Alyssa to the hospital at 8:00 and we were home by 11:00.  Our
    Anesthisiologist (sp?) was great with her.  He brought her a balloon
    and read her a book to make her comfortable with the situation.
    
    The result with this procedure is very positive.  She can hear 100%
    better and is learning things alot quicker than before.
    
    Good luck and don't worry your baby will be fine.
    
    Bethany
    

    Thanks everyone for your responses and thank you Penny for the phone
    call.  We have our first appointment tomorrow so have drawn up quite a 
    questionnaire for the ENT.   
    
    Will let you know how I survive the ordeal. 
    
    Thanks, 
    Malinda

    Well, it's over.  Yesterday Shayne had the tubes put in his ears and
    today I am happy (?) to say I am back at work.  We met with a wonderful 
    ENT.  I had a full page of questions for him and at our first meeting
    he went thru everything and even made the appointment for the second 
    opinion before I even had a chance to ask one thing.  
    
    We went in at 7:00am, the surgery was at 8:00am and we were home at
    10:00am.  This is the first time that we have had anything happen with 
    Shayne that went this well so needless to say a ton of bricks has left 
    my shoulders.  
    
    Thanks again to all for your advice, encouragement and support.
    
    Malinda

        Does anyone have any experience to share regarding ear tubes
        for an older child?

        About a half-year ago our son, 11 years old and in the fifth
        grade at that time, had a hearing test at school which
        uncovered significant hearing loss.  We went to an ENT
        specialist who diagnosed the problem as fluid retention in
        the middle ear -- a classic problem treated by ear tubes.

        We decided to wait until after the summer and see if the
        problem cleared up;  we even tried a course of antibiotics.
        The fluid did not go away and a recent hearing test confirms
        that a significant hearing loss remains.

        So John is scheduled to have the tubes inserted on Friday
        morning (9/7) by Dr. Bogdasarian at Nashoba Hospital.

        We are a bit concerned both about the anesthesia and about
        what problems the care of his ears might pose in the
        long-term.  He is an active guy who especially likes
        swimming, which we do year round.  Do ear plugs work well
        enough, or will we have problems if he swims often even with
        plugs?

        Thanks,
        Bob

    I know this was discussed in the old file, but I haven't seen it in
    this one.  Sooo...
    
    Michael (age 13 months) has been plagued with an ear infection just
    about once a month.  Pat took him in Friday for a re-check after his
    last round of Ceclor (sp?) and the pedi said he had fluid in his ears. 
    They ran a simple test to determine how much, and the result showed
    quite a bit.
    
    The pedi said she wanted to put him on a "pre-tube" program, which
    involves one half-dose of Bactrim per day for six weeks.  At that time
    he'll be checked for fluid again, and if it's still there we'll do the
    Bactrim for a second six-week period.  If at the end of the second
    period the fluid is still there, they want to put tubes in his ears.
    
    Now, we aren't thrilled about putting our son under the knife, even if
    it *is* a simple, common procedure ... General anesthetic is, in our
    opinion, always to be taken seriously.  (We're assuming, of course, that
    general anesthetic is involved, since we know absolutely nothing about
    the procedure.)
    
    Can you folks enlighten us on tubes in the ears?  What criteria did
    your pedis use to determine if it was needed?  What sorts of questions
    did you ask when you were told it was recommended?  What is the actual
    procedure like?  What is the recovery time, discomfort, etc.?  Was the
    procedure successful in ending the ear infections?  Did your child have
    any complications or problems later?
    
    Any information would make us feel better about this.  Thanks in
    advance.
    
    Steve

    
    
    RE: .14
    
    My neice just had the procedure done.  It takes about 10 minutes and is
    done as an outpatient procedure.  My sister stayed with the child until
    she was under and then took her back after completion.  They were at
    the hospital a total of 3 hours.  One hour before the procedure and
    about two after.  Total recovery (child back to "normal") took about a
    day and a half.  What a difference!!!  She had been fighting with
    infecctions for almost 3 months.  What a relief.
    
    I don't know about the procedures used here, but rather than the
    traditional "tube", a small disk was used to allow drainage.  My sister
    was shown the implant (see poor diagram below).  The disk is sewn into
    the tympanum (ear drum) to allow drainage.  Since the slit is so small,
    there is no hearing loss.
    
    Dan
    
    
    			/----\
    		       /      \
    		      |  ====  |
    		       \      /
    			\____/
    

    I can't comment on the tubes because we didn't get that far, but I will
    say this about the prophylactic route - it does indeed work in many
    cases. Especially since the 6 weeks will probably get you close to the
    end of winter, and close to the end of viral infections.  Maybe get you
    closer to the end of teething, which seems to stimulate ear infections
    for many kids.
    
    We went the prophylatic route twice, so as to avoid tubes, and I was
    glad we did - Ryan had no recurrence after that.  The rule of thumb
    that our ENT used was if he had an ear infection within 6 weeks of
    coming off the low-daily-dose, we'd do tubes. If he went past that time
    and then got an infection, we'd treat it, try the low-dose again, and
    then see.  It really did work.
    
    best of luck,
    

    We never got to tubes but did the bactrim for months ...
    
    Jason had been getting ear infections at the rate of about 1+ per month,
    and they never COMPLETELY cleared up.  We switched from Amoxycillan
    (sp?) to Bactrim to another antibiotic (can't remember the name now,
    but was about $60.00 for a 10-day dose).  He had *NO* luck with amoxy.,
    and limited success with the bactrim and complete success with the
    other - but he HATED the 3rd stuff, so sometimes that success was
    limited because we couldn't get the proper dose into him.
    
    Anyway, after struggling through quite a few ear infections, and
    several repeated questions of "Do you think he needs tubes?" I finally
    got an answer.  For his pedi, they'll ONLY do tubes if they can NOT
    clear an ear infection and/or if they get infections more often than
    every 3 weeks.  We were right on the border, so they put him on
    bactrim, 1 dose/day ... until the Spring!  It worked - he never had
    another infection, and once spring came around, the infections
    completely disappeared.  This winter he's only had 1 ear infection. 
    I'm glad we decided to go the medicine route.
    
    As far as the procedure goes, *EVERYONE* that I know that had tubes put
    in their kids' ears swears by it.  The procedure is SIMPLE (Doesn't
    even require an IV!), and quick.  They usually let the tubes fall out
    by themselves, as the child grows.  A friend of mine had to have tubes
    put back in his daughter's ears when she was 6 because she had outgrown
    the ones that she had as a baby - AND she has a defect in her inner
    ear, so she'll probably need them forever.  Other than that, for most
    kids, when they fall out, they just don't need them anymore.  Another
    friend of mine had tubes put in his daughter's ears because of repeated
    ear infections that had impacted her hearing at a young age, which
    impacted her speech tremendously.  She was 4 and only her mom and
    sometimes her dad could understand what she was trying to say.  She was
    evealuated as having speech abilites of ~ a 2 year old.  3 months after
    the tubes were in, she was just about at the 4-year-old level.  
    
    For the kids who have it done, the 'risk' sure seems to be *WELL* worth
    it!
    
    Good Luck!


P.S. *NOW* I remember .... the 3rd stuff is called Augmentin
    

    AJ has had his tubes since November '89, we saw the ENT yesterday and
    they are still in place.  Although he mentioned they were showing signs
    they should fall out in the next 3 to 4 months.  I questioned that if
    they've been in so long, why not take them out.  He said he'd prefer
    not to simply because it would require general anesthesia.
    
    The day he had his tubes put in it was best described as an "assembly
    line" proceedure.  The doctor had the tube insertions scheduled for
    every half hour from 8 to whenever.  AJ was premedicated in the
    playroom and was away from us less than a half hour.  He returned to
    daycare the following day.  We were really hesitant to do it that week
    since it was done the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.  He had no ill
    effects, in fact I went to work that afternoon and he was playing,
    quietly of course, that afternoon with his dad.
    
    We too went the route of preventative anitbiotics for about a year, we
    just felt that having had so many major surgeries in his first 1.5
    years, lets not rush into this one.  We made a decision when he had one
    whopper of an ear infection, he screamed for an entire night, and the
    hearing test showed a loss of hearing due to fluid.
    
    He still gets an occational "pink or red ear" but never a real raging
    infection.  His hearing is continually tested at each recheck, and has
    remained at normal since the tubes.
    
    My nephew is just 4, and is about to have his 4th set put in, his first
    set went in at 8 months, his story is not as good though.  He keeps
    getting raging ear infections despite the tubes and antibiotics.
    So it could run either way.
    
    Lyn

    Does this sound normal ?  My daughter, Courtney, just started getting
    ear infections (age 2.4).  First one came in January (after a cold).
    That cleared up fully.  She got another one in February (after another
    cold).  That cleared up fully too.  Along comes March, with yet another
    ear infection, but this time no cold!  She's not teething either -
    she's had her two year molars since well before 2.
    
    Call me naive, but I thought the extra fluids running around during a
    cold is what caused the ear infections.  This was certainly a surprise
    to me!
    
    Susan

    >Call me naive, but I thought the extra fluids running around
    >during a cold is what caused the ear infections. 
    
    The extra fluid built up in the ears provides an environment in
    which it is very easy for bacteria to grow, causing an infection. 
    Drying up the fluid takes away the bacteria's environment, but it
    doesn't guarantee there won't be an infection.
    
    Also, lots of things besides a cold can cause fluid to build up in
    the ears -- other viruses, allergies, pressure changes such as
    those caused by scuba diving or flying, occasionally structural
    defects of the ear, etc.  Kat used to get ear infections sometimes
    as a secondary infection from infected tonsils.
    
    So it depends.
    
    --bonnie

    Another cause of the fluid is from baths/swimming.  I never had ear
    infections as a little kid, but when I was about 10-12, I was having
    them all the time - apparantly, as part of growing, my ears changed
    somehow, so when I took a bath and laid down with my ears in the water,
    I never could get all the water OUT.  Of course one thing leads to
    another.  Once we figured out how to get me to be able to 'empty' my
    ears, things cleared up pretty quick.
    
    GOOD LUCK!!

    Geez, I wouldn't mind, but I can't think of any reason how she got
    this!  The only thing she had was a slight stomach bug (the runs)
    on Friday.  But that was over in a day.  Could that have any
    connection?
    
    Susan

    Yeah, a stomach bug is a virus and it could cause fluid buildup.
    
    A possible path is:
    
    Tonsils filter the virus
    Tonsils swell (without necessarily getting infected) and block the
    	Eustachian tubes 
    Fluid builds up in ears
    Infection.
    
    --bonnie

    Thanks Bonnie -- at least there's *some* explanation !
    
    Susan
    

    Hi Patty.  My husband and I are facing the tube situation now with our
    9 month old so I read your reply with interest.  We too have had no
    success with Amoxy.  We also used Augmentin but this too is not
    working.  I am a bit fearful of the tubes so was interested that a
    medication worked for you.  However, from your memo it sounded like
    Bactrim did not work but Augmentin did then at the end it sounded like
    Bactrim did work.  I have not tried Bactrim so am curious.
    
    Thanks also for the info on friends who have had tubes.  I have a day
    care provider who had bad experiences and a neighbor of hers whose
    child is partially deaf so she is trying to convince us to wait. 
    However our son has had ear infections since early February with no
    relief.  He is a good little kid though and does not fuss much so it is
    hard to tell how he feel.
    
    Thanks for any info
    

    Hi Malinda.  I jsut read your tube ordeal with great interest.  My 9
    month old son, John, has had numerous infections and imobile ear drum
    movement since February which has caused my Pedi to suggest tubes.  he
    is afraid that hearing loss is occurring and that his speech will not
    develop properly.  I am concerned that he is so young and I am not
    ready to have holes put in my son's ears..  So I was wondering if
    things are still going ok for you and Shayne and if the tubes are
    causing any problems or not.  Would appreciate any info you can provide
    to ease my mind
    
    Thanks
    
    Michelle
    

Our daughter (now 21 months, I think!) couldn't make it past 4-6 weeks without
ANOTHER ear infection.  Everything triggered them!  (eg weather, teething,
possible allergies ...).  I was at wit's end!

The first six months were tough ... until I finally got so good at noticing
the "early" signs, that we were able to catch nearly all the infections at
the ONSET, and get her onto antibotics NOW -- before it "took off". After 
"almost" a year of continual Pedi appointments, our Pedi trusted us with
"maintenance" antibotics (Bactrim) -- when we first pick up on an oncoming
ear infection, we start her on the Bactrim (for 3-6 days) and BINGO! gone!
(We also got good at knowing when and when not to give her Triaminic "with"
the Bactrim.)

When she started daycare, our Pedi noted "chronic, persistent ear infections" 
on her medical form ... so hopefully her daycare would also watch for any
warning signs.

I'm not sure if the "maintenance" antibotics is what's working ... or Juli's
outgrowing it (maybe her tubes are opening up or getting longer or whatever!),
but she's been several months (knock on wood!) without a "diagnosed" ear
infection! (Pedi's office)

As for Bactrim ... our Pedi said it's "gentler on the stomach".  Just seemed
to work quicker and better than Amoxcillin (for Juli!).

Our Pedi is DEAD-SET against tubes ... he says "most" kids outgrow ear
infections by 2-years-of-age  (well, Juli's coming up on "2", so maybe he's
right!).  We were so frustrated the first 6 months that I "WANTED" tubes
NOW ... I'm glad we were able to work this through "with our Pedi" without
the need for tubes!

Hang in there ... another one of those things that "usually" gets better
with time.

Dottie

PS:  My Pedi also told us about all the "problems" tubes can create,
     rather than the few problems they're meant to solve.

    For us Ceclor is the drug of choice used by our pedi, due to AJ's
    allergic reaction to two of the "cillin" drugs.  Just FYI we can't use
    Augmentin either, he reacted to this at only a few weeks old, and we
    were told recently that it too has some "cillin" drug as part of its
    ingredients.  So I'd say if the cillin's arn't working for you, then
    its likely the Augmentin won't work either.
    
    We've had huge suggess with Ceclor for both ears and strep throat, 
    yes it's quite expensive, but our prescription plan takes care of that 
    thankfully.  We reserve the Bactrim for Urinary infections.
    
    Our pedi has been wonderfully sensitive to our lifestyles and has set
    up his dosage to be one-and-a-half doses TWICE a day, instead of a
    single dose Three times a day.  This prevents the hassle of bringing
    meds to daycare and more times than not forgetting to bring them home
    at the end of the day, plus I just feel like I'm asking too much of a
    sitter to remember to give him meds, when she's got so many other
    children and things to do.
    
    Lyn

    Bactrim is designed for the long-term use of the kind Dottie
    described.  I know a couple of kids who took small maintenance
    doses of it for as long as a year to clear up recurring ear
    infections.
    
    I'm not sure whether I think a mechanical surgical procedure is
    worse than a year of drugs or not . . . 
    
    --bonnie

Don't remember if I or anyone else mentioned it, but there's a fairly new
drug on the market called Suprax.  I like it for Kathryne's ear infections
because you only give it once a day!  She's been through about 5 this winter
and we may be looking at a third set of tubes.  Going to the ENT later this
month.

    Michelle, 
    		Just got back from vacation, that's why I hadn't responded
    before now.  
    		We have been going to the ENT every 3 months since Shayne
    had his tubes put in, they also do hearing tests on him at the visits. 
    The last visit was about 3 weeks ago and the ENT said that one of the
    tubes is about to fall out, but the other was still in place.  The tube
    that is falling out will NOT be a problem and he will check it out
    again in August.  
    		On August 1st it will be one year since his surgery and I
    am happy to say that since those tubes were put in we have not had one
    ear infection and Shayne's disposition, which was always great,
    improved even more.  
    		I have talked to the ENT about having the current tubes
    replaced by new ones when these fall out.  He said that we will see how
    Shayne does, but that sometimes kids will need more than one set. 
    		If he suggests that Shayne have another set, I will not
    even hesitate.  Now that I know what to expect, the fear is nil. 
    		One thing I would suggest is that if you are going to have
    tubes, go to an ENT and make sure that they have done the procedure
    many times. 
    		If you have any other questions I'd be more than happy to 
    talk to you about them.  You can contact me at DTN 523-2142 or just
    send mail. 
    
    Good Luck, 
    Malinda

    Hi,
    
    FYI.  My daughter is 4 years old now and has ear infections off an on
    since she was about a year old.  We did the old standby of antibiotics
    and antihistamine to try and dry up the fluid build up in her ear. She
    just went for her 4 year old check up recently and the doctor was
    concerned about her articulation of words.  Since he was concerned, he
    had her come back for a speech and hearing evaluation.  All he did for
    the speech evaluation, was he opened a book of pictures and had her
    tell him a story about the pictures.  She talked away, but he was only
    able to pick up a few words here and there.  He mentioned that at her
    age, strangers should be able to understand at least 90% of what she is
    saying, and this is not the case.  I even have a hard time
    understanding what she says.  He has had me contact the School district
    to have an intensive speech/hearing evaluation.  They had tried to do a 
    hearing evaluation, but she just wasn't co-operating. When the doctor
    checked her ears at this appointment he mentioned that there was (once
    again) fluid in her ears.  He seems to think that since she is having
    trouble articulating the words, that the fluid in her ears had probably
    a major contribution to her articulation problems.  He also said that
    if the hearing exam did show a problem and she still had fluid in her
    ears that the next step would be tubes.  I wish that they had
    considered tubes before now, because maybe she wouldn't have such an
    articulation problem.  Her vocabulary is very large, so the problem is
    not to such an extent that she hasn't been able to learn, but since she
    was not hearing some words properly she is unable to speak the words
    properly.  Another thing that doesn't help at this point is she knows
    that we can't understand her sometimes and she gets very frustrated and
    angry, much less how frustrated I get when she will repeat things many
    times and I can't understand her.  So, in my opinion, if your doctor
    thinks your child needs tubes now, have them put in, because the fluid
    in the ears definitely does affect there learning and speaking ability.
    
    Just my opinion.
    Sarah

    One thing that may help the ease of frustration that's worked well for
    us .... Jason doesn't articulate particularly well.  I can understand
    most of what he's saying, Dad and others some and sometimes all of what
    he's saying, but it's real tough sometime.  After about the 3rd
    repetition of whatever he's trying to say, I'll ask him "What does it
    do?" or "What do you do with it?" or something that might let me have a
    CLUE what he's talking about.  This almost ALWAYS gets us through that.
    Just this morning, driving to the babysitter's, I had Dad's car, and
    Jason wanted to know where the mote tecor was.  Couldn't get it out of
    him what he meant, I asked him what it looked like and he said it was
    REALLY big and it was in the car yesterday.  Still couldn't get it. 
    Finally I asked him what it DID and he said it was for the police.
    The RADAR DETECTOR!!  The really Big really threw me!!  Next possible
    question might've been "Where was it?".
    
    Probably what we should be doing is having his speech checked, but the
    Dr doesn't seem concerned because, for the amount of time he's been
    talking (~6 mos), he talks within the norms.  One thing is definite
    though - it's making him THINK more about things, and allows him to
    describe the same thing in several different ways, with many purposes
    in a variety of locations.  All this AND relieves the frustration too!
    
    Hope this might help some!
    Patty

    Last Friday we had the tubes put in and we were surprised also at how
    quick the procedure was and how quick John bounced back.  He was fussy
    later that night but now he seems more aware of things around him and
    is back to his happy ole self.  Other than the pain of keeping water
    out of his ears (the doctor does not recommend tube plugs and told us
    to use cotton with vaseline or silly putty (?)) we seem fine.
    
    Hope it stays that way
    
    Michelle
    Another happy customer
    u

    >Other than the pain of keeping water
    >out of his ears (the doctor does not recommend tube plugs and told us
    >to use cotton with vaseline or silly putty (?)) we seem fine.
                                    ^^^^^ ^^^^^   
    
    	Let me tell you about Silly Putty.  The first summer my daughter
    had her tubes in, I was going crazy trying to keep wax ear plugs in.
    We would take a snorkel and mask down to the pool so we could find the
    plugs each time they fell out in the water...major hassle!
    
    	When someone suggested using Silly Putty, I thought, "wow what a 
    concept!"  It was a hot 4th of July and all of the neighbors were enjoying
    our annual block party.  Amber was splashing around in her wading pool. 
    I decided to check on her Putty plugs, they were gone.  A thorough
    search turned up nothing.  I looked again and *thought* I saw them but
    just couldn't be sure.  I went over to our next door neighbor, the
    doctor, and asked him if would mind taking a look with his scope. Sure
    enough, there they were, waaaay down the ear canal as far as it could
    go.  All of a sudden I remembered one of the biggest fears of my
    childhood...the fear that my Silly Putty would 'crawl' away if I didn't
    store it in it's 'special' egg (that's what the package and mom used to
    tell me).  With the heat of summer and Silly Putty's natural tendency
    to crawl, it only seemed logical that is what would happen inside an
    ear.  
    
    	Dave, our doctor/neighbor/ spent the next half hour pulling out
    Silly Putty with a wire loop and scope.  I tell you it sure comes in
    handy having doc next door. :^)
    
    Jodi-
     

    	With Shayne we use a product called MACK'S WAX.  It works great and
    he hasn't had any problems.  It costs 1.49 at our local drug store and
    we get lots of uses out of each box.  

    Re:  the "silly putty", did your doctor expect you to take him
    literally?  The basis of my question is we have used a product sold at
    the drugstore that *looks like* silly putty, designed to block noise in
    adults, for sleeping or industrial work I presume, It's in a small
    plastic case and for adults it one strip per ear, for the kiddos one
    strip would do at least twice if not more.
    
    For my area it's in Brooks Drug near the Murine ear wash and other ear
    products.  It won't crawl away, and stays in quite well.
    
    Sorry to be so slow, I've been off the system for several weeks.
    
    Lyn

    re:  .37
    
    Yes he did.  After Jody's comments though I forgot about it and we've
    been fumbling through dotton with vaseline.  As a result the kid gets
    baths much less than before.  I have kept my eye out for Mack's Wax but
    maybe it is not so common on the West Coast.  I will keep my eyes open
    for the putty you mention and see if it looks like it will do.  
    
    Thanks
    
    Michelle

    
    re .38  >baths much less than before.
    
    The ENT who treated our son said not to worry about earplugging unless
    he put his head under the water.  We never did use any earplugs - had
    him use his fingers when we washed and rinsed his hair. 
    
    Rochelle

    Michelle,
    
    The Mack's Wax is what we would have to dive to the bottom of the
    pool for everytime we used them. Once they became wet, they got
    a little slippery and just fell out.  You can find Mack's at most
    drug stores in the southern Cal area. I bought ours at Thrifty.
    I have never seen the Silly Putty "look-a-like".
    
    
    After complaining to the ENT about having to drag along a snorkel
    and mask everytime we went to the pool, the doctor laughed and
    told me to forget the plugs.  He wrote a prescription for some
    antibiotic eyedrops (yes, eye drops) and told me to just remember 
    put them in Amber's ears every other day or so.
    
    Jodi-
    

    re:  .39 and .40
    
    Thanks for the advice.  
    
    Jodi, sounds like you had some time with plugging - first the putty
    melt then wax escape.  Maybe we are too cautious - but just tired of
    constant antibiotics.  Will ask about the drops.
    
    Michelle
      

    Hm. Each time Lauren got tubes (first time at about 1 yr old, then
    again at 2-1/2, I think.. it's been a while now) the ENT has special
    plugs molded for her ears.. they look like silly putty, but they aren't
    anywhere near as pliable.. they are molded to sort of hook inside the
    curves of the earlobe and don't seem to want to fall out very easily
    (I'd suspect for active swimming you'd want to put a bathing cap over
    them, though..)
    
    ...tom

    re -1, we explored the molded plugs too, but discovered that insurance
    won't cover it, and they cost roughly $50 per set, and have to be
    remade about once a month, because the kiddos ears do grow like the
    rest of them, plus if one falls out and gets lost or destroyed you're
    back at the ENT doing another set of molds.  That's why we went the
    route of the putty stuff I mentioned in .37.
    
    As for the anitbiotic, Cortisporin (pretty close spelling I think) is
    the antibiotic the specialist prescribed.  We used it for several days
    after the tubes went in, and have used it a few times, in fact we're
    using it right now, in addition to antibiotics  he's taking for an ear
    infection.  I also put it in his ears the days he goes to camp with
    daycare, to prevent any of those nasty germs from living in his ears,
    should the putty plugs leak.
    
    Lyn

      I purchased the ear molds for my son mainly for when swimming.  His
    doctor mentioned that normal bath washings will not bother him as long
    as I didn't hold his head sideways and pour it in (obviously!).
      George got the molds when close to 2 and they worked for the entire
    summer.  Getting them in was not always the easiest thing to do, but
    most times it only took a second and they never fell out.
    
    Nancee