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Children's health

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Original poster

Glue ear possibility?

10 replies

pucca · 29/09/2009 18:48

Ds (3yo) has had a hearing test today, from what i could tell he couldn't hear anything below 50 (what ever that means) and when they looked in his ears and did that air test they said he had a good example of glue ear...

I have no knowledge of this really....he does have a slight cold at moment so they want to see him in 8 weeks time...he does seem to be almost constantly congested though and he is currently having speech therapy as his speech is not very clear at all..

Any advice would be appreciated.

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Original poster

pucca · 29/09/2009 19:03

bump

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Mermaidspam · 29/09/2009 19:27

My dd (7) has glue ear and now has hearing aids (she didn't want grommets). It is entirely possible for it to clear up on it's own and he'll be fine. We've been told that dd's should clear at about age 8-9.
What kind of advice do you need?

Original poster

pucca · 30/09/2009 07:08

Thanks Mermaidspam....It was just really to find out a little more info on the subject....

How bad can the hearing be in a child with glue ear? As i have since found out that ds being unable to hear under 50 decibels is classed as moderate hearing loss.

Now he has had this hearing test everything kind of makes sense. Ds shouts everything, his speech is delayed and his word sounds are very poor. He says "Whats that noise?" alot which i never thought of till now, but it has been clear sounds (to me) such as a lawnmower or hammer on next doors wall, now i am thinking if his hearing is affected to a moderate level then the sound make not sound like what it is...i.e it will sound muffled.

Ds also has some behavioural issues, i recently had him assessed, as he was displaying odd behaviour and OCD type tendencies, there was initial talks of autism and aspergers...but the conclusion was that his eye contact is very good as are his social skills, but that is a whole other subject.

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Mermaidspam · 30/09/2009 22:54

I find that dd's hearing varies on time of year, coughs and colds, etc. At times, she won't hear lawnmowers, birds, car alarms and at other times she can't hear low tones (such as DH's voice).

From the info I have been given, hearing loss can be anything from mild to profound (usually is around the moderate area and improves over time). DD's is around 50 too.

just found this

I work with children and young adults with learning difficulties and a lot of issues can stem from lacking of hearing (rather than lack of understanding, IYSWIM). DD does have OCD type issues, never really connected the two, but you may have something there..

Hope this helps

kreecherlivesupstairs · 01/10/2009 08:27

My dd is currently using saline inhalations and blowing a balloon up using only the power of her nostrils to 'cure' her glue ear. We have an appointment next week to assess how well this has worked, it is very difficult to be objective, but subjectively we are very pleased. She is able to hear much more than when she started. I really don't want to go down the grommet route if we can avoid it.
We are in central Switzerland so I don't know if this treatment is given in the UK, we have lots of unusual stuff given by our GP.

TwentiethCenturyHeffa · 01/10/2009 08:37

I had glue ear as a child. My hearing loss was pretty marked but it wasn't picked up on until I was about 6. I used to find that hearing in a crowd was a nightmare so I've always been quite grumpy and quiet in large groups of people because I can't hear what's going on. I don't have much directional hearing either so I can't hear where a sound might be coming from. I struggle on the phone, or if someone isn't talking directly to me. Just saying this because it helped me once someone explained to my parents what might be going on

You may have something with the OCD thing, I have those kind of tendencies sometimes too. I find that the world around me can be a bit confusing and because I can't hear very well, I'm not always sure what's expected of me IYSWIM? My hearing loss never recovered, but that's for other reasons than the glue ear so don't worry

Mermaidspam · 01/10/2009 17:15

Never heard of those methods Kreecher, but if they're working, sounds good.
I didn't want her to have the grommets either as she swims a lot (and would rather avoid an operation).

Original poster

pucca · 03/10/2009 10:56

Thanks for the replies

Sorry i have only just come back to the thread my internet has been playing up.

Strange how a couple of you mention the OCD type behaviour and that there may be a link...that was the only part of things that i couldn't really link to the hearing problem.

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Original poster

pucca · 03/10/2009 11:09

I forgot to add, ds has been to speech therapy and has another appointment soon, and they said he has low muscle tone in his mouth...he also dribbles alot still.

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orangeplum · 03/10/2009 15:49

My DS who is also 3 has been suffering from glue ear. We were told to use saline nose drops and do a lot of blowing eg through straws, balloons etc etc. This cleared one of his ears - the other did not. After several more hearing tests (when he did not have a cold) he was referred to ENT and has finally had grommits. They seem to be fine and his ENT person is happy for him to swim. If I were you i would get it sorted as his speech was affected too and hopefully once he can hear properly you will notice a big difference. Operations (whilst worrying) is fairly quick and the kids bounce back very quickly from it.

Good luck

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