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Children's health

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Original poster

son with glue ear

14 replies

superbagpuss · 03/04/2014 18:37

just found out today my Ds 4 has glue ear

anyone else DC had this?

all they can suggest is that they test again in 3 months

other then the fact I know now that he is not deliberately ignoring me and to make sure he ius watching me when I talk any other advise?

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Original poster

superbagpuss · 03/04/2014 20:30

anyone?

OP posts:

cakeymccakington · 03/04/2014 20:35

have they referred him for speech therapy? did they talk about grommets?

Original poster

superbagpuss · 03/04/2014 20:45

he's had speech therapy in the past and has been discharged

they didn't mention grommets and I don't know much about that

OP posts:

Donki · 03/04/2014 20:45

They would usually offer grommets if he still has problems in 3 months.

momster · 03/04/2014 20:47

My DD had this when she was younger. She was referred to specialist at local hospital who tested her hearing and she then had 2 lots of grommets put in (the first lot lasted just under a year) and regular check ups and hearing tests. Hers was because she has very narrow ear canals. She is 9 now and has no issues and perfect hearing so they do grow out of it. I think it depends how severe it is, how much it bothers the child and how much their hearing is being affected.

Donki · 03/04/2014 20:48

Make sure he is facing you when you talk
Make sure that your back is not to a window
Try to reduce background noise when you want him to listen/understand. It makes a HUGE difference
Be close to him when you are speaking - the volume he hears reduces by half for every 3 feet he is away from your mouth (rule of thumb)

Make nursery/school and other people aware

Donki · 03/04/2014 21:01

Oh yes - and don't exaggerate what you are saying, it distorts the sounds, and the mouth shapes and makes it much harder to understand.

But it helps to slow down your speech just a Little bit sometimes

incywincyspideragain · 03/04/2014 22:18

Good info here
www.ndcs.org.uk/family_support/glue_ear/
www.nhs.uk/ipgmedia/national/action%20on%20hearing%20loss/assets/glueear.pdf
and I agree about making school/nursery aware!

Ziggyzoom · 03/04/2014 22:27

DD had glue ear, and so did I! She had grommets put in 2 years ago, when she was 4. They are still in and show no sign of shifting. They have worked wonders. I wanted to get it done before she started school and was criticised for not paying attention!

DeWe · 04/04/2014 10:00

Ds (6yo) has had glue ear from babyhood, and is currently on his third set of grommets.

I wouldn't expect you to be offered grommets on one test unless there's something else like multiple (talking 20+) ear infections too. It also depends how bad the glue ear is too. The little graph they printed out of his ear echo-was it flat or was there a little peak? Ds' when he is bad is totally flat.

Problem with coming back in three months is that takes us to June/July which, being summer, they may be clear of glue ear, which returns in full round September/October. So if he's clear then, do point that out and ask for another round October/November time.

Make sure you are facing when you talk to him, get down on his level. Ds can lip read quite well. Things like noise of the washing machine going can be too much background noise for him to hear effectively at times. Let school know, ask for him to be at the front, and also let them know that when there's a lot of background noise it can be like hearing underwater-very scary for them. It also can effect behaviour because, other than the frustration, they have to put so much extra effort into concentration that they tire relatively quickly.

Littleoaktree · 04/04/2014 10:03

Ds1 (4.11) had/has this and he had grommets put in last year, it's made a huge difference to his behaviour/ability at school and also things like balance are much better. I hadn't realised how much of an affect it was having on him but I'm v glad we went ahead with the operation.

Littleoaktree · 04/04/2014 10:06

Meant to add - he was referred for surgery after his first appointment but the consultant said that was rare but his was quite bad so it needed doing early and we didn't have to wait for a follow up in 3 months (which is more usual)

gamerchick · 04/04/2014 10:08

My eldest had grommets put in for hers.. she came on in leaps and bounds.

Tw1nkle · 09/04/2014 19:10

Hi, My DD has just been diagnosed too.
I really wouldn't want her to have an operation, so have looked into alternatives.....
We have found something called Otovent. My DD has been using it, and the amount of 'pardons' I'm getting has drastically reduced - so hopefully it' working!

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