Glue Ear in 22 Month Old

[PCJ1713]

Just wondering if anyone else has dealt with or has any advice on this topic.

My 22 month old has been diagnosed with glue ear and has hearing tests which put my LO at the cusp of mild range of hearing loss. We’re going for a follow up test next month to check and see if there’s been any improvements before pursuing surgery but I’m really struggling in how I can help in the meantime.

LO has started to become really frustrated and is reverting to using signs instead of speaking even words LO would normally be capable of saying. We stay patient and ask LO to try which inevitably LO does but you can sense the annoyance and frustration.

There’s not much point doing anything yet as it’s not been long since we last had a test but I wonder if anyone has any ideas on how to help other than the standard of trying to have quiet time, reading lots of books, speaking directly and getting LO’s attention. We’re at a loss at the moment!

I don’t have much practical advice as you’re doing everything that we did, but I just wanted to give you my sympathy. DS suffered horribly with glue ear and repeated ear infections until he finally had grommets at 2.5, which made an instant difference.

I really hope things improve for your LO soon.

DC had this. They had grommets put in. Do they still do that?

Also, glue ear can come and go, which can make hearing tests complicated. They won't rely on just one.

We paid for grommets at 15 and 20 months respectively. In both cases GP's were "meh". DS's constant unwellness ceased; shall never forget the day after when firstly dd stopped continually whingeing and secondly watching her excited and thrilled and giggling as I unpacked the shopping. Realised she could hear the birds .

Both had very advanced speech but were in constant pain and constantly ill.

Speech is the main issue here. Luckily, there doesn’t seem to be any infection issues etc, it’s just developmentally that I’m concerned about. Otherwise LO gets exactly what I’m saying, first time round, it’s LO’s response and frustration around communication that I’m worried about and I honestly don’t know what else to do to help.

DS had glue ear at 18 months and mild hearing loss, with a follow up scheduled for a few months later. Covid then hit and we had no further appointments until he was 26 months, by which point the glue hear and hearing loss had disappeared. He had a further follow up at 35 months and he was still absolutely fine, so it might clear up on his own. DS's speech was also unaffected.

Ds had his first set of grommets at 20 months (2nd at 3.6yo, 3rd at 6yo). Much as we would have loved to avoid surgery (he asked about hearing aids instead for the last one), the issue for him was as much the ear infections, and burst ear drums as the hearing.
Even at 13yo he still gets bunged up ears in the winter.

DS had glue ear in one ear, multiple infections and 50% hearing loss. He didn't get a grommet until he was 8. The difference was immediate and I wish I had pushed for it earlier because he had years of pain and struggled with hearing at school. No difficulties with speech or language thankfully.

DD had glue eat from 5 months of age to 3.5 years. She had bilateral myringoyomy performed at 5 months as she had secondary mastoid abscess. At worst she had only 10% hearing.
We worked really hard to ensure she always looked at us when we spoke and that we spoke slowly and clearly, enunciating carefully.
Now 17 years later she is in professional musical theatre with a beautiful soprano singing voice and pop effect pitch.

Hi there, sounds like you're doing a great job already.
My daughter has a permanent mild hearing loss.
The top tips we had were:
Chat as much as possible with her, give a bit of narrative on everything you're doing even if you feel silly.
Face her when you're speaking when you can.
Sing lots eg nursery rhymes, pop goes the weasel etc.

It is best not to concentrate on what she is saying back to you. Just focus on giving her access to hearing you speak a lot and it will come in time.
Good luck

In terms of her attempting to say or sign words. Just mirror back the correct word.
If she signs 'more' for example, then repeat it back, like "ah more, you'd like some more, yes here you go... ".
Do the same if she attempts a word but gets it wrong eg if she was looking at a duck and says "dud" you would say "yes a duck".
If you can add in a sign and the word, even better.

It is best not to try and get her to repeat the word correctly as it will lead to frustration.

DS had ear infections every month from 8 months. At 18 months , after a particularly bad infection, our GP arranged for an ENT appointment. He had moderate hearing loss caused by glue ear, so they inserted grommets (by which time he was just two and hardly spoke). The difference occurred almost overnight. Now at 5 his hearing is normal and he’s never quiet!

@PCJ1713 how is your LO now OP?

Hi @HAPPILYMARRIEDSINCE2012. We had a difficult couple of months and then LO had surgery in September of last year. Post surgery, LO’s hearing is almost perfect and recently had a check-up which confirmed the grommets are still in and LO’s hearing has remained good.

It’s definitely had a knock on effect and LO is in speech therapy now, however, surgery was a godsend.