[kathywiehl]

Here is what I know so far-

Ben is 14 months and ahead in cognitive development but behind in a few other areas- mainly gross motor and other things related to speech/hearing. Overall, not a big deal, unless of course we can't get his hearing problem under control

He had a hearing test last week and didn't do so well. See my thread here-http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=1071714

So now I just need to wait til Monday when the EI people call me back to set up another meeting. The first meeting will be goal planning and we'll talk about what to do next.

I'm assuming therapy will start the following week.

Now, I need some help sorting this hearing stuff out in my head and deciding what to do. I wish I understood how the hearing test works and what my options are but I find myself at the mercy of what the doctors are telling me and for me that is hard.

Last week he "failed" the hearing test because of fluid behind his right ear. He's never had an ear infection, so I assumed this is not a chronic problem.

However, now I just don't know what to do. Here are the options I have in my head.

1- redo the test to see if the fluid is gone, without doing anything to make the fluid go away. This would tell me whether the fluid is a persistent problem or a one time thing.

2. Give him decongestant and clear the fluid to see if he can pass the test, but then I wouldn't know if it's going to come back and then impair his hearing as soon as the decongestant wears off.

If I give him medicine (allergy meds, decongestant, etc) and he passes the hearing test, then what? Keep him on meds permanently? I don't want to do that either.

Also, what kind of a test should I ask for? What do I need to know before going in? The first time, I was so sure he'd pass the test that I didn't bother reading anything and honestly I just don't understand what I'm reading now anyway.

I hate being so uneducated about this. I mean, if this were an OB I'd know exactly how to talk to him, what the tests mean, and I know I could get awesome advice from my midwife if a procedure or intervention was recommended. With this, I just don't know which way is up, kwim? I need midwife ENT...why don't we have midwives for every area of our bodies? LOL!

 

[lil_stinkyfeet]

Well it can take up to 3mos for fluid to clear out of the ear on it's own, if it is going to clear on it's own.
Did you end up giving him the antibiotics?

You shouldn't need to re-do the test to see if the fluid is gone. An ENT will be able to tell you if the fluid is gone and THEN confirm that with a follow up hearing test.

Are you consulting with an ENT or just a regular doctor? Sorry If you already mentioned that..

If I were you I would maybe go ahead and try the decongestant and/ or the Chiro for a while BUT if you are uncomfortable with that you can just do nothing and then follow up with the ENT to see if the fluid is gone. There is a chance that it will go away on it's own.

If the fluid is gone then you could just follow up here and there to make sure that it isn't coming back and doesn't keep presenting a problem. If it is then they will probably want to discuss tubes.

 

[BethSLP]

have you considered taking him off of dairy? My DD had rampant ear infections and congestion. I was skeptical, but someone suggested taking her off dairy. I did, and it completely cleared up. No more middle ear infections, no more snoring, no more colds and gunky noses, etc.

Just a thought...

XOXO
B

 

[BethSLP]

also, I've heard that decongestants just dry things up, but leave any infection etc. up there. not such a good thing.

one doc recommended mucinex to get things draining (rather than decongestant). not sure if that recommendation would still stand under the new rules on kids and meds....

XOXO
B

 

[2boyzmama]

Here is a link that explains the different types of hearing tests. It sounds like you had a tympanometry, which doesn't test hearing at all, it only tests middle ear function.

As for getting rid of the fluid, sometimes just getting rid of it once is enough. If it comes back, then you might need to look into what's causing it. He might have environmental or food allergies that you can control by minimizing exposure to. Usually a visit to the ped every 3 months or so just to check if the fluid has returned is good enough. If it's back, a quick round of sudafed or something will usually help. Chiro is excellent, and if it's a structural problem, they can usually keep it at bay until he grows some and his eustacian tubes are less flat.

I gotta run, but I'll be back later

 

[lil_stinkyfeet]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BethSLP have you considered taking him off of dairy? My DD had rampant ear infections and congestion. I was skeptical, but someone suggested taking her off dairy. I did, and it completely cleared up. No more middle ear infections, no more snoring, no more colds and gunky noses, etc. Just a thought... XOXO B

I have heard that as well!

 

[kathywiehl]

Thanks to all of your for your advice. I really don't know what I'm doing here so this is all very helpful.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2boyzmama Here is a link that explains the different types of hearing tests. It sounds like you had a tympanometry, which doesn't test hearing at all, it only tests middle ear function. As for getting rid of the fluid, sometimes just getting rid of it once is enough. If it comes back, then you might need to look into what's causing it. He might have environmental or food allergies that you can control by minimizing exposure to. Usually a visit to the ped every 3 months or so just to check if the fluid has returned is good enough. If it's back, a quick round of sudafed or something will usually help. Chiro is excellent, and if it's a structural problem, they can usually keep it at bay until he grows some and his eustacian tubes are less flat. I gotta run, but I'll be back later

Now I understand a little better. I gave him decongestant last night and again this morning and he has another test this afternoon with a different ENT. I'm hoping there is no fluid, but I guess either way we'll be rechecking in a month or two to make sure all is well.

 

[sbgrace]

I'd tend to do cranial sacral and/or chiropractic. If you can find someone to teach you massage to drain the ears that would be preferable to medicating. I'm not in favor of giving something (that really isn't supposed to be given to kids anymore actually) that you won't know if you need to continue with if it does work. That made no sense. I guess I'm saying I would do the stuff I'm willing to keep doing if the outcome is good. I assume if his fluid clears you're not going to want to use the decongestants indefinitely. Oh, and I think he needs an actual hearing test--maybe the next ENT will suggest that?

 

[2boyzmama]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sbgrace I'd tend to do cranial sacral and/or chiropractic. If you can find someone to teach you massage to drain the ears that would be preferable to medicating. I'm not in favor of giving something (that really isn't supposed to be given to kids anymore actually) that you won't know if you need to continue with if it does work. That made no sense. I guess I'm saying I would do the stuff I'm willing to keep doing if the outcome is good. I assume if his fluid clears you're not going to want to use the decongestants indefinitely. Oh, and I think he needs an actual hearing test--maybe the next ENT will suggest that?

I agree, about preferring the chiro over the meds AND about needing a true hearing test. Although you might want to wait until the fluid is gone before you do the hearing test, otherwise it may not be accurate.

The thing about the fluid, is if it's already effecting him developmentally, you might want to do at least one round of allergy meds/decongestants in conjunction with the chiro to get it to be gone that much faster. But it's a preference thing really...

What did you decide about the abx? Did they ever explain why they recommended it in the first place? That never made sense to me...

Try calling your area's early intervention services and ask if they have an infant/toddler hearing specialist you can just talk to. You're not asking for services, just asking to talk to someone who can explain all of this to you better.

 

[kathywiehl]

What do you mean by one round of meds? A week or so? Today we are going to a different ENT because I really didn't like the one we saw last week so if the fluid is still there I'll ask a few q's about abx, and a true hearing test.

The EI evaluators told me they do have an audiologist, so I might call them tomorrow morning to see if I can get in to see her. Maybe she'll do a different type of hearing test.

Last week, when we saw the fluid, I thought maybe the fluid in his ear was a one time thing, but the more I think about it I realize that if he's delayed in speech then it probably is a chronic problem.

The concerning thing was that last week the ear without fluid failed 3 of the frequencies. I wonder now if there is a problem other than fluid....or does no one have perfect hearing? Maybe it's normal to miss a few?

 

[2boyzmama]

Gosh, I don't remember how long we tried the decongestants...it was with my first son, he had several back to back ear infections, and had chronic fluid, and they started talking tubes and I said "what else can we try?" Decongestants were mentioned, so we tried it, and it helped. The fluid did come back, but it was with a cold, and we did decongestants again and it was gone again. The drs tried to pressure us into tubes, but we were moving to a different country and we decided to wait and see what happened there, thinking it was something environmental. Sure enough, there has never been infection or fluid since we moved back to America, so obviously he had some sort of allergy. We were in a country that didn't have the kind of chiropractic we have here, so we didn't have that option at the time.

With my second son, his ear canals weren't open, so by the time we got his other health issues under control and did a cat scan to look at his ears, the fluid/infection was SO rampant, we didn't have the time to do anything alternative like chiro or decongestants. He went straight into surgery.

I wouldn't think much about the test they did last week. Even after the surgeries my son has had on his ears, he still has never passed every frequency on that test. We think it's because his canals are so small now, so there's a lot of impedence. His hearing loss was variable and moderate, but after the surgeries it's only mild now. I'd get a formal hearing assessment done and go from there. Besides, dealing with hearing loss is very easy, and you have lots of options, lots of technology exists today that didn't used to!

 

[JessSC]

my son had fluid at one of his hearing tests, but it was gone by his second one 6 months later. We just went to the chiro as normal