Dull Ear Drums/Speech Delay

[IrisGirl]

Hi Guys,
i've posted a few times about my dd speech (or lack thereof), she is 2.4.

anyway after having been told to wait and see forEVER, i have had enough and made an appointment at the GP's. GP was lovely and really listened to what i had to say. In the last 6 months she has had tonsillitis 4 times, twice this year so far which has resulted in her being hospitalised it got that bad. This is not what i want for my dd, the poor thing has been suffering so badly. i'm positive the tonsillitis has been having an affect on her speech, and when the doctor examined her, he said she has "dull ear drums" which could suggest a build up of fluid or just congested. we've been given a decongestant to give her for 3 weeks and then another appt to check her ears again.

In the meantime, i've spoken with her HV who is going to do a speech assessment on her and "take it from there" so have a feeling a speech therapist referral is on the cards, which i am absolutely fine with.

anyway, i'm in such a turmoil over her speech, sometimes i think " you know what she's ok, she can do this she's just choosing not to" and other times i worry myself to death thinking she's going to be left behind at school when she starts in January and she'll be a loner because she can't talk very well.

She is saying quite a few words (about 70 or 80...i counted) and can strong 2-3 words together and her understanding of what we are saying to her is unbelievable, she simply just doesn't seem to want to talk. Where is that line between her being a late bloomer with speech and there being a problem.

i'm doing everything i possibly can to help her with her speech, but try not to push her too far as i don't want her becoming stubborn if you know what i mean lol

sorry for the long guys....upset and slightly emotional and frustrated [embarrassed] xx

[NeoMaxiZoomDweebie]

Dull eardrums are literally dull..withoiut shine (they should shine) and dull eardrums can be a sign of glue ear.

What the GP is waiting to see is if the decongestant clears up fluid behind the drum...and if it does, then DD probably has not got glue ear.

Glue ear is a real hinderance to speech in toddlers but it can be fixed and once it IS fixed, speech should surge.

If you google Glue Ear you'll see more about it all. Don't get in an emotional mess...youve done the first and correct thing...to check her out at GPs and that's the start of sorting her out...the fact that she understands and can put sentences together is very sound sign that she's perfectly ok but for her ear bother. Go easy on yourself.

[IrisGirl]

thanks Neo means a lot

i'm trying so hard not to be a worry wart but i'm tying myself in knots thinking about it, is it something i've done wrong that she's not talking, does she have a problem lol

i see all the other 2 year olds at her playgroup, having conversations with each other and talking to their mums and although my dd does talk to the others and me in a way its not the same!

i shall wait and see (those goddam words again) what happens at her next drs appt in 2 weeks and take it from there. i've also spoken to the HV who was lovely and is going to do an assessment on her speech after Easter so at least the ball is rolling so to speak xx

[juliec26]

Hi - if it makes you feel better my ds 2.3 yrs says about 20 words and at the moment doesn't put 2 words together at all - As my daughter had glue ear (never affected her speech in the slightest) I went to the GP and asked to be referred to ENT which she did - They confirmed glue ear in both ears and want to put gromitts in, but i feel he can hear ok as he understands everything i say or ask him.. I saw a SALT in november and she was happy that he was coming along nicely, but I have now booked another appointment as I have seen no improvement in his speech really. DS is at nursery 2 days a week so is around lots of children that chat away and its really upsetting to see them all talking when he doesn't - he is happy and constantly babbles away, but I would love him to talk more - I have also signed up to a Talking Tots class to see if that helps - Nice to know I am not the only mum with this worry

[awwwwmannnn]

Hi Julie. it certainly makes you feel a lot better to know that other mums have the same worries and concerns as you. makes you feel less neuortic and paranoid.

what the GP said to me was that even with glue ear they can still hear you ok, but it can cause SOME hearing loss which means that certain tones or levels of speech are not heard clearly by them and therefore causing an issue with their speech. my DD perfectly understands what i'm saying and if i ask her to do something or fetch something she will quite happily doing it or fetch it.

DD starts school in January, and exactly like you i am worried to death about her being left out or her not joining in because she feels she can't. DD is with a childminder 4 days a week and there are two other little ones there who are around the same age and talking up a storm. i have asked CM how she is with them and she said she plays lovely with them all day long and joins in and in her own way speaks to them. i think children no matter what age will find a way to join in and have fun, with or without talking.

we have another appt with the doctor in 2 weeks to check if her ears have cleared, if not, then i will be asking for a referall to ENT to move things along.

i hope your DS continues to progress and the Talking Tots class does him the world of good.

would love to have updates as to how things progress....and i will do the same, always nice to know how similar problems turns out xxx

[awwwwmannnn]

p.s changed NN to awww mannn as that's now my DD favourite words

x

[juliec26]

From what I have been told glue ear comes and goes so after a cold or teething episode it can last a few months - ENT consultant said to see how ds is the summer months and perhaps give him piriton when he is snotty and also to try and teach him to blow his noes - DS has a dummy so i am desperately trying to get him off it as I know that is not helping matters. Seeing SALT on tuesday so will let you know what they say -been trying to encourage to ds to say hello mummy but just says one word at a time and won't join the two.. find it hard as we go to class and feel im constantly talking for him as when asked his name he has no idea, but he is happy babbling away and gets his point across :) - let me know how you dd comes along xx

[awwwwmannnn]

best of luck for Tuesday, hope it all goes well for you both

i'm amazed at how much our DC are alike, my little one also has a dummy, but i dread trying to put her to bed without it lol

it just makes me feel a lot better knowing i'm not the only one going through this, i'm hoping and praying our little ones will be talking up a storm soon and we sit back and wonder what we were worrying about



xx

[clabsyqueen]

My DD 20 months was diagnosed with glue ear last month. I asked about the dummy - the audiologist said although she's sees it written about a lot it didn't affect glue ear at all in her opinion. Thank god cos its not going anytime soon!

[juliec26]

Good news about the dummy as likewise my ds won't be letting go of it .. Saw SALT today and she basically said ds has speech delay of 6 months .. Glue ear won't help as hard to hear sound correctly, but she just thinks he's a late developer as didnt walk to 21 months. She said he shows no signs of any problems so that was good . Suggested some games to play and to hold up a toy and get good eye contact and then say the name of the toy .. Another game for the bath was to put bubbles on different body parts and say the names. She said until ds had at least 50 words he won't be able to put 2 words together .. Will see him again in June with the goal of 15 new words.. Put my mind at rest and fingers crossed by doing some games he might start saying a few more words xx

[joolsangel]

my D is 4 now. her speech didnt develop at the same rate as the others at her nursery. they told us their concern when she was 2.5. we took her to SALT which proved absolutely useless. we were told she was on target for her age. her understanding is absolutely fine but there were certain sounds she couldnt say. finally age 3.5 we took her back to ENT. she had several hearing tests and we were then told she failed them slightly on her lower sounds. she had grommits fitted at 3.5. we paid for her to attend private speech therapy and from there she blossomed. she started school one month after turning 4 - youngest by far in her year and her speech was behind slightly. we were concerned about her social development with other children as i felt she was left out by them a little. however, since speech therapy continuing, mixing with other children at school every day her speech is amazing now. there are still one or two sounds that she doesnt always say that she should be saying for her age, but we are happy now. the grommits made a world of difference and the private speech therapy has helped enormously. good luck.

[MoelFammau]

In my experience with a 2yo DD with glue ear ( and possibly another type of hearing loss as well), it does affect speech for sure. DD is miles behind her peers. But she babbles a lot of word-like noises so she SOUNDS like she's more talkative than she is'

My consultant has pointed out that toddlers can learn to lip read in 3 months. So they can appear to listen to what you're saying but actually they're watching you instead. This is true of DD - I get the same result from mouthing 'give Mama the basket' as actually vocalising it.

Also, in DD her biggest difficulty seems to be locating sound. My phone was ringing on the bed near her and while she heard it, she couldn't locate the phone by following the sound. This difficulty shows up in social situations. She tends to stand stock still in the middle of rooms, watching the other kids running around. Every now and again she gets knocked flat because she can't hear kids running up behind her. She seems very bewildered by everything, yet sparkles with one-to-one attention and one voice to focus on.

Just wondering if this sounds familiar to anyone else?

[awwwwmannnn]

@Julie26, so glad all went ok, hopefully with the games etc things will start to improve?

My DD had her doctor's appt y'day, he checked her ears and said that they have now cleared so he doesn't think that was causing a problem. i'm waiting to hear from HV now to do her assessment and against wait and see and take it from there...startign to get very frustrated with the whole process lol

@Moel, i can't say this sounds familar to me sorry hun. i see what your saying about the sounding more talkative though, she is able to locate sound etc so not sure what that really means for her tbh lol x