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Original poster

Anyone gone private for ENT?

16 replies

Jannt86 · 23/10/2021 16:20

My dd is 3.5. There's been ongoing issues with her speech. She's had speech tx this summer. She is very articulate but makes a lot of 'atypical errors' She's had recent screening which suggests reduced hearing and has been referred to ENT. I've noticed that recently she's saying 'pardon' an awful lot and actually a bit LESS clear with her talking. I work for the NHS so I do understand the strain they're under. However I'm being fobbed off every time I try and call to chase what's happening with her ENT referral and don't have an appointment yet. I just want this addressing well before she starts school as I'm aware that this could really hinder her if it isn't sorted before then. How long did people tend to wait for gromits/hearing aids following referral? Has anyone gone private? If so could you give me an idea of how much I might pay and any recommendations? Do you think it was worth it? TIA x

OP posts:
Cafog · 23/10/2021 16:27

Check if your local Audiology clinic take referrals directly from the GP. The waiting times might be less, they can monitor her hearing and if there is an issue she is likely to get seen faster by ENT if/when they refer her on.

Original poster
Jannt86 · 23/10/2021 16:31

Thanks. It is my audiology dpt that already saw her and are supposedly referring her. I'm doing my best to chase it with them

OP posts:
Oblomov21 · 23/10/2021 16:33

Why are you being fobbed off for the ENT referral? By your GP? Ask one more time and then speak to the Practice Manager? Be firm, but polite, don't take no for an answer.

Can you also afford ENT privately, at the same time?

Original poster
Jannt86 · 23/10/2021 16:38

It's not my GP fobbing me off it's audiology. They said they were referring her a month ago but then when I called to chase it they basically admitted they'd forgotten it but assured me they were 'walking it round in person' to the ENT dpt. I've then tried to chase it with ENT but they're basically refusing to acknowledge that they received it as it probably involves talking to the person at the next desk is in a different 'sorting area' but they've said I should be getting an appointment soon. We can probably 'afford' it if it's necessary in the same way any average family can but we'd obv rather not! However I don't want to be having this same issue this time next year and hoping we'd just gone private

OP posts:
ThisMustBeMyDream · 23/10/2021 16:45

My son was referred to ENT paeds back in March. He needed his ears clearing of wax, as it is something is affecting his hearing, and they won't do a hearing test unless his ears have been cleared.
I ended up going private last week through Spire Health, they could give me an appt within 10 days, and his ears were cleared. They said they would write to my GP now to tell them he needed audiology referral to check for hearing loss and treat as necessary. So we've skipped the longest step hopefully, but at a cost of £110, which is a lot of money to me, especially as it's just to clean his ears.
I chased his referral via nhs, and was told they didn't know how long the wait was, other than "years". Confused

elliejjtiny · 23/10/2021 16:47

No, but I would if we could afford it. My ds has glue ear and it's been a nightmare. Each time he had grommets they lasted less time before they fell out and the waiting times were awful. He has hearing aids now which aren't quite as effective as grommets but they are much better because there is no cycle of 6 months with grommets in and then a year of waiting for the next set to be put in. He needs a new set of molds for his hearing aids every 3 months or so. I have learnt to book the appointment to make impressions of his ears 3 months after the last one instead of waiting for the current molds to be too small and then having to wait a month for new molds.

grey12 · 23/10/2021 16:49

Don't want to discourage you or anything, just maybe something to be aware of.

DD1 was delayed in speaking and was referred to ENT. And we had a terrible experience. Hearing test at this age depends A LOT on the cooperation of the child otherwise the test is basically inconclusive. DD's peadiatric ENT doctor was useless with kids! And DD was terrified of the whole setup. Doctor ended up saying she was autistic!!! Hmm which is such an irresponsible thing for him to say, especially the way he said it

My advice is if YOU are concerned about their hearing, regardless of what anyone has mentioned to you, then your child may have a problem. Just be very alert during the consultation, how it goes, how your child does the test, how is the doctor's demeanour...

Good luck Wink

Oblomov21 · 23/10/2021 16:49

Gp could send a follow up letter to audiology though couldn't they? To chase?

Donotgogentle · 23/10/2021 16:52

We did. £250 to see paediatric ENT consultant. £440 for private audiology assessment. Then insurance picked up the bill for the actual surgery.

Oblomov21 · 23/10/2021 16:52

Phone audiology again and ask what you need to do to get this sorted? Ask to escalate this, ask who need to speak to about this mistake resolved?

Original poster
Jannt86 · 23/10/2021 17:01

Thanks all. Can I ask with anyone who's kids were speech delayed did they catch up in the end? Did it affect learning to read and concentrating in class etc? X

OP posts:
LemonWeb · 23/10/2021 17:08

My ds1 (now in Y11) was speech delayed due to glue ear. Our local NHS managed to circle toddlers to and from audiology for 15 months or so before giving an ENT referral. After his ENT appt he had grommets 12 days later. I expect that looks wonderful on the waiting list stats, but it was actually 15 months of language delay…

Anyhow, the grommets made an amazing difference, he never bloody stops talking now Grin and is highly articulate and musical and does well at school.

Donotgogentle · 23/10/2021 17:08

Took about 18 months of weekly speech therapy for my DS2 with fairly significant speech delay to catch up, but he’s fine now.

(It was DS1 who had the ENT problems I mentioned above. He needed a shorter amount of speech therapy as well as surgery, about 5-6 months).

LemonWeb · 23/10/2021 17:09

It did affect learning in reception, as his grommets fell out by then but we talked to the teacher and she sat him at the front. I taught him to read myself as I didn’t want to risk him struggling in a noisy classroom.

Twilightstarbright · 23/10/2021 17:11

We went privately to an ENT on the advice of the SALT. DS swiftly diagnosed with enlarged tonsils, adenoids and glue ear. We could have had the operation within ten days but chose to do it in school holidays. We had private insurance so not sure on the cost but it’s made a huge difference to DS and his development.

grey12 · 23/10/2021 17:34

In DD1 case, the speech therapist said it was within normal limits. She started talking more than a couple of words by 3.... by 4.5 she was discharged from speech therapy, which she was just being lightly followed. She would go there every 3-5 months just to see how she was doing.

At 5y (august baby on top of it....) she is in year 1. Doing well. But she still isn't as comfortable with speaking as other kids.... and isn't very outgoing either, personality wise. However she is reading and writing ok. Teacher said she in in the top half of the class which tbh surprised me!!! Good for her Grin she will eventually catch up, I'm sure

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