My 2 1/2 year old was an IUGR preemie and therefore has had regular hearing tests from 9 months on. He's failed every single one of them, and had fluid in his ears for each of them. After much research, I discovered that milk protein intolerance might be the cause, so we took him off all dairy and had the fluid monitored by our doctor. After about 3 weeks, he was cleared up and we've kept him dairy free since. This was early fall.
In Dec. he went for his hearing test again, and I was convinced he would pass for the first time. But within the first 2 minutes, it was obvious that he was failing the lower volumes and registers. She tested his ears afterwards and they were full of fluid again, and she was now getting very concerned about it. My doctor has been keeping an eye on it while we waited for our ear specialist appt. and the fluid occasionally clears up in the right ear, but is constant in the left.
So today, we finally saw the ear guy, and, as I suspected, his only plan of attack is tubes. He also made it clear that he was getting us an "urgent" surgery date (3 weeks from now). He was patient enough to listen to my hesitations and reasoning, (although I could tell he was rolling his eyes a bit in his mind
). So basically, I let them book the surgery, after making sure I'm free to cancel in the next week or two, after weighing the decision carefully. I told him that I might want to wait till cold season is over and give the fluid a chance to clear up.
So, here's the factors I need to consider, and I could really use some help from the natural-minded (and often more informed than myself) community, to help me make the best decision as quickly as I need to.
Reasons against tubes:
1. It's surgery, that may not be necessary
2. He's never had an ear infection
3. The fluid may only be cold related (at this point, now that dairy's out of the picture)
4. He seems to hear fine and speech is developing normally
Reasons for tubes:
1. It might be hindering his speech development. (The ear doc said he's overcompensating to keep up, and could be doing so much better if he didn't have to try so hard to hear.)
2. There may be a chance that it truly is a case of his tubes being too small/poorly situated, because of his conditions in utero. (Basically, the cord wasn't flowing properly and he was literally starving to death until we discovered it and took him out. This can affect physical development in many ways.)
3. If it IS a long-term problem, and it doesn't go away after cold season, it can take months to get back through the whole line of appointments to get us to the surgery. Which is months more of missed opportunities for speech development at at crucial age.
Alternatives I'm trying/considering/have heard about to clear the fluid:
1. Chiro - I've got an appointment for him
2. EarDoc - http://www.eardoc.info/buy-now/ Anyone know much about this?
2. My aunt said Nasonex spray cleared her daughters problematic tubes. I've heard the same about antihistamines working for others, but I'm hesitant to put him on meds. He's still so tiny (20 lbs). And would he need to stay on them to stay clear? Or could they be used just as needed?
Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!!!! Thanks
In Dec. he went for his hearing test again, and I was convinced he would pass for the first time. But within the first 2 minutes, it was obvious that he was failing the lower volumes and registers. She tested his ears afterwards and they were full of fluid again, and she was now getting very concerned about it. My doctor has been keeping an eye on it while we waited for our ear specialist appt. and the fluid occasionally clears up in the right ear, but is constant in the left.
So today, we finally saw the ear guy, and, as I suspected, his only plan of attack is tubes. He also made it clear that he was getting us an "urgent" surgery date (3 weeks from now). He was patient enough to listen to my hesitations and reasoning, (although I could tell he was rolling his eyes a bit in his mind
). So basically, I let them book the surgery, after making sure I'm free to cancel in the next week or two, after weighing the decision carefully. I told him that I might want to wait till cold season is over and give the fluid a chance to clear up.So, here's the factors I need to consider, and I could really use some help from the natural-minded (and often more informed than myself) community, to help me make the best decision as quickly as I need to.
Reasons against tubes:
1. It's surgery, that may not be necessary
2. He's never had an ear infection
3. The fluid may only be cold related (at this point, now that dairy's out of the picture)
4. He seems to hear fine and speech is developing normally
Reasons for tubes:
1. It might be hindering his speech development. (The ear doc said he's overcompensating to keep up, and could be doing so much better if he didn't have to try so hard to hear.)
2. There may be a chance that it truly is a case of his tubes being too small/poorly situated, because of his conditions in utero. (Basically, the cord wasn't flowing properly and he was literally starving to death until we discovered it and took him out. This can affect physical development in many ways.)
3. If it IS a long-term problem, and it doesn't go away after cold season, it can take months to get back through the whole line of appointments to get us to the surgery. Which is months more of missed opportunities for speech development at at crucial age.
Alternatives I'm trying/considering/have heard about to clear the fluid:
1. Chiro - I've got an appointment for him
2. EarDoc - http://www.eardoc.info/buy-now/ Anyone know much about this?
2. My aunt said Nasonex spray cleared her daughters problematic tubes. I've heard the same about antihistamines working for others, but I'm hesitant to put him on meds. He's still so tiny (20 lbs). And would he need to stay on them to stay clear? Or could they be used just as needed?
Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!!!! Thanks
