Glue ear - Grommets or hearing aid - WWYD?

[Noomininoo]

My DD1 (4.5yo) has just been diagnosed with moderate hearing loss in both ears due to glue ear. We first noticed there might be a problem back last year and went to see the Dr in February but due to the wonderful world of the NHS waiting list she has only now been given a hearing test.

The ENT specialist said that as it has been going on for so long & her hearing loss is sufficient to cause potential development problems some correction was needed. He gave us the option of either having grommets inserted or having DD1 wear a hearing aid. We immediately went for the hearing aid as we didn't really want to put our DD1 through a surgical procedure if we didn't have to. We're now wondering if we did the right thing?

From the research we've done on grommet insertion it seems that, although it is a surgical procedure, its a fairly quick, safe & straight forward one & has a pretty good success rate. The downsides as we see it are:

a) it's still a surgical procedure which requires DD1 to go under a general anaesthetic (& all the risks (albeit small) that that entails).
b) its quite likely that (as the glue ear looks here to stay for the time being) she'll need another grommet inserted when this one falls out
c) there's a higher risk of ear infection with a grommet
d) she'll need to take special precautions when going swimming (DD1 has weekly swimming lessons) & having baths
e) having to go into hospital for an operation is going to be pretty scary for a 4.5 yo

On the other hand, hearing aids are are far less invasive (& frightening) for DD1 but they're also far more visible. I don't really want my daughter stigmatised or (heaven forbid) picked on for wearing a hearing aid.

Has anyone got any experience with this? Grateful for any advice...

My dd also had glue ear after have hearing test in reception class in oct 2007, we had to go to gp for them to refer us , had another two hearing test to confirm lost of hearing. Back to gp to send us to another hospital closer to home to have more hearing test for them to say she needed grommets in. Was never offer a choice perhaps the hearing lost was not as much.

She had the grommets inserted finally in 2009 aged 5.10yr, I was more worried then she was, it was quick and simple and made a vast difference to her at school ( because of the long gap between initial hearing tests and the op I think her progress at school was hindered, as she couldn't move forward as much as she could have done) Also last year one of her grommets fell out, but it hasn't seemed to trouble her.
Was told she would eventually grow out of it.

Funny enough I suffered with this when I was a child diagnosed at about 2yr with 50% lost of hearing and was treated with grommets had several of these ops through my early yrs and then aged 9 at a different type of grommets put in and after that had no more ear or hearing trouble and slowly grew out of it.

Hi Noominoo, I have no experience of grommits or hearing aids, but DS1 was treated very successfully for glue ear by a chiropractor if you're interested in exploring alternative therapies?

My DD2 had bilateral grommets fitted this April (she was then 4.5). She had lost up to a third of her hearing on both sides! Now her hearing has been declared completely normal again. No more shouting! (DD not me :o)

I had the grommit operation 38 years ago at the time i was 50% deaf and had loads of ear infections , i was about the same age as your daughter maybe a bit younger. In those days parents weren't allowed to stay with you in hospital i can still remember it but dont remember it in a bad way, I also remember not being able to swim and my mum being paranoid everytime she washed my hair worried that water would get in . I think the fact that i wasnt allowed to swim at that age made me so keen to swim when i eventually could that it made me really appreciate the water and all water sports to this day !!My hearing today is great and has been ever since the grommits were removed.From my own point of view i would recommend the op , I would imagine that things have moved on since i had it done and it really did improve things for me no end , If you have any more questions please ask :-)

I had grommets done several times when I was a child. I'm sure it wasn't pleasant at the time but I barely remember it now.

Oddly enough I had one episode of glue ear again in my 30s and was told I needed grommets again. I took homeopathic Pulsatilla while waiting for my appointment and it cleared. May be coincidence but who knows?!

DS has had grommets twice, once at 5yrs and more recently at 8yrs. Both times he was struggling in school, socially and educationally, both times the grommets alleviated the problem straight away. The operation was quick and straightforward, we were in and out inside four hours, and although there were some issues with swimming, you can get earplugs which get round the problem. I'd recommend the operation if you are offered it. The second time round we were told funding was limited and we might not be offered that option despite the fact DS's hearing was confirmed as below optimum level. Massive relief when we got the referral!

My dd1 has been successfully using hearing aids for bilateral glue ear.
It's been great! She chose pink hearing aids (much smaller than I remember!) And clear/sparkly ear moulds. There's been no stigma or teasing. Her classmates think her hearing aids look really cool!
If she'd been having ear infections we'd have been swayed towards the grommits, but for the hearing loss her hearing aids have been brilliant. Her ears are mostly clear now, but she will use one or both hearing aids if she feels the need.

Hth

My 1yo DS had grommets inserted 10 days ago. The op took 20mins, and we were only at the hospital for 4hrs in total. He was up and running around within a couple of hours and the change in him has been dramatic. He's much more settled, no longer has any discomfort from his ears, and his language skills have made a massive leap. I know that as he' so young he's likely to need to grommets replacing when they eventually fall out, but I wouldn't hesitate to get the op done again

We've been told no swimming for 2 wks but then he should be able to go as normal - ENT surgeon said it's only soapy water you need to keep away from (or use earplugs in the bath)

Thanks for all your advice & reassurances.

Fio I think the ENT specialist meant that her hearing loss had been going on for some time as we'd noticed it about a year ago &, as it hadn't resolved itself within that year (as 90% of cases of glue ear apparently do) she'd probably need some help.

It appears that hearing aids aren't offered as as option in many cases but as DD1 doesn't suffer with ear infections etc (she's had the odd one or two but no more than any other child) & it is just the hearing loss that's the issue the ENT suggested that they might be a good alternative to grommet surgery in this case.

As to swimming, I'm not sure that wearing ear plugs would really be an option for her swimming lessons as she wouldn't be able to hear what the instructor is saying. I know she wouldn't be able to wear her hearing aid in the pool either but she seems to cope at the moment & if we inform her instructor that she does have hearing problems then she can compensate for that.

Funnily enough, I too suffered with my ENT quite badly as a child & had my tonsils & adenoids out & grommets inserted at the age of 3 so I guess a bit of hereditary could be involved here

My daughter had bilateral grommits about aged 4. Her body rejected them after about a month and so we had to start all over again. 12 months later same op and within a month they were both rejected again! In the end only time helped and she grew out of it. We were never offered hearing aids

A good friend of mine took the hearing aid route with ds and he was absolutely great. No teasing at school what so ever. If I had to do it again I wouldn't bother with grommits. Too much risk for no solution in our case. General anasthetic still carries risk even if it is minimal these days.

my dd had an awful lot of ear infections and the grommets were inserted in both ears at 4 with the tonsils removed at the same time. One of the grommets fell out after some time and the other was removed by the surgeon. I think she could have just left it to work its way out. That cleared it all up and she has never had an ear infection since. She is now 11. I don't regret having done it because the surgeon told me after the OP that the inner ear had begun to be malformed by the build-up and so it had really needed to be done. She apparently has perfect hearing now in both ears so it is quite a relief. Since we were going on holiday not that long after the OP, we had special ear plugs made to fit for swimming. They were no problem at all.

My DS had bilateral hearing aids from ages 3-7. They were quite small, not very visible, and he loved choosing pictures for the ear moulds. His classmates were very supportive, and DS liked the freedom of switching the hearing aids off when the classroom got too noisy.
As for swimming, you may well find your DD can lip read if she's been managing with hearing loss for some time.

Mine had grommets at 3.5

Re your concerns:
a) it's still a surgical procedure which requires DD1 to go under a general anaesthetic (& all the risks (albeit small) that that entails).
b) its quite likely that (as the glue ear looks here to stay for the time being) she'll need another grommet inserted when this one falls out
c) there's a higher risk of ear infection with a grommet
d) she'll need to take special precautions when going swimming (DD1 has weekly swimming lessons) & having baths
e) having to go into hospital for an operation is going to be pretty scary for a 4.5 yo

a) yes, but the op is only about 20 mins
b) maybe, but that doesn't mean it's not worth doing it this time - DS got 18 months of good hearing from his
c) yes, but it's a small risk and they won't get a perforated eardrum from it.
d) our consultant advised us against this. No change at swimming lessons, no fuss at bath, just splashing and swimming as usual. DS was advised not to go scuba or competitive diving but as he was a toddler we weren't concerned.
e) only if you're worried. If you think it'll be scary for her, then it'll be scary. If not, she'll take it in her stride.

Having said that, grommets do have a risk of scarring which causes conductive hearing loss. It can be corrected, but just letting you know the risk is there. But then hearing aids can damage residual hearing too. If I was doing it again, I'd go for the grommets. DS has some scarring in his right ear so he can't have another set and we're looking at a HA in his right ear atm.

Glue will clear with time so I would go with hearing aids as you may well find i in a few months it has cleared.

A rushed reply but google glue ear and dairy intolerance. Made all the difference to me as a child and adult, and all of my 3 children.

Then again, my DS had glue ear for about 4 years, and has a dairy free diet due to allergy, so it's not a magic bullet, and taking dairy out of a child's diet should not be done lightly as replacements need to be thought out to ensure healthy bone development.