Glue Ear

[mumchat]

Glue ear seems to run in my family. My first child had it causing mild hearing loss for up to six weeks at a time. She grew out of it by age 5.

My youngest has been up & down. Three bouts of mild loss & flat line readings. Then much better. At check Aug check they said only one ear had flat line & hearing in both was within normal spectrum.

Following a cold and one night of mild ear pain in early Nov her heat

[sipper]

Hi mumchat Great to read there's an improvement. That's such good news!

Hi DewDr0p your poor DS3, that sounds really tough. Have you tried: diet (cut down on dairy, sugar, oranges ...trying to rack my brains for other mucus-forming glue ear problem foods); plus probiotic on tongue last thing in evening (Biokult is a good one to try; open the capsule and pour onto tongue); and cranial chiropractor for gentle neck and jaw adjustments and also to look at jaw position as linked to glue ear in many cases (if chiro is experienced in paeds then should also know whether needs to refer to orthodontist or whether anything needs helping jaw-wise). Cranial chiropractor who uses SOT technique is a good one to see. I hope things get better for him v soon.

[mumchat]

Hi DewDrop,
Oh yes do try the Otovent again. I am 100% convinced that it is this that has helped. We now use twice a day as three times not really possible as the gap between getting home from school & bedtime is only 2.5 hours. That said I'd have kept with 3x if we'd not had such an improvement. It is truly unbelievable the difference. I get her to lean the ear towards her shoulder & that makes it more effective.

She hated it at first, found ballon hard to inflate, didn't like her ear "crackling" and even complained about the smell of the balloon but you can motivate them to do anything if you are determind enough. We all cheered, had chocolate reward, she could choose a chocolate to give her sister (sister loved this so that made her happy). We went to the park "because you did so well with your balloon" etc and now it's matter of fact and part of getting washed & dressed routine in the morning & part of bath/bedtime routine at night. So worth it.

We were told to come back 2-3 months for repeat test. I expected to be there with non hearing child and getting referral for aids or grommets but when app came through it was for date we couldn't ideally do so I called to move it & they gave me one towards end of Jan so I just took it. If they say anything when I go I'll just say I thought they must have known and it was ok. Truth is I can't wait to have her re-tested to see the results. We will have done exactly 3 weeks of Otovent then which is recommended course.

She is so much happier and I am so relieved. Will report back on HT results.

[mumchat]

I hope hope you manage to get an improvement and I know how you feel about school. It was breaking my heart. Luckily she was winning with phonics before loss went right down to moderate but I know she missed so much when it did. Not just academically but socially too. One of my good friends even laughed at her when she was taking to her & my daughter kept saying "what?"I know she didn't mean it but it demonstrated to me how little people understand and make allowances.

Lets hope as we move out of winter towards spring better times are ahead for these glue ear sufferers. Do keep us posted on how things are going.

[oohdaddypig]

Hi mumchat - was just reading this thread with interest. Would you mind updating as to whether you would recommend the balloon thingy?

Dd, age nearly 4, diagnosed with persistent glue ear and moderate hearing loss. I would like to avoid grommets if there is a reasonable alternative.

In terms of anyone who has gone dairy free, have you gone entiry dairy Free or do you use goat/sheep products?

Thanks

[TinaSurrey]

Hi, the Otovent balloon definitely definitely helps. If you use two or three times a day you should notice an improvement within a few weeks. It got us from moderate to mild hearing loss.

During a recent v full on cold they couldn't inflate it and hearing was way down. Once the cold subsided we used it again & improvement within days.

Consultant advised to use it on an ongoing basis so its part of our morning & bedtime routine. We also did it after school to try and kick start improvement originally and following the cold.

It's available on prescription. You have nothing to lose by trying for a few weeks. My tip is that once child has mastered inflation get them to tilt their ear towards their shoulder for the side they are inflating the balloon as this makes it more effective.

Hope this helps.

[oohdaddypig]

Thanks - that's helpful. Have ordered one off amazon to try and hopefully can get it on prescription after that. I suppose the disadvantage is complying with using it twice a day - not sure how likely that is with a wilful three year old....

Did you try anything else e.g. Cranial osteopathy?

Thanks again

[TinaSurrey]

No, haven't tried that or anything else. There is video on Otovent website to watch with your child. You or another adult need to inflate it first so child watches you. Also stretch/inflate the balloon a good few times before you try & get child to do it so balloon is softer & inflates more easily. I bribed my little one to use it - with a treat after every session to start with. Now it's just non negotiable like teeth cleaning.

[oohdaddypig]

Thanks Tina! Will post how I get on...

[oohdaddypig]

Well, Otovent wasn't a rip roaring success for us. DD struggled to use it (she's only 3) and I think the "glue" is so "gluey" that she broke some capillaries in her nose trying to blow so hard and ended up with a bleeding nose. (This was the theory of the doctor that saw her as she's wound up with another ear infection).

however, I don't blame Otovent but I'm going to wait till we see ENT (2 month's waiting time) before trying again.

Interestingly, I've been using the Otovent myself (I have chronic sinusitis) and it's really helped my own ear popping/cracking issues so I'm actually quite impressed with the Otovent, provided it's used properly....

hope this helps anyone else who has read this far.