Glue ear and options given

[YourHardyLemon]

Hi all, new here to this page.

I’m just looking for some general advice on what other parents chose to do and what the best option is for my child.

My 6yo has glued ear and has been having hearing tests for the past year. One of her ears has mild hearing loss.

We have been given three options - watch and wait, hearing aids or grommets.

The doctor has given us a lot of information about grommets, pros and cons but has said this is our option he can not say which one he thinks would be best.

With it being only mild hearing loss and having no effects of her day to day life or speech and language. I am leaning more to getting her hearing aids to see if the glue ear goes on its own. But I don’t know if I am doing the right thing by her?

It’s been a very hard decision to make and I’m wondering what other parents with the same options choose to do?

Grommets

Short term short op
Long term benefits
Easier than hearing aids most likely

My son had 2 sets of grommets (aged 1 and aged 6) and then he had hearing aids from aged 8.

My son wore hearing aids from 18 months to around 5 for glue ear. Whilst his hearing loss occasionally returns with a bad cold, his body is now able to clear the glue and it’s very transient.

He responded really well to the hearing aids - they’re small and discreet, and he was able to pick colours and characters for his moulds (the bits in the ear).

we were told that grommets would fall out over time, and need new ones, and that every pair inserted would themselves cause a bit of damage. It might be better at 6 than at 18 months though!

Effectively hearing aids were a version of watch-and-wait for us, and it turns out the right choice. It might be worth seeing how he tolerates them, then making the choice to go for grommets if he doesn’t get on with them after a few months?

DS had grommets at just over 4 having had mild hearing loss due to glue ear from 12 months. Sorted it with no recurrence. It was a simple procedure, no more than 20 minutes although did involve a general anaesthetic. You do have to be careful that no water gets into the ear canal but that’s easily manageable with ear plugs. DS carried on with swimming lessons. We have no regrets (well DS barely remembers it now he’s almost 20)

If it’s not affecting her speech and / or she doesn’t have noticeable hearing loss, I’d go with watch & wait. Have you tried an Otovent? It worked well for DS at this age:

https://www.otovent.co.uk/buy-otovent/otovent/

We didn’t think DDs glue ear and hearing loss was impacting her learning, nor did her teachers at the time, so we initially decided to wait it out.

However when she started at a smaller school her teacher raised concerns pretty quickly about her speech and we spoke to a different consultant. They recommended grommets over hearing aids, partly due to her age (5) and also because she already has 2 other medical devices attached to her.

The op was very simple and they difference in her speech and confident is amazing — we thought there was nothing to improve on but we were so wrong.

The consultant explained that with each grommet there is a risk of damage to the ear, however this can be avoided with regular check ups meaning they catch the issue and remove the grommet before too much damage happens — the NHS doesn’t offer these check ups and discharges you, so we pay for them privately.

DS had grommets for glue ear and S&L delay. We were never offered anything else! The grommets were great though, they enabled the glue ear to clear and he then had SLT, both NHS and private, and he caught up quite quickly. The grommets fell out after about 18 months and he was booked in to get a second set, but when they got him in for the op they said he didn't need them, so they didn't fit them. There was, however, some scar tissue from the earlier ones and they removed this. DC tend to grow out of glue ear, as their bodies grow and the tiny tubes of the ear grow too. If there is no S&L issue then hearing aids may be the less invasive option for your DC.

We don’t want our daughter to have Grommets as we didn’t want her to have a general anaesthetic (circa 2000) and our GP agreed and he helped us research a massage technique that we could use on our daughter and manually drain her ears.

It worked for us but many opt for grommets which do work but would have been a last resort for us.

I had glue ear as well as a genetic deafness I was born with. I had both grommets and hearing-aids.

Hearing aids are not the same quality as proper hearing and come with a lot of downsides. Id try the grommets first as restoring natural hearing will be better in the long run.

I’d definitely go with watch and wait. Give it 6 months and see. That’s what we did with our son and had no moment in both ear drums. I had Gromits and had the 1% perforated ear drum didn’t heal complication and need skin graft etc. Still causes me bother.

My DD had grommets twice but they wouldn't stay in her ears!

She ended up with a bone conducting hearing aid that she hated and was a battle to wear everyday even with a pretty headband

luckily she started growing out of it and age 11 it is finally cleared.

I wasn't aware of any detrimental effects of hearing loss issues until doing some maths one day and she was counting in tens
..70, 80, 90 ,20!!

I realised she couldn't differentiate between 'teen' and 'ty'

In our area they don't even routinely offer grommets anymore and DD only got them as she was born with a cleft palate so has a different care pathway.

My advice would be for for grommets and under no circumstances be fobbed of with watchful waiting which is just another of saying do nothing and save money

Hi there – it’s totally understandable that you’re finding this a hard decision to make. You clearly want to do the best for your daughter, and it sounds like you’re really tuned in to her needs.

I’m an audiologist and see a lot of families in this position. Mild hearing loss from glue ear can still be quite tiring for children, even if their speech and language are fine – especially in noisy environments like classrooms. If it’s not affecting her day-to-day life much, then trying hearing aids as a temporary measure (especially the softband or behind-the-ear types) can be a great non-invasive option to support her hearing while you wait to see if the glue ear clears.

Some parents go straight for grommets, especially if the hearing loss fluctuates or if there are frequent ear infections. Others prefer to avoid surgery and use hearing aids for a few months first. There’s no one “right” answer – it’s more about what works best for your child and your family.

If you’re still feeling unsure, I’m running a webinar next week with a speech therapist that covers glue ear in children, the impact on speech and learning, and what parents can do – including how to make sense of options like grommets and hearing aids. I’ll pop the info below in case it helps you feel more confident in your decision-making. You’re definitely not alone in this. 💛