Glue ear in older children - any advice?

[oldbirdy]

Hi. My almost 11 year old has complained for the past few weeks that his ears are blocked and it's now obvious that his hearing is quite badly affected. He can hear me at normal volume from about 3feet behind me, but not clearly at lowered volume. A whisper he couldn't hear at all (my dh was 6 ft away and heard the whisper fine).

I have been waiting to see if it would clear but it seems quite significant and at parents' evening last week they commented on his recent lack of focus and how this was a change.

Can I contact my local audiology Dept direct or must I go via GP, as I wonder if temporary hearing aids might help....or will they just do "watch and wait" anyway as he's older than the usual glue ear gang? I'd say it's been 2 months so far.

[AtSea1979]

My DS is 12, he has glue ear. He wears 2 hearing aids (started with 1 to see how he went). Made a huge difference but at moment he has ear infections in both ears so can’t wear them and can’t hear/concentrate etc. So it’s not a complete fix.
Grommets help but after 3 operations we’ve decided enough is enough.
Low level long term antibiotics also helped loads but as soon as it stopped the glue ear returned.

[AtSea1979]

What do you mean it’s been 2 months? Have you taken him to GP for antibiotics for his infection? It’s only glue ear if it’s persistent and repeated ear infections.

[oldbirdy]

Hi at sea
I haven't taken him to gp for the catarrh yet. He has never had any pain or discharge or fever, just "full" ears. I had expected it to sort itsekf out after a couple if weeks; it's only as it's dragging on and his hearing is so impacted that I have been wondering what action to take - audiology or GP.
I have also had a congested ear since 22Jan which is not making me ill but is bloody annoying - but because it's only 1 ear I can hear fine. I suspect he has the same thing as me but in both ears.

I was wondering if I should go straight to audiology because the key consequence just now seems to be hearing loss, or to GP. Now you mention it, maybe antibiotics would be a first port of call to see if they can clear it?

[Witchend]

I doubt they will do anything if it's a new thing this year and only for 2 months. Chances are if he hasn't had it before it'll clear up over the summer months and not return.

You don't need to have ear infections for it to be glue ear.

However it's worth getting the doctor (or even the practice nurse) to have a quick peep in his ears as it may be a bit of oil to soften the wax will sort it.

[Witchend]

X-post.
Antibiotics won't clear it. They just treat infection. Warm oil may do, but check first.
GP will have to refer you to audiology as far as I'm aware and the waiting list is likely to be longer than it takes to clear.

[oldbirdy]

How about specsavers or the like? Or do they only do adult hearing tests?

[LexieLulu]

I was just watching a program about alder hey and it mentioned parents smoking (even outside) can make glue ear worse.

You probably don't have a smoker in your household but I thought I'd mention (I would never have made that connection if it wasn't for this show).

I'd ring some savers tomorrow and ask if they take children?

[Camelsinthegobi]

GP. They'll refer for a hearing test, and go from there. I had grommets put in at age 13 which solved my glue ear. But, the chances are the ears will clear themselves by the time the hearing test happens. It’s the time of year...

[Camelsinthegobi]

Don’t bother faffing about with private hearing tests, at specsavers/boots btw. They only have tgem to sell hearing aids. This is what the NHS do and the cause of the problem should be addressed by health professionals.

[MrsJoshDun]

He might just have waxy/blocked ears. My ears are always getting bunged up with wax and it makes me really deaf. Get them blasted out and then I’m fine for six months.

[oldbirdy]

Took him to the gp: so solid with wax she couldn't see the eardrums. So we are getting rid of the wax to see if that solves the problem with instructions to go back if he still can't hear once the wax is gone.

Was is gross, isn't it? What makes some people have loads? I have never had my ears syringed and I'm in my 40s. He's almost 11 and his are completely full. I felt like it was bad parenting 😟

[Witchend]

It can be a one off. I once time had suddenly a large amount in both ears. had them syringed and never had problems since (or before)

[MrsJoshDun]

Some people are more disposed to producing more wax. And some people have smaller ear canals so it doesn’t come out like it should. My practice nurse says I have both small ears and a lot of wax production. It’s not a cleanliness thing.....though I find regular olive oil drops helps lubricate stuff.