hearing loss, glue ear

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Hi,

My dd (age 3.5) has had two perforated ear drums and suffers from glue ear intermittently. Her speaking is slow/delayed and I was told today after an audiology test that her hearing is a bit dull. We are on a 'watch and wait' and her hearing will be checked again in May.

I just wanted to ask if anyone has restricted dairy in their child's diet to help alleviate glue ear symptoms and if it made a difference.

Thanks.

I am worried now after reading this thread as I was told just yesterday that my DS4 will have his adenoids taken out along with a procedure to drain his eardrums next week.

I was OK about it at first as I was glad at the thought his hearing would be restored but I´m having a panic now

We are in Spain where it seems to be a fairly common procedure
The ENT specialist didn´t really point out any risks

Soory that should have said DS 4

DS1 had grommets put in at 3.5. They made a world of difference, socially and to his speech. The op was over in 20 mins. Before that we tried the watch and wait and the cetrizine and the antibiotics.

The watch and wait just made the gap between his speech and his peers' speech even bigger.

The cetrizine made him a bit hyper and loopy and wet the bed every night he was on it and for a couple of months after.

The antibiotics just did sod all.

Grommets have worked really well for him. His speech and language caught up and he got a lot more confident, less tired and better behaved.

I've also got a ds (almost 3) with glue ear. He had grommets in May but we didn't see the surge in language that we had anticipated. It turned out that he had wax over one grommet, which we used drops to clear, and then one grommet fell out a couple of months ago.

He had his hearing tested a few weeks ago and it's pretty good (not 100%) but the consultant sees little point in reinserting the other grommet (we are waiting and retesting in March). He's also had ear infections which he'd never had before - grommet are definitely not a cure all for glue ear.

I've cut out dairy and noticed that has helped his skin and his levels of congestion so would definitely recommend it. We've subsituted oat milk/almond milk and you can get Lacto free products which are good. It

Also using a cranial osteopath who is great and feels a lot of tension in ds's skull which he's working on releasing. We see definite 'gunk' coming out of his nose after a session so I think that is helping. This isn't cheap though and is a gradual process particularly as it involves close contact on the head which my ds has taken a while to get used to.

Also doing speech therapy which is a bloody slog and not showing fast results, but I know we'll get there soon and I'm sure you will too! Good luck!

thanks eastendmummy - think we'll go for cutting out dairy whilst we 'watch and wait'

My dd is now nearly 6. I noticed her hearing was not as it should be when she was about 3. We went through the watch and wait, cranial osteopathy, dairy reduction and nothing made any difference to her. She had grommets fitted, and her adenoids removed at age 4.6 and it made an immediate huge difference to her. I was dreading the operation, and like many of the people above, tried everything to avoid it, however in hindsight I wish we'd done it sooner.

She came round in hospital and said "Mummy I can hear the cars outside and the window's not even open!". Her behaviour improved - she was no longer so often "in her own little world" and came out of school looking happy and involved, rather than a bit bemused.

Her grommets have now fallen out and I have a feeling her hearing is down a bit again. We have another appt in a month or so to see if she needs another set. If they are recommended for her I will have no hesitation in doing it again. They were definitely the right solution for my dd. Yes the general anaesthetic is awful - but I really think it is worse for you having to watch than it is for the child.

Thanks runoutofideas, I could describe my wee one just the same - she is constantly in her own wee world all the time.

My DH has a friend who is a GP who asked another friend (complicated?) who is in ENT if cutting dairy did anything. The consensus is no - not at all. So if we are advised to go for grommets in May, that is what we will do. I hate the fact that I know her hearing is letting her down just now.

I've cut out dairy with dd2. Made no difference to skin or overall level of blocked-upness.

grommets made a HUGE difference to my daughter's ability to hear and her confidence levels, interaction with other children, learning at school, the works.

DS had gromments and adenoids removed for glue ear.
In his case the adenoids were so large, they were the cause of the glue ear, so no amount of dietry change would have made a difference.
After surgery the effect was evident within hours. His drooling stopped, as he was able to breathe through his nose for the first time, his diet improved and hence he had a growth spurt.
Best of all he could hear and his speech made rapid improvements. He now has spot on hearing even though the grommets have now come out and his ears are functioning normally.
His speech is still marginally delayed, but considering he had a significant hearing loss for 2 years before surgery I think he has done fantastically well.
We now have further ENT problems, unrelated to grommets. I was terrified about the surgery, but it really was the best thing I ever did for my son

I really appreciate your post norks, I'm really kicking myself that we didn't push for a hearing test and ENT referral before now. It took a year to get referred. I'm convinced from reading posts that my DD will get grommets and have her adenoids removed. It feels like ages until May for her next hearing test. I amm feeling better about the prospect of grommets.

Don't feel bad.
I didn't even get referred to ENT because of hearing loss or infections.
I only went to the GP initially because of the constant runny nose and dribbling.( 5-6 bibs soaked through a day at 2.5)
It was only during the routine ENT exam we found he had a significant hearing loss, I think we hadn't noticed as I did baby signing and he was really good at communicating

Funny, my DD is 3.7 and still uses signs. She understands everything we are saying but knows she isn't clear when she speaks, so she gets embarrassed and has made up her own signs. That was good your GP referred you so quickly.

I am lucky to have a great GP, Actually seems to care about his patients.
Even asks about my DC by name if I go alone for an appointment.

You are lucky, our GPs are good but too busy and you see a different one each time you go in. The majority of the time, when DDs ear drum perforated and she had recurrent infections, it was a nurse we saw. I'm just grateful the nurse said enough was enough and passed us over to the GP.

The joy of a single dr practice is never to be underestimated - Hope you get it sorted soon.

My first three boys have all had glue ear. Ds1 also had a very runny nose a lot of the time. He had loads of ear infections between 6 and 18 months. We did find that he was less "snotty" when we switched from cows to goats milk but the glue ear didn't resolve and he did end up with grommets.

Ds2 was similar but didn't have such a bad nose. The first time he got formula milk at four months he developed a rash which GP said looked like eczema so we kept him on breast milk. At one year I switched him to goats milk. No eczema but he still got grommets!

Ds3 was bf for 2.8 years. No glue ear at all while he was bf. However he did develop it at 5 and got grommets then.

Ds4 was bf till 2. He is almost 3 now and no glue ear so far but we shall see! If he does develop it, I will definitely bring him to a cranial osteopath, thanks for that info!

Goats milk is still considered dairy but we did find it better than cow's but not a cure-all. Our boys wouldn't touch soya milk so I don't know whether that would have made a difference.