14 month old with constant ear infections

[Sycamore76]

Hi all,
Feeling desperate this morning ! My 15 month old dd has been suffering from multiple ear infections from around 12 months . The doctor has referred us to a ear, throat and nose specialist but I wondered if anyone has been through this and has any coping advice ! She literally does not sleep as laying down makes the pain worse . She wakes 2-3 times per night and is always up at 5am ( although today it was 420) . I am so exhausted and finding it hard to get through the day ( also have a 3 year old ds ) we have just finished another course of antibiotics but she is still in pain .
Thank you

My ds had this it turned out to be glue ear in both ears it delayed his speech too as he couldn't hear properly. He had grommets put in and touch wood he's never had an ear infection since and his speech rapidly improved too

Thank you . How old was your ds? Did it effect his sleep too? Glad he is better

Sounds like Ds! Although he wasn't as bad as what you describe. Stopped the day he got gromits. It also helps to raise the head at night.

He was around 3 or 4 by time they referred him to ENT but he'd had plenty of recurring infections before then. Will she let you put a warm hot water bottle over her ear to help with the pain?

My DD was the same around that age, which coincided with the winter months. It was so hard. We got referred to ENT who after a few appointments suggested putting from gromits in, but the infections eased off before this happened.

We found that she got an ear infection as soon as she got a runny nose, so I tried giving her vitamin drops to boost her immune system but I've no idea if that helped.

I also took her to see a chiropractor as I was utterly desperate, and they gave her what looked to be a head massage (very gentle- she loved it) and said that her jaw wasn't extending enough to flex the tubes between the nose and the ears. She explained that in babies the tube is horizontal so can get clogged easily when they have a runny nose. We went to see her 3 times I think.

She had her last ear infection early June which coincided with the end to all the colds going around and the chiropractor sessions so it's hard to say if they worked or not, but to be honest I would try the same again as it was so horrendous to see her in such pain.

In terms of helping with the pain now, the doctor advised me to give both calpol and ibuprofen at once, alternating doses. I didn't find calpol really helped her much, ibuprofen seemed much better. I also moved her earlobe gently in circles to try and help the draining process. I spent every night walking in circles singing to her as it was the only thing that calmed her a bit.

Hugs to you, it's so hard. Hooefully ENT will give some good advice. They did reassure me that many children grow out of it quickly, and that many find that gromits are very helpful too. I hope it eases soon

DS had a year of infections from 9 months onwards. He spent over a year on antibiotics and by the end was on them as a prophylactic so was dosed up every day. Yy to the sleeping problem - he barely slept as it was so much worse lying down.

We went through the ENT who said he needed grommets but then threatened not to let him have the op as NICE say you have to fail three hearing tests and he'd only failed two. By that point I'd not had a proper night's sleep for a year and I sobbed in his office. He relented. DS had the op at age 2 (they rarely do it at less than 2) and he's not had a moment of trouble since then.

Btw augmentin is the only antibiotic that worked for us so ask for that next time.

DS they started at about 7 months. Antibiotics at least every other week, augmentin didn't work, had a six week course of low dose anti-biotics and got an ear infection twice. I think he had 11 ear infections in 7 months. Grommetted at 14 months - different child.

DD: Summer baby and they started later but I do recall sleeping in an upright chair with her from December until 21 March. She grizzled for four four months and I didn't have a nights proper sleep in that time. Grommetted at 21 months. Didn't look back.

Grommets were the answer. I am going back 20ish years and our GP said the NHS wait for an apt would be several months and severL months I grommets were recommended which was unlikely because research was that children with glue ear caught up to the average by 7 or the end of primary. That's what the hvs were saying in our area at the time too. We paid for the ops privately and neither of the children looks back. To allow a baby to suffer that much pain was barbaric. To allow them to fall behind was immoral (our GP said ours would be unlikely to get them on the NHS because their speech was advanced) - perhaps indicating they weren't average and needed to be viewed as individuals.

Grommets greatly improved their quality of life and mine and meant we were no longer at the doctor's weekly.

Seven years later ds started having trouble with one of his ears again. After two burst ear drums GP not interested and refused to refer on NHS. Referred back to local ENT consultant privately. DS's eardrum was healing at an angle. There was a build up of bone beginning which if ignored could have caused permanent deafness. It was called choleostasis (sp). He had a little op and another grommet. At 22 he is fine. His paternal great grandfather was stone deaf from his mid to late 20s. A lot of pennies dropped - DS had an inherited condition, easily rectified.

We got no help with any of this from the NHS.

Ds started ear infections at about 10 weeks. He had cycles of them along the lines of
Day 1 grumpy
Day 2 temperature comes up, ear infection diagnosed, antibiotics given
Day 3-4 still temperature, getting slowly better
Day 5-8 gets tummy ache/diarrhoea from antibiotics
Day 9 antibiotics finished, tummy ache not so bad
Day 10 All fine
Day 1 grumpy...

This continued until he was 20 months and he had his first set of grommets put in (2nd set at 3.6yo, 3rd set at 6.5yo)

I've never had to wait several months for grommets. The initial referral took around 6 weeks, in all times we were in for the operation within the month (one time next day!) He's never had to fail multiple hearing tests or anything.

The thing is though, the grommets are not there to stop the infection. It's a nice side effect in some (most?) children. The grommets are to aid with hearing.

He slept well on day 10 and usually not too bad on day 4, but other than that wanted to sleep with his ear on me. Not good for my sleeping, even if he slept fine.

Thank you all so much for all your posts , which I have found very helpful and informative . It sounds like I was very lucky to have found a good doctor as we got referred early . The dr that referred us did say he was worried about her hearing as when the ear infection clears it looks cloudy ( before another develops ) . I did try the pain relief someone suggested at 230am and she slept until 545am ( massive improvement ) she only napped for half an hour all day so was shattered ) . Thanks again everyone

Whichend , your poor ds , what a young age to go through all that . It must have been tough on you.

Glad you had a better night.

Thank you beau

Could you try her sleeping with her ear on something warm like a wrapped hot water bottle or one of those things you heat in the microwave? I suffered terrible ear infections as a child and the warmth really helped ease the pain. Obviously I was older than your dc as I remember them happening repeatedly (I think between aged 4 and 10) but you might be able to find a way to make it work for a younger child.

DD had this too. infections from 6-7 months old.... was awful. we got grommets at 17 months which sorted it.