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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to delay my daughter's operation while I look into the options?

118 replies

Runoutofideas · 10/06/2009 16:57

Hi,
This is a genuine question as I really don't know what to do for the best. DD1 (4) has just been diagnosed with glue ear and the specialist has recommended grommets and adenoids out which will involve a general anaesthetic. I took her initially to the GP as I didn't think her hearing was 100% and she permanently sounds quite nasal, but her speech and language development luckily does not seem to be affected particulary. Her pre-school teacher was shocked when I told them the recommendation as she said she hadn;t noticed there was a problem, and was talking about dd1's fantastic vocabulary and sentence structure etc. I have been researching online and found that for some people cranial osteopathy has helped and also herbal remedies for shrinking the adenoids. Am I being unreasonable for trying these first rather than rushing into an operation which may not be entirely necessary...? If anyone has experience of grommets I'd love to hear from you.

I should add that we have private health insurance through my husband's job so waiting lists fortunately aren't too much of an issue.

OP posts:

pointydog · 10/06/2009 17:49

I am hazy about this, but I thought some ENT consultants were far more loathe to go down the grommets road these days?

Anyway, this can only be an individual choice based on the child concerned.

Personally, I wouldn't hold much hope of cranial ost, and 'erbs doing much to sort out any problem. However, dd2 had four or five grommet ops (one with adenoid removal) and they never really did much good so I can understand why some people don't want ot go down that route.

Original poster

Runoutofideas · 10/06/2009 17:50

Thanks puffylovett - don't worry I'm not going to try sticking birthday candles down her ear myself! It's interesting, but I know nothing about it. Is it not impossible to get a 4 year old to lie still while it's done?

OP posts:

donnymouse · 10/06/2009 17:51

Runoutofideas, I used to be person that looked up to doctors as I thought they always knew best. I had sort of a blind trust or faith shall we say, I was immpressed by titles etc.

In the last 10 years I have come through so pretty awful stuff, with pregnancy and vaccine reations. I have been shunted out of doctors offices with the words ' there is nothing more we can do'. My child developed a serious illness and I was very shocked to learn that there where no drugs or operations that could help, I just had to take him home and nurse him. I have nearly died because of a misdiagnosis of an ectopic pregnancy, even when I said it was an ectopic.

What I am saying is, I dont throw the baby out with the bath water, I still regard doctors as necessary, and I am not a alterantive health nut either.

I temper the wisdom of doctors with a practical application of my own research into an issue, and try on that basis to make informed desicions regarding the health of my children and myself.

IneedacleanerIamalazyslattern · 10/06/2009 17:51

DS is 3, he has suffered speech delay because of the glue ear, the tonsils and adenoids make him snore and this has caused sleep disruption but as he is generally well in himself (apart from bouts of tonisillitis, coughs and a nose pouring snot) he is not being put forward for the operation, one of my neighbours dd had is done ages ago and she is 5 months younger than ds but haven't managed to pin her down recently to ask how bad she was before it was done.

Original poster

Runoutofideas · 10/06/2009 17:53

Thanks pointydog - that's the other thing - what if I put her through it and it doesn;t make any difference.....
Thanks thirtysomething - there are just too many ways of looking at this - my head is now buzzing!

OP posts:

HuffwardlyRudge · 10/06/2009 17:54

NICE guidelines recommend waiting for 3 months and then re-testing hearing.

We're in a very similar position to you (3 yr old dd, reduced hearing, glue ear, though in our case the loss of hearing is noticable). We've done 2 weeks of drops to try and shrink her adenoids so we can remove them without having to have grommets. They had no effect whatsoever, but our ENT specialist said there was no harm in using them for another month to see if they have any effect before deciding on a course of action.

puffylovett · 10/06/2009 17:57

it's not that hard to get them to lie still, a lot of the kids we see think it's a great treatment. Usually it's done with massage over the head and face, but not with kids - half an hour for them to lie still is usually long enough.
taking a good book along or some music also helps, but usually the kids are shy around the therapist so more inclined to lie still - also the treatment is nice in itself, which helps.
If she's forming lots of mucous, then I'd be looking at also trying to reduce mucous forming foods, ie dairy and citrus fruits (oranges etc) to try and prevent it occuring - although it can take time for this to make a difference.

Original poster

Runoutofideas · 10/06/2009 17:58

Ineedacleaner - your poor son sounds like he's suffering a lot more than my dd. She sleeps fine and has not more coughs and colds than any other child - just when she's well she sounds blocked up but without the nose actually running.
Donnymouse - I know exactly where you are coming from. I keep hearing more and more stories of doctors getting htings not quite right. Sorry to hear of your problems. I am trying to do as you say and come to my own informed descision, although being distinctly indecisive about it at the moment.

OP posts:

pointydog · 10/06/2009 18:16

If you put her through it and it doesn't make any difference, nothing lost really. You've given it a go.

It is a very quick and straightforward op which never caused any real discomfort to dd2.

Tinker · 10/06/2009 18:31

How quick is this op? Think we may have to consider this for youngest - has some sort of sleep aponea(sp?)

FairLadyRantALot · 10/06/2009 18:32

Can totally see why you want to do this...

espcially as a lot of the time glue ear is something they outgrow, and as it doesn't seem to cause her a problem...

however, adenoids, if very enlarged can lead to sleep apnoea, and that could be a problem...but I suppose it depends on how enlarged they are...

wingandprayer · 10/06/2009 18:32

Runoutofideas - sorry about delay getting back to you. My DS not had hear ear infection in about 10 weeks now. Prior to that he was ricocheting from one ear perforation to another. 9 I think in less than a year. He has been on low dose antibiotics since March and cranial osteopathy alongside and something is working so I am not stopping either, but jury out on which having the effect.

Be careful with ear candling. The book Bad Science by Ben Goldacre is a very good read before starting in any alternative therapy.

wingandprayer · 10/06/2009 18:33

"hear ear infection" - bloody hell, sorry!!!

Tinker · 10/06/2009 18:34

apnoea

smartiejake · 10/06/2009 18:37

Oh for goodness sake! GLue ear is not wax in the outer ear canal that needs to be loosened. It's inside the middle ear. Candles will not help to loosen gunk in the middle ear!

smartiejake · 10/06/2009 18:38

...ANd if you get gunk on your pillow from glue ear it means the eardrum is perforated in which case you need to see a doctor urgently!

Noonki · 10/06/2009 18:41

I personally don't just believe 'specialists' having had various terrible advice from consultants over the years for various conditions.

Maybe try looking into google scholar for reviews regarding gromits and see if there has been any decent research either way.

wingandprayer · 10/06/2009 18:43

at smartiejake. I was trying to be less blunt but we on same page!

CherryChoc · 10/06/2009 18:47

I had grommets when I was about 4, I remember it being fine, I liked going into hospital, it was exciting (which means it can't have been traumatic)

One fell out much later, not sure what happened to the other. The problem was fixed by then.

foxinsocks · 10/06/2009 18:48

dd had severe hearing loss in one ear and infections and was recommended not to have the op. I was actually keen for her to have it at the time as she had oversized tonsils too.

they seemed to think she was coping fine and rechecked her hearing

at around 7ish she started to get a lot better and they did say that this often happens as children's skulls grow around that age (sort of 6,7,8 I believe)

we would have gone for the op if offered

I would adopt a wait and see approach as someone else said. Retest her hearing in 3 months or so. Also, you may find starting reception is quite key and in nursery she's fine but the hubble bubble of reception is a different thing (when it comes to hearing).

littlebrownmouse · 10/06/2009 18:57

I had glue ear when little, had tonsils and adenoids out when I was seven but still couldn't hear properly. I had loads of antibiotics, not for ear infections, but to clear the glue and as I got older I had ear ache and perforated ear drums. The recommendation was always against grommits as I would grow out of it. I had grommits when I was seventeen and they were great but came too late. I have severely scarred ear drums which cause me deafness, my ear drums are to quote a specialist "like apiece of stretched clingfilm". I currently have an ear infection that has lasted for over three weeks and will not go. I am more prone to these because of scarring to the ear drum and the general state of my ears.

Ear infections and glue ear is NOT anything to do with wax. I have no wax at all in my ears. Candling cannot possibly help glue ear as the 'glue' is at the other side of the eardrum unless the ear drum is perforated.
Go with the specialist, maybe discuss cutting out dairy. I suffered from horrible ear infections and deafness every time I had a cold all through my teenage years and lived in a permanent state of embarrassment that could have been avoided. I'm confident enough now to say "Don't mind me, I'm a bit deaf" but certainly wasn't when I was twelve and pretending to hear things when actually I couldn't.

smartiejake · 10/06/2009 19:00

Here is some clear information about what glue ear is and various treatments surgical and otherwise. Might be worth a look.

littlebrownmouse · 10/06/2009 19:05

Its aslo worth saying that with glue ear children's hearing often seems fine for a while and they can easily slip through the net of haivng it picked up. They may be a bit off at preschool for a week or so but are back to normal before its really thought to be a problem.. Glue ear sufferers often lip read (i can't hear very well without my glasses on!!) and often hearing tests are carried out when the hearing isnot too bad. Your child's preschool teacher may well have missed it, but if she is speaking in a nasal voice, it is effecting her. She may be missing alsorts of things and covering up treallly well. I did and still do. My parents didn't know anything was wrong until my sister was born and they had another child's hearing to compare mine to.

scaredoflove · 10/06/2009 19:19

mild moderate deafness may not affect speech but it will impact on learning, especially in a school or nursery environment. Many children do lip read but miss out due to high levels of noise and being unable to hear effectively

My son has moderate hearing impairment, (not due to glue ear, just is hearing impaired) This was not discovered until secondary school. He can now tell me what it is like and to be honest, it's horrible for him. He has to zone in to what he thinks is the important things being said but regularly misses out on other things going on around him. As a four year old, he was labelled a dreamer/unfocussed. His speech has always been impeccable

A hearing impairment that can be treated/helped should be imo.

Grendle · 10/06/2009 19:21

YANBU

I would seek a second opinion and research the evidence for the effectiveness of the suggested therapies in your child's particular type of case. Cochrane review here. Couldn't find one for adenoid removal for your dd's issue, but there is this one.

You might also want to check out this and this and this.

Specialist sadly do not always base their practice on the most recent available evidence. Many trained years ago and despite new evidence emerging can sometimes be reluctant to alter their practice.

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