A question about glue ear

[idobelieveinfairies]

My DD is 4.3yrs.....over the past year she has been having very short episodes of not listening to me/ignoring me...but i am wondering now whether it could be glue ear? its lasts a couple of weeks and then gets better...and then it will happen again about a month or 2 later (approx)

I was in town on Saturday and i was talking to her and she was completely ignoring me. Not sure if she just concentrates too much on other things and dosen't realise i have started a conversation with her.

Is this how glue ear works??? My ds (now 7) had glue ear as a baby that cleared by itself by 15mths but can't really compare the two because of the difference in age.

DD is quite nasly?, heavy breather and snorer, don;t know if that makes a difference.

Just called my health visitor and left a message for her to phone me back, to arrange a hearing test.

By the sounds of it I'd say she definitely has glue ear especially if it comes and goes...the movement of the phlegm etc.

My eldest DD had glue ear from a very early age and it was picked up during her routine hearing tests pre-school. Each time I was fobbed off by the ENT people saying she'd grow out of it etc etc. She failed hearing test after test and yes, it concerned me but because I didn't know any different I went along with the theory she'd grow out of it.

During her first year of school her confidence took a nose dive, she wasn't paying attention at school and had ear infections galore. She had a routine hearing test at school which, again, she failed. We left it till the weather became warmer in the hope the coughs and colds would clear up and she was tested again - again failed.

We were then referred back to ENT who again told us she'd grow out of it.

Her behaviour at school was getting worse - she wasn't naughty but she wasn't paying attention and was having to sit at the front of the classroom. She was also very nasaly and always talked as if she talked thru her nose. She always had colds and regular ear trouble.

I decided, by the time she was going into Year 1, that I wasn't going to wait for her to grow out of it because she's a bright child and I didn't want her to slip at school so we went private. The consultant we had was horrified the NHS suggested she would grow out of glue ear - she was stone deaf in one ear and only partially able to hear in the other.

She was admitted to a private hospital, had grommits fitted, addenoids removed (flaps of skin at the back of the nose which prevents phlegm from moving around) within the week.

Following that operation she complained immediately we were talking too loud!

Prior to this she wouldn't hear us, we'd have to shout, if we covered our mouths when talking to her she wouldn't know what we were saying because she'd taught herself to lip-read, she wasn't as snotty, no ear infections and it was the best £2k we'd ever spent...well, the credit card did!

I would definitely get an appt for a hearing test, without delay, especially as she is coming up to the age of starting school. Good luck!

I would ask for a referral for a specialist hearing test and to see an ENT consultant. All 3 of my children had ear infections and glue ear and the change in them once they had grommets fitted was remarkable.

My DD2 is due her first hearing test, since she was a baby, next week at school - she's almost 5. Can it run in the family. I really hope not. She certainly doesn't appear to have problems with her hearing, apart from selective hearing...like she hears 'chocolate' but doesn't seem to hear 'time for bed' !!

Glue ear can sometimes be improved by cutting dairy products out of the person's diet.

Can adults get it?

[email protected] that is what i was wondering....I

have just teseted her..in a round about way ..DD and her twin brother are watching tv..i have turned it down low, i can still hear it. DD asked me to turn it up....ds can hear and has repeated what is being said. DD can't hear it.

She does seem to have a cold quite a lot-not a bad one....at the moment the cold has gone, i wonder if its then when the hearing goes

She has never had an ear infection though..but nor did her older brother.

Wispy that is really bad what you had to go through, can't believe they said she was going to grow out of it!....specially at school age! Horrendous!

Yes the NHS were adamant that by the time she was about 9 or 10yrs old the eustation (sp?) tube that runs from the ear to the nose would grow and the phlegm would be able to move...the fact is that when she had the op the phlegm was so solid it would never have cleared and according to the surgeon who did the op there was stacks of it.

I agree re the dairy theory - she was a real milk drinker prior to having the op - and I read somewhere that too much dairy causes too much phlegm.

Weird though because DD2 was dairy intolerant for the first two years of her life and was prescribed soya based products so I'm hoping that due to that, and the fact she's not fussed with milk even now, she may be ok with her ears.

DD1 was so miserable before the grommits. The difference in her was immediate. I can remember her sitting up in her hospital bed, literally a few mins after coming round, and she complained DH and I were too loud! I can remember also sitting there saying that whilst we couldn't afford the op we had no choice and how lovely it was to have our little girl back with us again after spending so many hours (weeks, months, years) repeating ourselves. It go so bad with her it was really getting me down, tbh.

Awwww its bad that it got that far.

My ds who had glue ear (but only until around 15 mths) is very scared petrified of loud noises...thunder, fireworks etc, i do wonder if the glue ear was to blame, none of the other children are like that with noises.

waiting for HV to phone back, will insist on a hearing test.

Being in a crowded room doesn't help kids with glue ear either. I know of a little boy at school who has glue ear and when he does PE he cries because its done in a hall and with 30 other kids making a noise he struggles to cope. You end up living in your own little world I think.

I found with the NHS you really do have to push them to get referred. So easily you can be fobbed off and I got so fed up with them we had no choice but to go private with DD1. Even the surgeon we had told us we had a very strong case to complain to the NHS and ask them to foot the bill but I was just so pleased/relieved to have DD1 fit and well and able to hear I wasn't prepared to fight for the money, and fight we would have done.

She has only just been discharged by ENT. We had regular 3mthly hearing tests with her - she is now 10yrs old and had the operation when she was 5yrs old. She still has the grommits in actually although they have moved but her hearing is perfect. Definitely got value for money there didn't we?!!

Taking your lo to a chiropractor can really help wth glue ear. The girl I take my 2 children to says she sees loads of cases of glue ear and it can be treated with 1 or 2 sessions pretty successfully. Might be worth a thought if waiting ages for a referral.

Well i am in the channel islands so the health system is a bit different here. I noticed it with ds as he was also a twin and with having 4 older ones running around making noises twin 1 was throwing his arms up in the air at noises and twin2 was making no response to any loud noises. So i mentioned it at his 6 week check and he was then referred. The norm here is to have a check up every 2-3 mths and then if is is still gluey at 12 mths then to put gromits in. At his 1 year check one of his ears had cleared completely and his other ear was improving and by 15 mths it had all gone.

He never had any checks after that though, but i was extra vigilant and there were/are no problems at school.

Thats great that they kept an eye on her after all this time.

I wonder if she has had this going on since really little? gawd..feel bad now.

Must admit, when the consultant (private one) told me just how bad her hearing was I cried. I knew it was poor but had no idea just how bad it was. I felt guilty that I'd gone along with what the NHS advised and wish I'd stepped in and done something sooner - but how are we to know? Other than she struggled to hear/pay attention...but then you weigh that up with the fact they're just kids and even the ones with the best hearing don't listen/pay attention!