[calngavinsmom]

Hi everyone, I am looking for anyone with experience/advice on fluid behid the eardrum.

A little history,
my ds is three and a half and about a month ago, he seemed like he was just not hearing me. I wondered if he was not listening or infact not hearing. I took him to our FP and he has fluid behind his eardrum, so yes he was not hearing. She prescribed antibiotics and they seemed to work, but then he got sick and ended up with an ear infection. A second course of antibiotics and the infection is gone but, the fluid is still there. Our FP is sending us to an ear nose and throat specialist to get it checked out. I asked what the next course of action usually is and she mentioned tubes!!!!!

I am not one who advocated surgery until all possible less invasive options have been tried and have failed. Not to mention the restrictiveness of having ear tubes. My son is a water rat and to think that he would have to be so careful when bathing/swimming/playing is breaking my heart. It just seems that a piece of him would be stolen IYKWIM???

Right now he is taking a decongestant(has been for two days) and seems to be better(Not sure if it is just wishful thinking on my part). This is the first time in his little life that he has had problems like this so that makes me even more cautios to do anything drastic like surgery. I'm thinking maybe this is just a one-time occurance?

I guess I am looking to hear from anyone who has been through something similar and has had success with alternatives to surgery. If anyone can help us it would be very much appreciated!

Thanks,
Tara

 

[hippiemom]

My mother actually had prolonged water behing the eardrum after a nasty cold one winter. It made her crazy, she couldn't hear for almost 2 months. She was worried they were going to drain it surgically. First line was to prescribe a decongestant to try and dry it up. SHe didsn't want to do this b/c she has high bp and pseudoephedrine does not make her feel well. But she gave in and tried it and it did work. I would try it on a healthy child, just to see if it offers relief and to see if once gone, the congestion stays gone. This is worth knowing before one resorts to tubes. If it doesn't, there may be some sort of allergy going on to investigate. For some it is a physiological issue where structurally the ears don't drain well until the child is older, and tubes can be a temp help there. For others it is irritation due to an outside culprit (for my eldest it was dairy, went right to her ears every time) and simply eliminating it makes all the difference. Good luck to you

 

[Mama Bee]

Try the book Healing Childhood Ear Infections. I bought the book after an unsuccessful round of tubes, not wanting to try them again. We've been antibiotic, tube-free for two years now. Tubes are, sometimes, the answer but I would exhaust all my other options before resorting to them. I feel like a broken record because I'm ALWAYS recommending the above book to people. It helped us so much and really changed the way I look at ear trouble. HTH & good luck!

 

[calngavinsmom]

Thanks for the replies. I think I will have our FP check him again after the decongestant has a few days to work..He seems better already...keeping fingers crossed.

Take care,
Tara