Glue ear in 2 year old - any experiences with grommets?

[movingalot]

I took DD(2.2) for an audiology appointment today on the advice of GP (who picked up abnormal looking ear drums) and her nursery (who picked up unclear speech) and she has glue ear with moderate hearing loss on the right and mild on the left.

DH had similar issues and had to have grafts on his eardrums and has crap hearing even now (listening to the TV blaring from the sitting room as I write!)

Our situation is complicated as we are moving countries in 3 months and DC2 is expected in the meantime! So if she is going to get grommets (which is what the GP has said is needed on the basis that her hearing has been affected for long enough to affect her speech, so is unlikely to clear up with a 3 month 'watch and wait' approach) it will be a fast-track decision over the next few weeks (not through NHS).

An ENT appointment will hopefully happen next week, but in the meantime, I'd love to hear of anyone else's experiences - good bad or ugly. I don't want to put her through a GA unnecessarily but also don't want to put it off by humming and hawing about it when it should be a clear decision.... thanks in advance!!

Two of my DC have had grommets, both very successfully. One was 4, the other was 2.5 when they got them. We went private with both of them because the NHS wait was too long. In both cases the consultant was certain it was the right course of action. He gave me a telling off for not coming to him sooner with DC1, saying it should've been sorted out when he was younger, but we'd been stuck on a waiting list for ages before we decided to go private.

When DC1 had his I was about 38 weeks pregnant with DC3 so it was all a bit stressful, but it went perfectly fine. He had grommets in both ears & recovered amazingly quickly. The difference in his hearing was immediately apparent & his speech came on in leaps & bounds. The grommets did eventually fall out & were replaced. He's had no problems with his hearing or his ears in general since.

DC3 had his single grommet put in literally the week before we were due to move countries. I was quite worried about this, but we decided to go ahead. Again, there were no problems and we were able to sort out after care & hearing checks quite easily after we moved.

Hope some of this is reassuring and that it all goes well for you & your DD.

My ds also had glue ear it affected his speech too, it was described to me as when they hear it's as If they're under water. He also suffered regular painful ear infections. He had grommets put in 3.5 years ago and (touch wood ) hasn't had an ear infection since. His hearing and speech improved drastically I wouldn't hesitate getting them done . It's a very quick procedure only about half an hour, ds was sleepy for an hour or so after, once he was more awake he was given something to eat and drink and we were back home mid afternoon.

My niece had them put in a couple of weeks ago and the difference has been immediate. I think my sister wishes they'd waited less time (she is 2.7) as it was definitely the right course of action. She had severe glue ear, impacted wax and v large adenoids which were done at the same time.

My dd had recurring ear infections from 9-18months resulting in antibiotics every month for 10 months. At the time when the consultant told us really the only option was grommets it was hard. Considering a general anaesthetic for a child less than 2yrs but we really understood the impact on her health, speech and development without them.

She went into hospital in the morning and was home by tea time, of course it was still stressful as a parent waiting for the operation to be over etc but within a couple of hours she was up and running around. Her grommets lasted 18months and during that time no ear infections at all. She is nearly 6 yrs old now and if anyone ever asks me I always tell them for us it really was the best thing we could have done.

My DD had recurrent ear infections at 15 months, and we were told by the ENT consultant that she needed grommets.

I really did not like the idea of her having surgery at such a young age. I asked the consultant if there were any alternative therapies that were an option. He suggested Cranial Osteopathy. I found a fantastic cranial osteopath who specialised in babies and young children. DD saw her once a week for three months, I took her back to the consultant and he said she was fine now and did not need grommets. She has been fine ever since.

As the consultant suggested cranial osteopathy private healthcare paid for it all.

Prior to grommets we too tried cranial osteopathy, change of diet, reducing cows milk etc but neither proved helpful for our dd. Each child is so different though but we were prepared to try these options first.

Thanks for all the replies - useful info and reassurance! We have an ENT appointment on April 27th so we'll see what they say.

Did anyone notice their DC had trouble flying prior to grommets that got better after?

Yes, DC1 was much more comfortable flying after he got his grommets.

Good luck with your appointment, your move & your new baby!

Therest my Dd has proper moulded ear plugs from the ENT clinic. She swims every week no issues - pops them in and wears a hat. She gets them renewed about once a year. She has big holes in both ear drums

My ds was fine flying and swimming

There's these are made from mould of their ears and thus fit perfectly - they used to be free but we pay about £20 now

Therest Google Insta-mold ear plugs - they are like these. DC chooses the colours. We have red for the right ear to remind her which one

www.universaldb.co.uk/pdfs/Universal_WaterBarrier.pdf

I think these are them - the ENT clinic do the moulds for us

www.universaldb.co.uk/water-protection.php?gclid=CJbdjbOO28QCFe7MtAodETIAOQ

Hi - don't have time to reply properly but DD had grommets at 4 just before school started and oh my god the difference - her confidence, behaviour, speaking, everything - she had tonsils and adenoids out at same time (contributing to her glue ear) and so she sleeps better too. Transformed her little life (though she had really severe hearing loss, was missing up to 80% of speech signal, and in both ears.) Good luck and I hope you have a positive experience.

The first pair we had for about 18mths then they seems a tiny bit loose so hot s new pair. Annual feels about right. At our ENT you can book it to get new ones as you feel fit. They mould it with something that looks a bit like very soft play doh. Takes about 15 mins. They put it in and it hardens within a few minutes

Got your PM thanks so much Springtime - we're not in London but have a great recommendation locally, so v happy with who we're going to see