glue ear & social skills

[fionastewart83]

hi, my 8 year old has had glue ear since she was tiny. she has had 2 operations which havent permanently fixed this and they wont do any more - we might have to get hearing aids. her speech is great, she does really well at school and is really happy at home. she struggles a bit with social skills, and can seem a bit "blank" with other adults and kids...i am worried this is starting to affect her ability to build friendships. she hasnt been invited to a couple of parties and i think she is struggling socially. she wont talk about anything to do with emotions or feelings. i have always thought that us just "her" but starting to worry more seriously. does anyone else have any experience of child with glue ear affecting friendships and ideas for how i can help her?

My son has hearing aids and has come
On loads at school but doesn't socialise much either 😓 I just try and encourage it

its kind of heartbreaking isnt it...how does he feel about his hearing aids?

Honestly he doesn't mind it. He was amazed at how noisy the world is. He has been brilliant although it does cause a lot of ear aches x

I've a 10yo whose had 3 sets of grommets and had glue ear since about 2/3 months old.
I was told that it does impact them socially, and can present as similar to some AS traits.
Ds has learnt to cope much better definite improvement even in the last couple of years.

thanks so much for posting...that is reassuring..i have certainly had concerns about autism or AS in the past but i think it is just the hearing. and she gets ao exhausted! has your son's glue ear resolved?

I'd also like to know if your sons glue ear resolved. X

Unfortunately they don't think it's resolved.
They expect them to "almost always" be showing signs of improvement by 10yo. he had his last appointment just before he was 10yo and the glue is still there causing issues with his hearing.
It's much better-he doesn't have infection followed by infection-last winter he had 2-3 lots of ear infection compared to about around 14 in his early year.
However it doesn't seem to be clearing his ear canal.
They did warn me at the last appointment he may be one of the very few who it never fully resolves. :-( But he is much better at managing it, which is very helpful.

If you get hearing aids then you may be assigned a teacher of the deaf, if your local authority has a sensory support service, they can be extremely helpful with all manner of issues related to hearing loss, including social skills.