Hello,
I think this is a bit of both an ask for advice and a general vent about this topic.
so both of my sons have been prone to ear infections since they were little. My eldest ended up with mild hearing loss and has been under Ent for a while. it has been a very long road and has gone painfully slowly at times and to be honest most of the time when I speak to a consultant or other professional they chop and change their opinions.
the upshot now is that after trying to fit grommets last year they realised one of his eardrums had collapsed and so they couldn’t go with grommets. He has had a bone conduction hearing aid to help and they said they would see us in 6 months. Fast forward 9 months and have had to chase the apt, which they say may not come for another 3 months!! he has had another health thing for us to be chasing up about so I hadn’t realised it was so overdue until Christmas.
At the same time we took my youngest for an ENT apt yesterday at which the consultant also had a look in my eldests ears (there was a student there so think he saw it as an education piece for her!) and he said the left ear now looks like it has collapsed.
he also said my youngest still has holes in his eardrums which is apparently good because my eldests issue is caused by the eardrum not being able to equalise pressure. I also had something similar as a child and had to have a tympanoplasty to fix a major perforation.
I feel so awful. We seem to be getting conflicting opinions at every turn and I feel like we have just been left to see my eldest sons hearing being ruined. I am now worried about my youngests too. I feel really guilty and like I have totally failed as a parent in letting this all happen but at the same time feel really let down by a confusing and ovestretched NHS. I also keep thinking are there ways we have caused all of this as I can’t believe both of them have similar problems. And then I feel guilty because the issue mostly got sorted for me and I dont really have hearing loss. I think this is probably typical mum guilt but it’s making me feel horrible.
i have now chased ENT again for a follow up for my eldest but am now wondering whether to go private for a second opinion. We already shelled out £700 to be seen for a specific issue with my eldest but my parents have said they could help us out so it’s an option- to a certain extent. The consultants at NHS just seem to want to watch and wait and I just want to understand if there are any other options. I am not slating the NHS btw, I know we are really lucky to have free healthcare, I just find it can be a bit of a fight to get anywhere sometimes.
sorry this is mainly just wanting to get it off my chest but also feel like the only way to make myself feel better is to try and be proactive. I can’t change what has already happened but I can try and get the best outcomes going forward. So any advice and experience for others in similar situations would be gratefully received!!