Dd and her sore ears - where do I go from here?

[foxinsocks]

Poor dd (age 5 and a half) has had her share of health problems since she was born. Reflux, hernia, asthma, eczema, allergies...we were signed off from her first NHS paediatrician (at Chelsea and Westminster) when she was 2, she saw a specialist surgeon at Kingston for her hernia and we were signed off about a year ago.

Now she has a big problem with her hearing - GP has said the wax is so impacted that it has to be removed by an ENT consultant. Her hearing has been badly affected but this could all be due to the wax - either way, no-one can tell until the wax is gone because they cannot see into her ear anymore. But she is in pain and her glands around her ear are swollen. This comes and goes but has basically been like this for around 9-12 months but has worsened over the last few months (prob due to winter/colds).

I've got her referral through - and the first appointment we are likely to get is June. I'm not sure I can watch her suffering until then however the GP does not see her case as an urgent referral. I've called the hospital and they can't hurry it up because to them (on the notes they have from the GP), it is just a basic case of too much ear wax. I can totally see that but to me, the swollen glands and the dreadful pain mean that it's probably more than just that.

But now I'm starting to wonder if I'm just being overly concerned - maybe this is all wax and I'm being the hysterical mother! The doctor seems to think there's nothing urgent so maybe I've got it all wrong.

I've always gone with my instincts but maybe I do need to take a back seat on this - what do you think?

No, I think you should go with your instincts. If she's in pain then June is too long to wait - can you go back to the GP and show him how much worse she is, or maybe see a different GP who may think differently and be able to rush the appointment through for you?

Otherwise, is there any chance at all that you could/would pay to see a consultant privately? Once she's seen him/her you can then go onto that consultant's NHS waiting list, so you would only need to pay for the initial consultation. That might give you an idea of whether it's as urgent as you feel it is, and would move you forward slightly quicker.

Thanks WWB. I was hoping that the consultant she had been referred to does private work but it seems as though he doesn't. However, someone we know sees a private ENT consultant who is apparently fantastic (and well renowned) so I was thinking of giving him a call.

It's just that she's had so many health problems most of them minor but they have caused lots of problems and I was beginning to think I was overly concerned about it all (well that's the way the doctor made me feel).

Thanks, I'll trust my instincts and get a private appointment.

also, I should say all the times we've had to wait to see NHS consultants, they've been brilliant with dd - it just annoys me that the waiting list for ENT is so long. But I think it's worth getting the initial assessment done now just to rule out anything serious.

foxinsoccks, does the consultant you are due to see also do private appointments? IME this is a good way of speeding things up - I saw dd's ENT consultant privately first and he then referred her for all the things that needed to be done on the NHS and to himself in his NHS post (I'd chosen him after looking at his specialisations online). Best £200 I ever spent. :) (Dd has long-term ENT issues and has had many surgeries done by this consultant, so it was nice to have have someone of my own choosing do it all)

We did the same as geekgirl - paid for a referral and then got transferred back on to his NHS list.

Also I would think it's best to get her seen now whilst she's at her worst. You may find that come summer things improve and then nothing gets done -winter arrives and you're back to square one.

thanks - yes I think you're right sagger. This is what has been happening over the last few years (getting worse in winter).

I don't think the specific consultant she has been referred to does private work but I'll check the other members of the team.

The appointments are all done centrally now by a sort of NHS booking team so I think I'll have to call the hospital itself to be 100% sure.

Just to thank you all and update you.

We saw a fantastic paediatric ENT consultant (privately) this morning at St Anthony's in Sutton (he does other work all round the SW London on the NHS and privately so if anyone needs a name let me know!).

He vacuumed the wax out of dd's ears - he said there was a lot in there. However, he could see fluid in one ear and was concerned that the wax wouldn't account for the hearing loss. Dd did two hearing tests there and then (after the wax was taken out) and they discovered she had mild hearing loss in one ear and moderate hearing loss in the other. Given how long this has been going on, he said it was pretty much a chronic condition.

We are going to go back and see him in 8 weeks time (when our NHS appointment comes up) to do another hearing test but he said, if we decided to operate it would be a good idea to get it in before winter came round again. He was so lovely with dd because getting the wax out hurt her a bit and he was ever so gentle. He is also not completely sold on operating in every case (which is the feeling you get sometimes!) but he said once the hearing loss becomes more than mild and it becomes noticeable (which it is unfortunately) that it's pretty much a win-win situation.

Anyway, thanks for persuading me to go with my instincts. It was definitely worth it.

I'm glad you managed to get to see someone quickly - it sounds as if it's just as well you did. The consultant sounds lovely, and at least you have got her ears clear and know now that there is another problem as well as the wax - I hope that can be treated quickly too.